LESSONS LEARNED DURING MY TOUR OF IRAQ
In the city of Kirkuk, I ate lunch with five soldiers from Maine – Specialist Gregory Norster of Phillips, Chief Warrant Officer Second Class Brian Mucci of Shapleigh, Specialist Wayne Goodrich from Oakland, Specialist Erin Maynard from Washburn, and Senior Airman Bill Spreng from Ellsworth. In Bagdad, I was able to deliver prayer cloths made by school children from All Saints School to Adam Belhumeur, who comes from my hometown of Caribou. The contributions of Mainers to the efforts to restore order and bring freedom to the people of Iraq made me very proud.
The value of the service and sacrifice of American troops was strikingly clear during my visit. Iraq is an ancient place, but Saddam Hussein managed to inflict some of the worst modern brutality during his reign of terror. I visited a mass grave at Al Hillah, where the bodies 10,000 to 15,000 Iraqi citizens were buried. Saddam Hussein ordered their deaths: some were shot; others were buried alive.
When American troops ended Saddam's cruel rule, the families of thousands of these victims rushed to the grave site to begin the search for their loved ones' remains. More than 3,000 bodies were claimed and later reburied in sacred land. Today, the site contains rows and rows of plastic bags containing clothing and other identification placed on top of mounds where the remaining bodies have been reburied until other families come to claim them. It was a gruesome, chilling sight.
Guiding our group of Senators to the site on the evening of July 1 was Sandra Hodgkinson, a human rights officer from the Department of State. Sandra grew up in Lisbon Falls and graduated from Kents Hill High School in Readfield. She is assigned to Iraq to help the families claiming the remains from the mass graves that, along with torture chambers and children's prison cells, provide horrific evidence of Saddam's cruel reign of terror.
The breathtaking brutality of Saddam's dictatorship is reflected in the climate of fear that still grips much of Iraq. In the city of Basra we met with an Iraqi man who is running the oil refinery in the sector of the country now controlled by British troops. He cheerfully answered every question posed by our group -- until we mentioned Saddam. The change in his demeanor was palpable: he become very nervous and refused to answer any question involving Saddam.
Prior to my journey to Iraq, I had not understood the fear that uncertainty about Saddam's whereabouts has created among so many Iraqi citizens, many of whom are convinced that Americans will go home too soon and that Saddam will return to seize power. The fact that Saddam as not yet been captured has emboldened the remnants of his Baathist party to attack our troops and impeded progress in everything from restoring electricity to holding local elections. Apprehending Saddam and his sons must remain a high priority for the Coalition Forces. As one Army general told me: "Capturing Saddam would change everything."
While in Iraq, I was honored to meet with hundreds of American and British troops, men and women who are doing an extraordinary job. I have unlimited admiration for their courage and commitment: by night, many of the troops are conducting raids on pockets of resistance; by day, they are renovating schools and helping Iraqis take the tentative steps toward self-government and democracy. Despite the continuing danger, the harsh living conditions, and the oppressive heat (it was a scorching 122 degrees on the day I was in Basra), morale among the soldiers and marines we met was high. Amy Sergeant Michael Levesque of Winslow put it best when he told me, "I have helped to give the Iraqi people a precious gift: their freedom." In Kirkuk, where I met Michael, morale was particularly high because the Iraqis there are so grateful. Everywhere we went in this city south of the Kurdish section, local citizens waved and called out "thank you, America!"
By contrast, conditions are much more hostile in and around Baghdad where our troops face near daily ambushes and sniper attacks. Although the major combat operations have ceased, the fighting goes on for many of our troops who must contend with the threat of rocket-propelled grenades and snipers.
What will reduce the dangers for our troops? My discussions with military and intelligence officials, with America's civilian leader, Ambassador Paul Bremer, and with Iraqi citizens have convinced me that three actions would help considerably: First, the capture of Saddam and his sons would help reassure the Iraqi people that his reign truly is over and that he will never come back to terrorize them. I cannot emphasize too strongly how important this is and my hope that the coalition forces will soon be successful in apprehending him.
Second, we must put an "Iraqi face" on the government. In the relatively peaceful and pro-American city of Kirkuk, local elections have been held, and reflecting the ethnic diversity of the region, a Kurd has been elected mayor; a Turkamen assistant mayor, and an Arab as the second assistant major. The local citizens are excited about assuming the responsibilities of government and are working hand in hand with the American troops. (Headquarters for some of our troops is in the palatial house that once belonged to "Chemical Ali,"a key member of Saddam's inner circle.) There has been far less tension and violence in Kirkuk, and I think advancing local elections in other areas of the country would help bring stability and peace in those areas as well.
Third, we need to ask other countries to contribute troops to assist with peacekeeping and reconstruction. That would allow some of our troops, who are weary, to return home sooner. Moreover, troops from countries other than the United States and Britain are less likely to be a target for Baathist and other extremists.
There is some good news in this regard. By fall, 30,000 troops from Poland, Italy, and the Netherlands are expected to be deployed in Iraq, and the Administration is seeking troops from other countries as well. In my judgment the Administration needs to step up this effort by formally requesting assistance from NATO in order to work toward a truly international peacekeeping force.
As an Armed Services Committee member, I have visited with our troops in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Korea as well as Iraq. But nowhere have I found the challenges more difficult and the dangers more present than in Iraq. The next six months will determine whether we are able to win the peace as decisively as we won the war. I believe that with help from the world community, we can ensure that the future for the Iraqi people is characterized by freedom, peace, and democracy.
