Representative Keith Ellison returned from a trip to Iraq organized by SecDef Robert Gates, heres a smattering of the coverage.
Still A War Foe, Ellison Sees Some Progress In Trip To Iraq
“Rep. Keith Ellison headed home from a weekend trip to Iraq on Monday describing cooperation among Iraqi police, local communities, U.S. soldiers and Muslim imams, and a “general sense of calm.”
Ellison said his position against the war has not changed but he returned from Iraq with both praise and criticism for a complicated situation.”
Ellison is part of Iraq trip arranged by Defense Chief
Ellison, a first-term Minneapolis Democrat and a longtime critic of the war, is part of an all-freshman bipartisan congressional delegation traveling to the region at Gates’ invitation. Ellison plans to stop in Germany this morning and hopes to meet with wounded soldiers there….
Since Ellison’s election, his religion has been at the forefront of his political image in Washington. Ellison met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice several times about bolstering America’s image in the Muslim world. Rice recently requested another meeting, but she canceled because she was called to the White House.
Ellison returns from trip to Iraq
Ellison, D-Minn., said he met in Ramadi in Anbar province with the two sheiks, who oversee several hundred thousand congregants.
“They were very upset and concerned that al-Qaeda is misrepresenting Islam,” Ellison told reporters on a conference call Monday from Germany, on his way back to the U.S. “And they were talking to me about what I can possibly do to work with them to give a clearer, more accurate picture of what Islam is all about.”
Ellison said he would assist in any way he can. He is already helping a State Department outreach effort aimed at improving the image of the U.S. in the Muslim world.
And not related to his trip to Iraq — but none the less, showing the support Representative Ellison has given our Government, an article from the VOA about Keith meeting with female Muslim leaders from around the world.
“Ellison won his seat in Congress last year. And as a former community activist, he sought to inspire the women with a message. “That civic engagement is very important, that the voices from the communities are indispensable to democracy, that their voices are important, that they should help inspire and make a way for other people to get out there and say what they think should be the policy of the state. And that there is a lot to be offered in peace, justice, environmental policy, health care and certainly women’s issues are very important for all of us to be concerned about.”“
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Interesting how Ellison acknowledged, as the New York Times did yesterday, that things are improving in Iraq. I wonder how that gels with Rep. James Clyburn? Clyburn was asked by a Washington Post reporter how Democrats would respond if Gen. Petraeus says in September that the surge is working and we would be foolish to retreat from the policy. He responded, “Well, that would be a real big problem for us, no question about it.”
I’m kind of surprised that Robert Gates would take a terrorist (according to some posters on this site) along with him.
Chris: Just keep in mind, that even if your little dream comes true - which it very well might - and things are indeed “getting better” in Iraq, the folks who shoved this war down our throats are not suddenly vindicated. Furthermore, if things are on any kind of upswing in Iraq, it has absolutely nothing to do with President Bush, and everything to do with our soldiers and our Commanders on the ground; the very same people we sent into battle with inferior equipment, and inferior health coverage when they come back.
Let’s make sure and not lose our perspective on things if we find that Iraq might not be as much of a massive failure as we thought it would be. Lastly, I think you will find that most Democrats will embrace what the Commanders on the ground say about the progress being made or not made. If we can draw down in a way that harms the troops less, they will do it that way. However, I also think that you will not, under any circumstances, see the American people say that we should stay in Iraq another 5-10 years so we can “win the war”, even if the Democrats do.
The so-called “war” was already lost. What Ellison is most likely saying is that he is impressed with what our soldiers - the best in the world - are doing. We should all be impressed, no matter what.