Posted on 06/03/2005 3:47:29 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Rebuilding is 'truly remarkable'
Following his two-day trip to Iraq, Rep. Mark Green said he saw signs of improvement in the war-torn and terrorist-plagued country.
"From Baghdad to Fallujah, from our own troops to Iraq's new security forces, signs of progress abound," said Green, R-Green Bay, who has declared his candidacy for the 2006 Republican nomination for Wisconsin governor.
"Eighteen months ago I had the honor of being one of the first members of Congress to visit Iraq after its liberation," Green said at a press conference in Green Bay. "It was clear then just how monumental the rebuilding task would be. But to have accomplished so much so quickly is truly remarkable, and a testament to the bravery and commitment of our troops."
The eight-member bipartisan delegation met with American troops over the Memorial Day weekend.
As for setting a date for when the U.S. troops are pulled out, Green said you're telling the enemy to "just hold out to such and such a date." At Camp Victory, Green said he had a quiet moment and thought about the fallen soldiers, two of whom were from Wisconsin in the last week.
"I've been to a number of (military) funerals. It's an extraordinarily high price we've paid," he said. "They believe in their mission and they believe it is worth what they're doing and I'm just humbled by that."
Other signs of progress were evident to Green in the city of Fallujah, which was not considered safe when he visited 18 months ago.
Green also traveled to the base in Balad and to Baghdad, where he met with Iraq's prime minister, speaker of the parliament, minister of defense and chairman of constitutional drafting committee.
Green said he was encouraged by the parliament's success in increasing the size of the community to bring in more Sunnis - many of who boycotted the election - into the process. Yet no information was provided about the targeted Christian minority, whose ballots were not delivered to voting sites in many cities.
"They're writing the constitution obviously in a very brief period of time. We took a lot longer as Americans," Green said.
"I'm impressed with the seriousness of purpose...The tyranny situation remains unsettled in many places and writing a constitution against that backdrop is not an easy process."
I wonder if he ever got outside the green zone...?
He He... No pun intended.
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