Congressman Randy Neugebauer's trip to Jordan, Iraq and Germany, April 2005

In April, 2005 I traveled to Iraq and Jordan.  In all, there were six congressmen, representing both political parties, in our delegation. We met the new Iraqi Prime Minister, American troops, and a group of Iraqi women working to promote democracy in their home country.  What follows below are details of my trip that I would like to share with constituents of the 19th District.

Thursday, April 7

We depart Capitol Hill for Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. We then board a military plane that would fly us from Andrews AFB 11 hours, non-stop to Amman, Jordan. It is both a proud and a humbling experience to fly on a plane that says “United States of America” and has the American flag on the side. The flight gives the six of us a great opportunity to visit with each other. In the hectic pace of our daily lives, members don’t get much face time to just talk. One of the leaders of our delegation is former University of Nebraska football coach Congressman Tom Osborne. Out of courtesy, I refrained from asking the former Cornhusker coach about the Texas Tech-Nebraska game from last season. As I said, it was a long trip, and he probably didn’t want to rehash details from the worst defeat in Nebraska football history!

Friday, April 8

We arrive in Amman on Friday morning. Throughout the morning we are briefed by groups established by Congress to promote democracy around the world and to organize local governments. Most countries in the Middle East have very centralized governments. As they become more democratic, it is necessary to teach mayors and local leaders how to establish and run local governments.

The next stop is the U.S. Embassy in Jordan. Embassy officials tell us about the major training facility that has been set up in Jordan to help Iraqi police and security forces get up off the ground and running. About 15,000 police officers have been trained at this facility. One of the major obstacles to a safe and secure Iraq is that, under Saddam, there was no real organized citizen police force. As a result, all of the police are relatively new, which hampers on the job training. You don’t have any older, experienced officers that can take a new recruit under his wing and show him the ropes. Luckily, this is an obstacle that can be overcome with time and a healthy dose of patience.

Saturday, April 9

Wake up call comes early: 4:30 a.m. as today is the day we head to Iraq. We board the C-130 (similar to the ones at Dyess). I am looking forward to spending time with the troops, meeting with leadership, and meeting Iraq’s new Prime Minister. As we are traveling, I think back to the last time I was in Iraq – about 15 months ago. A lot has changed since my last visit. On my last trip, they captured Saddam as we were en route to Iraq. This time, after the elections, I will be meeting with the new Prime Minister just hours after he has been chosen to head the new and democratic Iraq.

Several questions are going through my mind that I want to be able to answer before the trip is over. How are things going? What is the progress of building Iraqi forces that can ultimately defend their own country? Do our troops have the resources they need? What are the Iraqi people thinking these days and are they hopeful? What is going through the minds of our troops?

As always, it is good to see the troops. A number of folks at this base are from Nebraska and they are definitely glad to see Congressman Osborne. It is like traveling with a rock star when “Coach” is around Nebraska natives. We are able to sit and eat lunch with them. A number of Marines from Texas sit at my table. I tell them that I came here to thank them, see what they need, and find out how things are going. For almost everyone, morale was good and the election was a huge boost for our troops and the Iraqi people. The elections may be the most important event since the capture of Saddam. It gave everyone a tangible sign that we are making progress. It gave the Iraqi people a taste of democracy, and the entire Middle East was watching.

After lunch, we head to Baghdad. The first thing I notice is how good the city looks since my last trip. There is activity in the streets, lots of construction, and fewer signs of a city that had experienced intense bombing two years ago.

Lt. General Petraeus briefs us on the progress in Iraq. He shows us pictures from the elections where thousands of Iraqis stood in line for hours to vote. I see the faces of liberated people exercising the fundamental right of democracy: the right to vote. He gives a very candid assessment of where we’ve been and where we’re heading. We made some mistakes earlier on, but we learned from them and moved on. I feel more comfortable with our progress than before the trip, but there is still work to do.

Our next stop is to meet the newly appointed Prime Minister of Iraq: Ibrihim al-Jaafari. We are the first congressional delegation to meet with him. He is very optimistic about the future of Iraq and expressed the need to bring all groups into the process as they begin to write a new constitution. I wonder if he ever thought that there would be a day that he would be Prime Minister in a free Iraq.

The Iraqis still have a ways to go before they fully understand what exactly being free means. Right now, it means not being oppressed. But democracy has much more to offer than that. The Iraqi government has a lot of work in front of them and the world is watching. If they are successful, the will not only change Iraq, but the whole region.

Saturday, April 10

We are up early again, and we depart Amman for a hotel by the Dead Sea where we will attend and participate in the Iraqi Women’s Democracy Initative Training Conference. This is a historic meeting of women that drove from all over Iraq to Jordan in order to learn how they can help facilitate and participate in a democratic Iraq. Many of the women tell me they were threatened because of their desire to come to the meeting. Several report that they were shot at. In total, about 130 women are in attendance. Women make up thirty percent of the new Iraqi parliament, and some of them are at the conference.

Our delegation arrives as the conference begins its role-playing sessions. These sessions simulate aspects of the democratic process. We discuss with the women how to make presentations, handle the media, recruit other women for government, and accomplish other tasks necessary to participate in a democracy. It is a very moving experience to see the excitement and determination of these women. I have many conversations with the women. First and foremost, they are thankful. I tell them the folks back home want to know if the Iraqis appreciate what America has done. They do, and they also realize the price that many Americans have paid. They said that they are mothers and wives themselves, and they know that mothers in America have lost sons, and wives have lost husbands. Many of them have lost relatives to Saddam’s killing and terrorism. Some lived in fear that they would be subject to honor killings – the act of killing a woman if it was deemed that she had brought dishonor to her family. Tears fill the eyes of several women as they tell me about how things were in the past and how grateful they are to be liberated from Saddam’s rule.

The women come from all corners of Iraq and possess diverse backgrounds. There are women covered almost completely, with only parts of their faces showing through their clothing. There are also women that are dressed in a very Western manner. The traditions of some prevent them from being even shaking my hand, while others want to give me a hug.

It turns out to be a very interesting day. The day provides a full perspective for the trip. The day before, I was with our war-fighters, talking about how things were going. And today, I was participating in a forum of what and who they were fighting for. We are several generations removed from our fight for independence and the creation of our democracy. While in Iraq, it is possible to get a brief snapshot of what that process is like. We have been working on ours for over two centuries. They have been at it for less than two years. And that is the point we need to understand. It takes time, but it is worth it.

Sunday, April 11

The final leg of my trip takes me to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. While at Landstuhl, I have the honor and privilege of meeting some of the bravest young men and women that America has to offer. Troops that I meet have come to Landstuhl because they have been wounded in action. The good news is that I don’t get the chance to meet too many troops. As the security situation in Iraq has improved, and Iraqis have begun to take the lead in providing that security, the number of wounded U.S. troops has declined.

We depart Landstuhl and begin to get ready to head back to the U.S. The trip has been a successful one, I think. I have seen the progress made since the capture of Saddam. I have seen the hope on the faces of women that brighter days are ahead. I have seen the effect free elections can have on a long-oppressed people. The Iraqis have tasted democracy, and they hunger for more.