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US Congressional Delegation Visits
Kurdistan-Iraq
17.7.2006 |
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Erbil,
Kurdistan-Iraq, July 16, -- New attacks, including
one on a hospital, have killed at least 15 people
across Iraq. Meanwhile, a U.S. Congressional
delegation made a quick trip to Iraq, visiting
troops and meeting with government officials in
Baghdad and in the northern Kurdistan region.
Five U.S. Congressmen wrapped up a two-day visit to
Iraq. The legislators visited Baghdad Saturday,
where they met with senior Iraqi officials and
visited with U.S. troops.
Their tour continued Sunday in the Kurdistan region
of northern Iraq, where they met regional Prime
Minister Nechirvan Barzani and other top officials.
Republican Pete Hoekstra, from Michigan, told VOA
that U.S. troops will keep coming home in small
numbers over the coming months, but that they will
remain in Iraq, until the job is done. He said the
message the delegation heard on their trip was very
consistent:
"You are making significant progress here, but you
cannot leave now," said Pete Hoekstra. "You need to
provide the environment for the Iraqi people to be
successful and determine their future."
Hoekstra says he believes the new Iraqi government
is working hard to improve the security situation in
the country.
"I think there is a commitment by the Iraqi
government to get this violence under control," he
said. "They know that they need to do that.
They have to improve the security situation, if they
are going to be successful on the economic and
political fronts."
The congressional delegation is only the second one
to visit the Kurdistan region. Republican
Congressman Christopher Shays of Connecticut says,
some parts of Iraq have made more progress than
others.
"Being in the Kurdish area of Iraq, we see a lot
more progress, because, frankly, they have had 12
years, even under Saddam, where they were separate
from his control, and able to progress and move
forward," said Christopher Shays. "But the Kurds are
an integral part, an integral part, of getting the
job done here."
The Congressional delegation departed for
Washington, where Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
is scheduled to meet with President Bush on July 25.
Voanews com
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