by Frank James
Listen to enough Capitol Hill press conferences, hearings or floor speeches and you’re likely to hear a lawmaker say something like “I just returned from Iraq.” Often a lawmaker will say he or she has returned from his or her second or third trip. It’s striking how many times an observer hears this. It’s clearly said to establish one bona fides. Sometimes it even sounds a little like bragging.
The Hill has a story today in which its reporters did some research to learn just how many times lawmakers, at least in the Senate, have been to Iraq. The leader is Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.,) a West Point graduate, with ten visits. The Hill was able to determine that at least 76 senators have visited Iraq.According to the article, lawmakers use the visits to establish their right to speak authoritatively about what’s happening there.
That has led to some curious situations. The article, for instance, notes that Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), a Vietnam War, combat-tested veteran and former Navy secretary who hasn’t visited Iraq, but whose Marine son has served in Iraq, was lectured by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
As a recent case in point, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) alluded to his Iraq travel when he challenged Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) in a July 15 debate on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Graham, who has gone to Iraq seven times, took Webb to task after the freshman senator said that less than half of the military believes that the U.S. should be in Iraq.
“Have you been to Iraq?” Graham charged. “Have you ever been and talked to them?”
Webb, who has not made a trip to the country, replied by disparaging the congressional delegations as “dog and pony shows” that do not confront the reality on the ground.
Webb’s views may well be the exception, as many senators still make the visit. Topping the list is Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who has visited Iraq 10 times. That includes three trips in the past year and makes him one of nine senators who have made at least a half-dozen trips to the country since the war started.
Being a decorated former Marine and Pentagon official, Webb doesn’t need to visit Iraq to establish his authority to speak about on military or strategic issues.
In another story, The Hill reports that about two dozen of the 55 freshman members have visited Iraq.
As Webb suggested, the violence in Iraq generally makes congressional trips tightly choreographed, with virtually no ability for members of Congress to travel freely around the country.
That’s not stopping members of Congress from going, in part to show their support for the troops in the field and try and get information first hand, but also to increase their credibility in the Iraq debate.
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