Obama poised to announce Mideast, European swing.

WASHINGTON–The word in European diplomatic circles here is that presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is poised to announce–as early as this weekend– that he will be adding stops in England, France and Germany when he heads to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Obama campaign said this week that details about the Iraq and Afghanistan trip would be released n the coming days. A year ago on the Fourth of July Obama ended the day in Des Moines, at an Iowa Cubs game.

The Obama team, experts at stagecraft, might see a plus of July 4 pictures of Obama with U.S. troops in a war zone. But July 4 is also the 10th birthday of his daughter, Malia.