Kerry also plans to speak by phone with Massoud Barzani, the head of the Kurdish Regional Government based in Irbil to encourage the Kurds not go ahead with unilateral actions - especially involving oil, like a pipeline deal with Turkey.

NPR: Kerry In Iraq To Press On Iran Flights To Syria

It was in 1971 that Kerry, then 27, appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to speak out against U.S. policy in Vietnam.

CNN: Specials