Kaufman and Casey on Mideast tour

Sen. Ted Kaufman and Sen. Bob Casey over lap their trip to Kuwait with the Obama administrations.

Delaware Senator Ted Kaurman and Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey are part of a U.S. senate team on a fact finding mission in the Mideast.

While in Baghdad the senator ran into an old friend, Vice President Joe Biden.  The Vice President had been meeting with senior Iraqi officials, including President Jalal Talabani.  Biden has been trying to get Iraqi officials to over come a 4 month post-election stalemate.

The Kaufman team and the Vice President had not planned the meeting.  Kaufman, Casey, and New Hampshire’s Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).  Kaufman also urged the Iraqi government “to work quickly to form a government”.  The senator and his team also met with soldiers from the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team at Camp Prosperity in Baghdad.

All three are also traveling to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Israel, and the West Bank to evaluate security, military in the region.  It is the fourth visit to Iraq and Kuwait for Kaufman.  It is the third time he has been in Israel and the West Bank since January 2009.

Kaufman, Casey and Shaheen are members of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees.   Their trip extends into this weekend.