 Rice's visit came as Iraq's defense minister told "The New York Times" he envisioned US security help until 2018 or later.On April 20, 2008, Rice made yet another unannounced trip to Baghdad, this time to promote what she called the "coalescing center" of Iraqi politics around Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.Fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood continued during Rice's visit, and the Green Zone endured three rocket attacks; visibility was so poor due to dust storms Rice had to take a ground convoy into the city rather than flying.