March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Vice President Dick Cheney underlined the U.S.'s ``unwavering commitment'' to building democracy in Iraq during a visit to Baghdad before a progress report on the war set for delivery to Congress next month.

Cheney, whose unannounced trip today came just before the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion, met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Army General David Petraeus, Ambassador Ryan Crocker and other leaders. He hailed progress in rebuilding the country, telling a news conference, ``We've come a long way in those five years and it's been well worth the effort.''

Petraeus and Crocker are scheduled to brief Congress on progress in Iraq since President George W. Bush ordered the deployment of 30,000 extra U.S. soldiers a year ago.

Cheney flew by helicopter from Baghdad International Airport to the fortified Green Zone for talks, and later traveled about a mile outside that secured area to what is known as the Red Zone for more meetings. He told reporters it was ``especially significant'' that he was in Iraq five years after the March 20, 2003, invasion that toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and ended ``Saddam's tyranny.''

In his discussions, Cheney said he was given evidence of ``dramatic improvements in the security situation.'' Yet he said there is no reason to presume at this point that there will be a significant drawdown in U.S. troops because of that progress.

Explosions

Shortly after the vice president's arrival, two explosions rocked Baghdad, Agence France-Presse said. A U.S. military officer confirmed one of the explosions. One was caused by a mortar attack on the Green Zone, AFP said. Details of the second blast weren't available.

Iraq is the first stop for Cheney on a 10-day trip to the Middle East for discussions with Arab allies about oil production and prices, Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

The vice president's arrival in Iraq follows by a day that of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, a senator from Arizona, whose support for the troop surge and a continued U.S. presence in Iraq is a central element of his campaign. McCain is in the region as part of a congressional delegation.

Cheney said today that Iraqi leaders raised questions about the U.S. presidential race, though his goal during his talks in Iraq was not to ``sell a particular partisan view.''

Cheney, 67, was last in Iraq in May last year. At the time, he put pressure on Iraqi leaders to fulfill some of the political goals that were supposed to be achieved with the help of the improved security brought by more U.S. soldiers and Marines. He will probably keep pressing the Iraqis while also offering encouragement, according to officials who study the region.

Oil Law

``He's got enormous credibility there, and is able to say to them in words of one syllable that they need to get their act together,'' John Bolton, the former UN ambassador, said.

Cheney plans to travel throughout the country. Among the topics on his agenda are pushing Iraqi leaders to pass an oil law that would help encourage international energy companies to invest in production, Cheney said. The vice president will spend the night at a military base in Iraq and have breakfast with troops in the morning.

The U.S. is in the process of pulling five of 20 combat brigades out of Iraq, totaling about 20,000 soldiers. Petraeus has said he wants to take time to assess security after the withdrawal ends in mid-July.

At least 3,978 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq and another 29,395 have been wounded, according to Department of Defense figures.

Troop Levels

A majority of the U.S. public, 53 percent, said a victory in Iraq isn't possible, according to a Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll conducted March 7-10. Fifty-two percent said most troops should be withdrawn by 2009.

The administration has said it expects to further reduce troop levels in Iraq before the end of Bush's presidency in January. Petraeus will probably recommend a pause in withdrawals of troops over the next several months. In an interview with the Washington Post published March 14, he said Iraq's political leaders are failing to take advantage of the reduction in violence there to resolve their differences.

Cheney's itinerary will take him to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel. High on the agenda will be a discussion of oil prices with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. High crude oil prices are ``damaging'' the markets of Saudi Arabia's biggest customers and encouraging the development of ``alternative forms of energy,'' Bush said in a Public Broadcasting System interview last week when asked about Cheney's trip.

Iran

Crude oil for April delivery fell $6.12, or 5.6 percent, to $104.09 a barrel at 1:34 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange on signs that the economy is in recession.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last week ignored calls to increase output to lower prices.

On Iran, the resignation last week of Admiral William Fallon as U.S. commander in the region fed speculation among Arab nations that U.S. policy toward Iran is turning more confrontational. Fallon once referred to tough White House rhetoric on Iran as ``not helpful and not useful.''

David Makovsky, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, expects that Cheney ``will seek to at least try to persuade jittery Arab allies, who are wary of Iran, that continuity rather than a sharp departure is the U.S. watchword.''

As Cheney was headed for the region, supporters of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nuclear policy won parliamentary elections, strengthening his position amid pressure from the U.S. and the United Nations to halt a program of uranium enrichment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Holly Rosenkrantz in Baghdad at hrosenkrantz@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 17, 2008 13:37 EDT