Pool photo by Brendan Smialowski
Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Baghdad on Monday and said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is committed to sticking to a July 1 date to convinene parliament to pick a new government. Kerry urged top Shiite leaders like Maliki to give Sunnis more power to quell the Sunni insurgency that's taking over broad swaths of the country. Iraqi officials said the prime minister with Kerry urged the United States to attack ISIS training camps and convoys with airstrikes during his 90-minute meeting. Kerry in turn said any U.S. attack must avoid civilian casualties that could lead people to think Americans are murdering Sunnis. Meanwhile, American soldiers arriving in Iraq have a written promise that they will not be tried in court for defending Baghdad, but that's not much comfort given an ever-changing government.