Rehberg: 'Progress is being made' in war effort

Just after returning from his second trip to Iraq, Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., said Friday that "progress is being made" by coalition forces there, but American leaders have an obligation to acknowledge and learn from mistakes in the war effort.

Rehberg spent two days in Iraq this week with two Republican and three Democratic House representatives.

"We have to be willing to recognize what's going right and what's wrong, and admit what's going wrong," he said. "And once we do that, the American public will support it."

He cited the early problems with getting adequately armored vehicles and body armor to troops in Iraq as one of the first mistakes. That problem "has been fixed," he said.

Rehberg first went to Iraq two years ago, right at the time when U.S. troops captured former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Coalition forces and the Iraqi people have clearly made progress in improving the country's stability and infrastructure, he said.

Two years ago, he said, "coalition forces were running the show," but that responsibility has gradually been shifting to 212,000 Iraqi police officers and soldiers who have been trained by coalition forces.

Rehberg said 50 percent of Baghdad and 20 percent of the country are now controlled and policed by Iraqi forces.

A majority of Iraqi citizens want coalition forces to remain until the country is stabilized, militarily and politically, Rehberg said.

"We're trying to help them establish a democratic system, which they have to themselves, and they realize it's going to be difficult," he said. "The December elections are another milestone for them, with over 200 parties involved."

"They ask that we not immediately withdraw, that we stay as long as it takes for them to provide their own security," he said.

Rehberg said he met with several Iraqi political candidates that have the same types of flaws and virtues as elected officials in the United States. Some are regular, well-intended citizens who may or may not be effective in office, while others have questionable ties to the old Baathist government but a proven track record for getting things done.

Rehberg said 95 percent of the people who have carried out suicide bombings in Iraq "have been identified as foreigners coming into the country."

And "the Iraqi people are getting tired" of people coming into the country to take advantage of instability, he said.

Rehberg said he met with American troops, including two from Montana.

"I can tell that the morale of our fighting men and women is strong and high," he said. But Rehberg added that some soldiers are tired and "some are certainly ready to come home."

Asked about Rep. John Murtha's recent remarks about the U.S. Army being "broken" and "worn out," Rehberg was not directly critical of Murtha, a decorated Vietnam war veteran.

Instead, Rehberg said Murtha has been misrepresented as being an advocate for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, when in fact he has proposed a phased withdrawal.

Rehberg took exception, however, to the media's lack of attention to another highly decorated Vietnam and Korean war veteran. Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, also made remarks this week, saying that talk of withdrawing from Iraq "is irresponsible and unconscionable," undermining the Iraqi people and American troops in that country.

Murtha has "gotten lots of ink for his comments," Rehberg observed, while Johnson's statements have gotten little attention when "he is every bit as much a war hero."

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com