Rep. Boozman Comments on Visiting Troops and Officials in Iraq, Eastern Africa and Turkey
Visiting with Troops in Fallujah
Washington, Apr 5 - Representative John Boozman (R-AR) returned this weekend from a trip to Iraq, Eastern Africa and Turkey, which included visits with troops from Arkansas stationed in Iraq and Turkey. Boozman, a member of the House International Relations Committee, said the goal of the trip was to see the troops and to meet with officials in Eastern Africa about issues including foreign aid, the HIV crisis in the region, and human rights abuses.
As always, the highlight of the trip is meeting with the brave Arkansans stationed abroad, especially those in Iraq, said Boozman. I was very pleased to see the progress that has been made in Iraq and told them that everyone back home is proud of them and are praying for them.
While in Iraq, Boozman was briefed by civic and military officials on the reconstruction. He toured Fallujah, which was once a flash-point for the insurgency as well as met with troops in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown.
After visiting Iraq, Boozman, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) went to Africa and visited with officials in Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania. Meles Zenawi, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia; Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Tanzania and Philemon Saungi, the Defense Minister of Tanzania were among the officials that met with Boozman. They discussed military and monetary assistance to the region, President Bush's African HIV Initiative and human rights abuses in Africa.
Boozman pushed human rights to the forefront of the discussion when the delegation met with African Union Chairperson H.E. Alpha Oumar Konare in Ethiopia. He focused his questions for the Chairperson on the U.N. peacekeepers sexual abuse scandal in the Congo.
I really hoped that I got through how serious and disturbing I believe this scandal is, said Boozman. It is unfortunate that it receives such little attention, but I wanted to let them know that we do care and want to find away to end the abuses in the Congo.
While in Uganda, the delegation toured World Vision child soldier rehabilitation center, a facility that works with children who were abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and tries to reintegrate them into society.
Hearing the stories from the kids at World Vision was one of the most heart-wrenching experiences you could have. Some of the boys were as young as eight when they were kidnapped and forced to fight in this terrorist army. There are a number of girls there who are child-mothers because they were raped by LRA soldiers. It really just breaks your heart to see, said Boozman.
The trip concluded with a visit to the U.S. Air Force Base in Incirlik, Turkey, where Boozman toured the facility and had breakfast with airmen and women from Arkansas.
This was a very ambitious trip, said Boozman. We met with a number of African officials and discussed our countries' shared concerns, while visiting a number of troops stationed abroad to thank them and ensure that they are getting everything they need form back home.
Boozman serves on the International Relations Subcommittee for Africa and Human Rights and the Subcommittee for Middle East and Central Asia. This was Boozman's first trip to any nations that the Subcommittee on Africa has jurisdiction over, but marks his third trip to visit troops in Iraq. He previously traveled there in January and August 2004.
BRAKE IN TRANSCRIPT
http://www.boozman.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=7482