President visits Chicago Monday

May 22, 2006 - President Bush is expected to discuss Iraq's new national unity government during a Monday visit to Chicago.

Bush will talk about how the new government represents an opportunity for Iraq to move forward because it has a four-year mandate, not just a temporary hold on power. He'll make his remarks at a gathering of the National Restaurant Association.
Iraq's 275-member parliament approved the new government today. U-S officials hope the new government will help clear the way for the withdrawal of American troops.

The new Shiite Muslim, Sunni Arab and Kurdish cabinet ministers took their oaths of office during a nationally televised session in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.

Afterward, Bush pledged continued support for Iraq as it -- quote -- "takes its place among the world's democracies and as an ally in the war on terror."

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)