Iraq War Is Going Well, Foxx Says After Visit

Iraq war going well, Foxx says after visit
Tuesday August 01, 2006

Soldiers seem happy with their equipment and their mission, she says
By Mary M. Shaffrey
JOURNAL WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - The war in Iraq is going well, Iraqi government officials are determined to have a united government, and American soldiers are satisfied with their equipment and their mission, said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th, who visited Iraq yesterday and Sunday.

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"I wish every American could come over here and visit and see the work our troops are doing," Foxx said in a telephone interview from Jordan.

Foxx and other members of the congressional delegation stayed with troops overnight in a military compound in Baghdad that is one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces and had lunch together yesterday.

During her two-day trip, Foxx's first to the region, she and others met with top Iraqi officials, including the minister of interior and the chief of staff to the minister of defense.

There have been recent calls for Jawad al-Bolani, the minister of interior, to resign because of the lack of security in Iraq. Yesterday, after Foxx's visit, there were several kidnappings in Baghdad, the latest in a string of sectarian violence that has escalated in recent months.

Foxx said she did not see any evidence of this but said that the government officials, particularly al-Bolani, are committed to making sure "the terrorists don't create a civil war."

"He is living with his family in the Red Zone," she said. "He talked about the need for balance in government and his long-term goals for everyone in Iraq to think of themselves as Iraqi, and not as various sects."

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Most Republicans, including Foxx, reject this and say that troops will leave when the time is right.

"The president has outlined his plan well. We'll get out of Iraq as soon as we can," she said.

Ideally, she said, military leaders and government officials told her they hope to have Baghdad "secure" and a "place where people can feel safe" by the end of the year.

There have been reports that American military personnel do not have adequate supplies or that their morale is low. Foxx said that her meetings with soldiers did not support this. She said that at one point she asked the soldiers, while their supervising officers were not within earshot, in hopes to get the most honest answer, and they told her they were fine.

"There was no sense of any problems," she said, "There was no indication of unhappiness."

• Mary M. Shaffrey can be reached in Washington at 202-662-7672 or at mshaffrey@wsjournal.com.

This story can be found at: http://www.journalnow.com

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