Bradley Sends First "E-Update" From Iraq

BRADLEY SENDS FIRST "E-UPDATE" FROM IRAQ
Saturday, April 9, 2005

(Washington, D.C.) - While First District Congressman Jeb Bradley is traveling throughout Iraq, Jordan and Germany with a Congressional Delegation surveying Iraqi reconstruction efforts, he will provide e-mail updates describing his travels. The following is the first update:

Day 1

Today, the six members of the Congressional Delegation, led by Congressman Tom Osborne (R-NE), met with U.S. Embassy staff in Jordan, including Mr. David Hale, the chargé d'affaires, who stressed Jordan's partnership with the United States in fighting the war on terrorism.

Mr. Hale told us that Jordan has provided important logistical support to allied troops for the effort in Iraq. Jordan is the host country of one of the two main training facilities for Iraqi police. This facility has trained 15,000 of the current 55,000 trained Iraqi police officers. Iraqi security forces are critical to the process of restoring order and enabling American and allied troops to assume more subsidiary roles.

Mr. Hale also told us that King Abdullah is slowly pushing the country toward democracy. A strong democracy in the region like Jordan will further help efforts to thwart terrorism and promote democracy throughout the Middle East.

The Delegation also spoke with Mr. William Todd, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, State Department, about the opium situation in Afghanistan. He indicated that growing poppies in Afghanistan could be netting terror organizations $2 to 4 billion. There is funding included in the Supplemental bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in March to help combat this situation.

Day 2

The Delegation flew early this morning from Amman, Jordan to an air base west of Baghdad where we toured a field hospital and met with U.S. Marines stationed there including two New Hampshire Marines, Cpl. James of Errol and Col. Howard of Tuftonboro.

Leaving the airbase, we arrived at the Baghdad Airport and then boarded black hawk helicopters for the Green Zone, which is a relatively secure area of downtown Baghdad that houses government ministries and foreign interests. First, we met with Gen. David Petraeus, who described continued improvement in the training of Iraqi security forces. Over 150,000 police and army personnel have been trained and are fully operational. Although the Iraqi security forces still need a more rigid command-and-control structure and more units before they can fully take over counterinsurgency operations, they are growing more successful and confident in their abilities to provide security every day. For instance, today there was a peaceful demonstration in Baghdad where the Iraqi security forces handled all of the security, with multinational troops only providing backup support. If the trends continue, within a year, the Iraqi security forces will assume the predominant security role in the country.

We later met with Gen. George Casey, Commanding General of the Multinational Force, and Lt. Gen. John Vines, Commanding General of the Multinational Corps. In the various briefings with Gen. Petraeus, Gen. Casey and Lt. Gen. Vines, I had the strong sense that they firmly believe that the multinational force and the Iraqi people have taken significant positive steps toward democracy. They also believe that significant obstacles remain but that the January 30th elections marked a turning point for the Iraqi people, who are experiencing a huge change from a brutal dictatorship to democracy.

After a briefing by each general, we had dinner with troops from our respective states. I had the opportunity to meet with several soldiers from New Hampshire: Jesse Gilman of Center Barnstead, Jonathan Carpenter of Manchester, and Geoffrey Stanford and Jason Brown of Enfield. All of the troops I spoke with had excellent morale. Some of the soldiers told me that they were on their second tour of duty and said that living conditions had improved. They also mentioned that many of the problems involving insufficient and inadequate equipment and resources, such as the lack of body armor and armored vehicles, had largely been resolved. All of the soldiers wanted to express that while they are doing a difficult and dangerous job, they are experiencing firsthand the progress being made in creating a democracy free from terrorism in Iraq. They also expressed that although much work remains to be done, they are proud of what has been accomplished thus far and were appreciative of the support and encouragement they receive from home.

The most exciting part of the day was meeting with Dr. Ibrahim Jaafari, the newly elected Prime Minister of Iraq. We were the first Congressional Delegation to meet with him since he officially became the Prime Minister. He appeared excited, strong and determined, though aware of the obstacles Iraq faced. He recognized that change takes time and patience. When I asked him what message he would like to give to the American people, he spoke of his love and deep respect for America, a country willing to make great sacrifices to achieve democracy in Iraq.

While significant progress has been made, there are also many obstacles that lie ahead. The final constitution, scheduled for completion by August 15th, will likely be delayed by several months. One of the largest problems lies in the numerous religious and tribal differences. It appears that the Sunnis believe they miscalculated in boycotting the January 30th elections. Including Sunnis in drafting the constitution is critical since they are largely the force behind the insurrection. Various Shiite factions also have to work together. Mr. Iyad Allawi, the transitional leader, has not been brought into the government as of yet, which could also be a source of friction. There is also some fear that Iran may be pushing religious extremism through the Iraqi Shiites, some of whom want to make up for domination by the Sunnis during Saddam's rule. Lastly, Kurdish desires for greater territorial independence and control of oil revenue need to be accounted for in a federal Iraq. The city of Kirkuk could be a flash point as Saddam forced Kurds out of that city many years ago. It is important that Mr. Allawi and Dr. Jaafari work together to resolve these differences.

http://www.house.gov/bradley/20050409_main.html