Secretary of State John Kerry is headed home Wednesday, following a busy week of mostly clandestine travels that saw him issuing blunt warnings to Iraqi leaders, trying to bridge disputes with Afghanistan’s president, dining with Pakistani military chiefs and heading a soccer ball.
The Associated Press reported his travels and meetings were kept in secret for security reasons. It was his first appearance into overseas areas of conflict in his newly minted secretary of state role.
In Iraq, Mr. Kerry demanded that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki put a halt to shipments of weapons from Iran through Iraq.
In Afghanistan, he smoothed relations with President Hamid Karzai — amid a Taliban suicide bombing that left five police officers in Jalalabad dead. He ate dinner with Pakistan’s army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Jordan.
And on Wednesday, he headed home to Washington from Paris.
He claimed success with his talks with Mr. Karzai.
“We’re on the same page,” Mr. Kerry said, the AP reported. “I don’t think there is any disagreement between us.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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