May 19, 2006

A Day in Iraq

By Congressman Joe Pitts

Our wake up call came at 4 a.m.

I got up and assembled with my colleagues on the tarmac to receive the helmet and flack jacket that I would be asked to wear during our travel that day.  Once assembled, we boarded the awaiting U.S. Air Force C-130, strapped in, and took off. 

My first trip to Iraq was officially underway.

Our plane headed first to northern Iraq and the city of Mosul, in Iraq’s Nineveh province.  After landing at Mosul Air Field, our delegation, comprised of myself and four other Members of Congress, made our way to an operations center to receive a briefing from Brigadier General Rife of the 101^st Airborne Division.

General Rife outlined for our delegation the tremendous turnaround that has taken place in Mosul in recent months.  A year ago, that city was greatly unsettled by violence and chaos.  Today, order has been restored and local Iraqis are largely able to go about their normal lives.

General Rife was quick to point out that although the brave U.S. soldiers he commands played an important role, this shift from violence to order is also the success story of a strong and determined Iraqi police force.

A later meeting in Mosul with the Nineveh Province’s police chief confirmed his assertion.  Chief Al Hamdani struck me as a tough character, and his words were simple and to the point.  “We are determined to show the insurgents that they are not more powerful than we are,” he said.

Before leaving Mosul, we had the great privilege of heading to the mess hall to share lunch with the troops of the 101^st Airborne Division.  Though our trip itinerary was full of high-level meetings with officials, commanders and foreign leaders, I can honestly say that my time spent with these brave soldiers was the most meaningful to me.

One walks away from time spent with our troops refreshed, encouraged, and with a renewed confidence in the tremendous capability of our fighting forces. 

After lunch, we boarded our C-130 once again for the trip south to the nerve center of Operation Iraqi Freedom: Baghdad.

Standard security precautions required our Air Force pilots to put our plane in a steep spiraling decent as we approached the airfield.  Once on the ground, we got off the C-130 and immediately onto awaiting Blackhawk helicopters for the rooftop level flight into the Green Zone.

It was here that my colleagues and I had the distinct honor of being the first Congressional delegation to meet with the new Iraqi Prime Minister designate Nouri Al-Maliki.

Having just met with the men and women of the 101^st Airborne Division who have sacrificed so much to help liberate 26 million Iraqis, I was touched to hear Prime Minister Al-Maliki’s greeting.  Upon entering the room, he said to our group, “Welcome to a free and democratic Iraq.”

Our meeting was encouraging.  Members of our delegation stressed the importance of moving quickly to establish a unity government in Iraq, and Prime Minister Al-Maliki said emphatically that he shared this priority.

He thanked America for the sacrifice it has made for the sake of Iraq and told us of the hope that had been restored to his people.  “For the first time we have a written constitution, a democratically elected parliament, and the citizens feel like they are connected with their government, free from a dictatorship filled with killing of innocent people and cutting off of hands,” he said.

Before leaving the Green Zone and catching a flight out of the country, our delegation had the opportunity to meet with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad as well as General George Casey, Commander of the Multi-National Force in Iraq.  The clock read midnight by the time we finally reached the place where we would sleep for the night.

There is no doubt that challenges remain in Iraq.  Ambassador Khalilzad was candid about the ongoing efforts to secure the country, establish a freedom-based economy, root out corruption, and quell sectarianism.

But every official we met with – from the Prime Minister down to the police chief of the Nineveh Province – stressed one thing:  the importance of finishing the mission.

“Don’t abandon us,” they all said.

We must renew our resolve in Iraq.  Having been on the ground to witness firsthand the capability of the U.S. and Iraqi troops, and the steely determination of the newly elected Iraqi leaders, I’m convinced that finishing the mission there is a goal that is both worthwhile and achievable.

###