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Congressman Donald Payne (Tenth District, New Jersey), a member of the House International Relations Committee, joined in leading a bipartisan delegation of six members of Congress to Jordan, Iraq, and Germany in September. The purpose of the trip was to express solidarity with the troops serving in Iraq and to assess the situation on the ground. Congressman Amo Houghton (R-NY), the co-leader of the delegation, and Congressman Payne have served over the past year as the two Congressional delegates to the United Nations.
The delegation also included Representatives Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), Wally Herger (R-CA), Phil English (R-PA), and Ron Kind (D-WI),
While in Iraq, the members met with General George Casey, 1st Commander of the Multinational Force in Iraq, made up of U.S., British, Iraqi, and other coalition forces. Among other stops, they visited the Surgical/Shock Trauma Platoon, met with Lt. General Petraeus and had lunch at the U.S. Chancery with State Department staff and a group of Iraqi business people and educators.
The delegation shared meals with troops from their districts both days they spent in Iraq. “We wanted to let them know that they are in our minds, our hearts, and our prayers,” Payne said.
Serious discussions were held with General Peter Chiarelli, commander of the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division, about the conditions in which many Iraqi citizens are living. “Trash is piled high in front yards where children play. Raw sewage is backed up into the streets. Electricity is on only 6 hours a day. People are trying to rebuild their lives, their homes, their communities. We need to ensure we listen to Iraqis about their priorities for reconstruction,” Payne said. General Chiarelli also spoke at length about the persisting problems posed by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s militia in the slum area of Baghdad, Sadr City.
“This trip was also an opportunity to see what was happening on the ground in terms of re-building Iraq as we prepared to hand sovereignty back over to the Iraqis. In my assessment, Iraq is far from being ready for elections,” Payne said. “It will be very difficult to put things in place before the scheduled elections of January of 2005.” Recent violence in Baghdad and penetration of the Green Zone have further called into question the possibility for elections in the near future.
After leaving Iraq, the delegation stopped in Ramstein, Germany, to visit with troops wounded in action and with the staff at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. The stories of bravery and of loss both heartened and saddened the members. In Germany, Payne said, “The young men and women again reminded us that regardless of what one’s politics are on Iraq, it is undeniable that our children are paying the price.”
Payne has announced that he will travel to Afghanistan and return to Iraq to visit with the troops during the Christmas holidays. |
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