U.S. Senator Barack Obama listens as U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus provides a situation update on Iraq to a congressional delegation in Baghdad, July 21, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

The Illinois senator has promised to pull out the U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months after taking office, and shift more troops to Afghanistan which is the centerpiece of his war on terrorism.

Obama is expected to tour Israel and the Palestinian territory of the West Bank afterwards followed by a whirlwind across Europe with scheduled stops in Berlin, Paris and London.

(Xinhua News Agency July 23, 2008)