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Washington, D.C., August 23rd -- Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat and senior member on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, departed this evening on a congressional delegation trip (CODEL) to Iraq. He was joined by Democrat Rep. Ellen Tauscher of California and Republican Jon Porter of Nevada.
The purpose of the trip is to gain firsthand knowledge as to how the surge is affecting the situation in Iraq -- ahead of the September release of the White House’s report on the surge. The CODEL will be meeting with soldiers in the field, senior U.S. military and diplomatic officials, Iraqi parliamentarians, and agency heads.
“We keep hearing from the White House that the surge is working, but every indication is that the political situation has failed to improve,” said Moran. “How can the surge be deemed successful if the Iraqi Parliament can’t bring about a political reconciliation between Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds? Without such reconciliation, our troops are not laying the groundwork for a lasting peace. Rather we are sacrificing American lives in order to delay an even bloodier civil war.”
This will be Rep. Moran’s third trip to Iraq since the war began in 2002. The White House is scheduled to release their report on the surge on September 11th.
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