House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a surprise visit to Baghdad this weekend, saying the United States and Iraq should encourage intelligence sharing as the U.S. military mission winds down, according to wire service reports from Baghdad.

Pelosi, D-Calif., travelled to Iraq on the eve of a scheduled House of Representatives debate on emergency funding of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The $96.7 billion bill, which also contains some funding to deal with domestic flu preparations, is expeceted win House passage later this week.

While little resistance to the bill is expected, some House progressives want timelines for the Afghanistan mission. President Barack Obama has said the U.S. combat mission in Iraq will end August 31, 2010, with other troops likely to leave by the end of 2011.

Pelosi has embraced Iraq timelines in the past, but now is counseling patience and trust in Obama. 

According to Associated Press, Pelosi Sunday stressed the intelligence mission. "If we are going to have a diminished physical military presence, we are have to have a strong intelligence presence," Pelosi said without elaborating.