BAGHDAD (Reuters) – U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama traveled to Anbar province on Tuesday to meet Sunni Arab tribal leaders whose decision to fight al Qaeda helped change the course of the conflict in Iraq.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and Iraq were unlikely to meet a July 31 deadline for completing a long-term security pact, but intensive negotiations were under way on an agreement that will help dictate the role of U.S. forces after year-end, the White House said on Monday.

BUFFALO, New York (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate John McCain appeared to leave a door open on Monday to a large-scale drawdown of U.S. troops from Iraq in the next two years.