Halfway through a congressional fact finding mission in Iraq, Congressman Bill Shuster reports that morale is high among the American troops in Iraq and the mission is getting accomplished.
In an interview from Iraq with The Daily Herald, Shuster has been impressed on the trip.
“This trip has been extremely fascinating,” said Shuster. “These soldiers are in a very dangerous situation and they are making progress.”
The mission to bring peace and help start a new Iraqi government is being disrupted by outsiders.
“Our troops have a very tough mission,” said Shuster. “During the day they are performing humanitarian missions. They are out cleaning up neighborhoods, restoring power and providing clean drinking water. These basic needs are essential to any success of this mission. At night, they are going door to door working to capture the terrorists who are coming in from Syria and Iran, the remnants of Saddam’s regime and the hardened criminals that Hussein released prior to the arrival of American forces. The mission is tough, but our troops are performing at a very high level.”
Earlier this week, the amount of deaths of American servicemen since the end of major combat passed the amount of deaths during the war efforts.
“We have to realize that as long as Americans are in Iraq, there will be casualties,” said Shuster. “There are many elements whose sole purpose is to kill Americans. There are terrorists coming over the border from Syria and Iran. Those borders are long and very tough to secure. They feel if they kill Americans, they can help end the resolve of the American people. It is still dangerous here and will continue to be.”
Shuster has traveled throughout the country and visited many of the troops and senior staff.
“I have visited troops in four of the five divisions,” said Shuster. “I was talking to a scout with the 4th Infantry Division who is from Pennsylvania, and he is out every night chasing the bad guys. One of the things that hasn’t been widely reported in the press is that Saddam left 100,000 hardened criminals out of prison just before the arrival of the American troops. These criminals are causing havoc in the country and along with the Baath party members who are still loyal to Saddam and terorists coming in from other countries, the mission is very tough.”
Shuster also has met with some of the new Iraqi leaders on his fact finding mission.
“I think the Iraqi’s are embracing freedom,” said the congressman. “We have helped them elect provincial governing councils in every province in the country. I met with the vice governor in one of the northern provinces yesterday. I also met with the vice governor of Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq. We are helping them get schools cleaned up and ready to go, helping them build a security force. We have been here a little less than six months. Rome wasn’t built in a day. The Iraqi people have suffered through 30 years of oppression under Saddam’s rule and it will take time to help them get back on their feet.”
The congressman sees potential in Iraq.
“This country has tremendous potential,” said Shuster. “Not only do they have the large amount of oil supply that will help them economically recover, but they have tremendous water resources that makes the potential for the Iraqi people to grow their own food and have a good agricultural economy. Iraq is the cradle of civilization. Once the security force gets in place and Iraq starts leading a peaceful existance, there is the opportunity for the tourism industry.”
One thing that the congressman saw in his trip through Iraq thus far was in Babylon where one of the largest mass graves was uncovered.
Shuster believes that the Pentagon was as prepared as they could be for the mission following the ground war.
“I think we had a good idea of what we were getting into,” said Shuster. “We were as prepared as we possibly could be. Iraq has been a very closed society for many years. We know what we need to do. We almost have the electricity at pre-war levels, which isn’t enough to support the country. We have to keep our resolve and not let the terrorists win.”
The congressman has a message for the people of the Ninth District.
“Our troops are doing magnificent,” said Shuster. “They are making progress everyday.”
In his journey’s throughout Iraq on Wednesday, Shuster visited Tikrit and Baghdad.
“It is invigorating to see how professional our soldiers are,” said Shuster. “We visited Tikrit, Saddam’s hometown, today and we didn’t venture far from the compound which was one of Saddam’s palaces. In Baghdad, we wore kevlar vests and were surrounded by heavily armored American soldiers. It was inspirational to be with the young men and women in Iraq.”
There are reports that American troops may have to serve back to back hardship tours because of the many combat deployments the Pentagon faces.
“I think we need to get other nations in the world to help with this mission,” said Shuster. “The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force is preparing to head home and they are being replaced by forces provided by Poland. If we get other nations to participate, it will not be such a hardship on our military. The president and the state department are working hard to get others to participate.”
Shuster will return home from his fact finding mission to Iraq this weekend.
