Schumer Visits Troops in Iraq on New Year’s Eve

NY Times ^ | December 31, 2007 | CARL HULSE

[neverdem]

Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, spent New Year’s Eve in Baghdad as he made his first visit to the war zone to meet with troops from his home state as well as military commanders.

Mr. Schumer, who noted he was on only his second government-paid overseas trips during 27 years in Congress, said the trip enabled him to assess conditions in Iraq for himself as well as reassure members of the military that Americans were thinking about them over the holidays.

“The holidays can be a particularly lonely time, particularly for the older soldiers who are away from their husbands and wives and children,” Mr. Schumer said in a Monday afternoon conference call with reporters. “I wanted to show them we cared, that they had had not been forgotten.”

Mr. Schumer said he was impressed by the dedication and the morale of the members of the military whom he met. “It was a moving experience, it really was,” he said.

Typically confident in expressing his opinions, the senator said he did not want to discuss in detail his view of conditions in Iraq or the military situation until he had completed his trip and received his full schedule of briefings.

“I don’t want to get into policy issues here,” he said as midnight approached in Baghdad. “I want to sit and think it through before I say anything that might be hasty in any way.”

Mr. Schumer is the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate, where the war has been a major source of partisan division, and a judgment from him could influence the war debate when Congress returns in a few weeks.

It is unusual for a lawmaker of Mr. Schumer’s seniority to take so few official overseas trips. He said he previously traveled to China...

[musicman]

Thanks for your reply to my post.

I watch the Military Channel quite frequently. Lately there are "ads" running with Dems on them (Ed Rendell the Gov of Pennsylvania for example), praising our brave men and women serving overseas, and urging those who "fell like Ed does" to contact a website to "show your support for our military "like Ed does( or whoever the dem "spokesperson" on the "Dems praising the troops" commercial happens to be).

IMHO, it's more than disgusting every time I have to sit through one, knowing what their TRUE feelings are.

[musicman]

"I remember when John Kerry was there.......no one would go near him." This pic was posted on FR at the time of JF'nK's last visit.

When some FReeper's were commenting on the pic about no one was seated on either side next to JF'nK, a FReeper said the troops in the dining hall were being "extremely hospitable" by showing respect for him by giving him lots of "sword room".

When the term "sword room" was finally explained to me, I had to agree that HAD to be the reason nobody was seated next to him ( and it must have been a LONG sword because no body could sit directly across from him either), although I was told the term is USUALLY used for someone in full dress blues, who also is having to wear their sword amongst a bunch of people while trying maneuver about, or maybe trying to have a meal.

From the pic, it looks to me like kerry was only in his dress blues from the waist down, and his sword isn't visible in the photo either, but from the position of the people dining with him, he must have been wearing it because the other diners are TOTALLY complying with what IMHO, appears to be PERFECT "sword room" etiquette, and with kerry being a highly decorated Viet Nam War hero, they were probably all disappointed when they FINALLY got to meet him, he had the dang sword on, and that was as close as they could get to him.

[OneLoyalAmerican]

Greetings Bringbackthedraft:

Only a small area shown, can’t tell who is there other than what is framed.

No doubt, framed to present Chuck the Schmuck in a favorable image. Unfortunately, the Captain didn't have a SNCO to keep her out of harm's way.

Cheers,
OLA