What Mark Green did during his vacation in Iraq

Earlier today Xoff said that Mark Green's Congressional site did not mention the word Iraq.

He followed up this evening noting that while he saw nothing to that effect earlier (and has a google cache page that appears to back him up) the site now has a big Iraqi flag with the words "Mark in Iraq" superimposed over it. It links to pictures, as well as his journal and key findings from his October 2003 field trip to Iraq.

The Brawler has no intention of voting for Green in November. But he does give Green credit for leaving his Journal and Key Findings on his site.

Most people would try to cover up documentary evidence of being so wrong, so disastrously wrong.

Some highlights from his Journal:

Day 2

“As far as we could see, there were no signs of animosity toward us or other Americans among the Iraqi people as we drove through the streets of Baghdad.

 

“Later, we met with General Ricardo Sanchez, who leads up all coalition ground forces.  He said, bluntly, ‘On the security front, we are winning.  Ninety percent of our engagements take place in or near Baghdad.  The rest of the country is largely secure and stable.’

 

Then this:

“Our final meeting of the day was with chief weapons inspector David Kay.  While much of the meeting was classified, he said he’s found clear evidence of weapons of mass destruction programs including laboratories, equipment, documentation, and even evidence of experiments on humans.  He explained that there is much more ground to cover in the inspections process and asked for our patience as the effort moves forward.”

Three months later, of course, David Kay resigned saying there was nothing there and "everyone was wrong."(though dead enders like Paddy Mack continue to hold out hope that something will turn up). Kay also was upset at the poor job the US was doing to maintain security.

From Day 3:

“Many military folks here, both officers and enlisted, said that coverage of the violent opposition in Iraq is far out of proportion.  One guy estimated that at least one-third of the violent ‘encounters’ between Iraqis and Americans are really just crimes caused by Saddam Hussein’s release of thousands of criminals from prison before he left power.

 

“Morale was high, and these are the guys on the font lines.  They were some of the first there.  They look forward to going home when their time is up, but they are also very proud and excited about what they are accomplishing.”

The troops he's referring to were the 101st. Who of course are still there.

“Once in Baghdad today, we met with soldiers from our home states – I had four Badgers with me.  They too were concerned about the lack of media coverage of their progress.  When I asked them what I could do to help, two asked me to “disconnect their mom’s television cable.”  They don’t feel the American people are getting an accurate picture of what’s really happening here.

 

“I thanked the troops for their work and told them how proud we all were of their service.  Again, they said that while they were all ready to go home, they were proud of their mission and what they were achieving.  We caught up together on some Packer news.  I gave one soldier a cheesehead “stress buster,” and gave the group a Packer football.  The other football I brought is going to the 395^th Ordnance Company – a reserve unit from Appleton stationed here – and the signed Packer jersey I brought is headed for the 432^nd Civil Affairs Battalion from Green Bay.

 

Generous guy, that Mark Green.

Now on to his key findings -- most of which could have been written by anyone watching Fox News at the time.

No. 1 "The State of American Forces in Iraq is Excellent"

...They seemed, almost universally, to feel that the real story of their remarkable progress in the reconstruction of Iraq is not getting out to the American people.  When I asked how I could help on the media front, two soldiers said I should “disconnect their mom’s television cable” – they clearly see a big difference in how things are actually going there on the ground and how they’re being reported back home.  They know they’re doing a terrific job – they can see the results all around them.  But they wish more people knew about their successes, which they feel are too often overshadowed in the media by bad news.

 

No. 2. The process of reconstruction and the creation of a free and democratic Iraq is going remarkably we

ll.

... Both Republicans and Democrats on the trip were astounded by the blazing pace of progress in rebuilding Iraq.  There is still a long way to go, but Iraq is clearly on its way to a bright future. ...

No. 3. Despite all the progress being made, Iraq is still a very dangerous place as the war on terrorism continues.

 

...According to military leaders on the ground, 90 percent of Iraq is safe, secure and incident-free – but Baghdad (where most of the reporters are based) and a few other cities are still hubs of trouble.  Much of the violence is the work of terrorists who have streamed into Iraq from other countries, some is being caused by Saddam’s Baath Party loyalists, and a lot is simply crime committed by the thousands of criminals Saddam ordered released from prison before he disappeared.  One thing seemed clear throughout the trip, however – the majority of Iraqis are glad the Americans have come, and they have just as much disdain for the violence as we do.

 

No. 4. American tax dollars are being well spent and must be replenished.

 

Last week, when the U.S. House passed the final $87 billion supplemental spending package for Iraq, I was proud to vote for it.  The vast majority of the funds are going directly to our troops in the form of new resources they need to keep doing the tough job we’re asking of them.  The remainder is going to support joint American-Iraqi efforts to continue rebuilding the country.  American commanders told me that, to their troops, these reconstruction dollars are just like ammunition.  The more quickly they can rebuild Iraq and make it stable and self-sufficient – the sooner they can come home.  ...