Rice, Straw on surprise visit to Iraq

BAGHDAD: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw arrived Sunday in Iraq on a surprise visit.
 
The Iraqi state television announced that Rice and Straw reached here, but did not give any further details.
 
The previously unannounced visit came after two days of talks between the two in London, during which Rice had admitted that many tactical mistakes had been made in Iraq, but defended the overall US strategy as being right.
 
Meanwhile, in an interview telecast on Sunday, Rice stressed the US intention to resolve the Iran nuclear controversy through diplomatic means.
 
"Iran is not Iraq. I know that's what's on people's mind. The circumstances are different," Rice told ITV television.
 
She said that while President George W. Bush was not taking "his options off the table", the US was committed to diplomacy.