i and other senior washington-based officials including the deputy national security adviser dennis mcdonagh, the deputy secretary of state, the deputy energy secretary and others made multiple trips to iraq during this period. in virtually all of the meetings we have including when the prime minister was here in december to meet with the president we made clear to iraqi counterparts that continued u.s. support requires that they compromise across sectarian lines, respect the rule of law and uphold their constitution. we know from these efforts and from this engage thamt despite the troop drawdown, the demand for our engagement from iraq leaders of all political stripes remains undiminished. i witnessed this first-hand during the lengthy government formation process. the embassy team, senior officials from washington, shuttled among the parties for weeks, indeed months, the president and vice president were deeply engaged. and when the deal was finally sealed, one photograph captured that engagement. there were four people in the room when that deal was sealed. prime minister maliki, iraqi l