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Iraqi Visits: Much Ado but Few Epiphanies

Obama's pledged trip to Baghdad likely won't change his mind

By Clay Dillow,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 18, 2008 11:45 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Lawmakers have been flocking to Iraq to assess the situation on the ground, as Barack Obama is about to do, but the visits rarely result in any revelations for them, writes Karen DeYoung in the Washington Post. The itineraries are fairly routine by now—meet the generals, the troops, and some Iraqi leaders; maybe visit the front lines—and "most seem to return even more convinced of the views they held before they left."

“They all want to do something cooler than the last guy did,” says one official at the US embassy. Obama's itinerary is a well-kept secret, but one thing's for sure: He's got some catching up to do with congressional visitors over the last 5 years. While John McCain has visited 8 times, even he trails the pack of Sen. Carl Levin (9), Sen. Jack Reed (11), Rep. Jim Marshall (11), and the big leader, Rep. Christopher Shays (16).

A well-protected U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman pays an Iraqi vendor for a pair of sunglasses at a market in the New Baghdad neighborhood last May.
A well-protected U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman pays an Iraqi vendor for a pair of sunglasses at a market in the New Baghdad neighborhood last May.   (AP Photo/Sgt. Curt Cashour, US Army, HO)
Presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain, R-Ariz. center, visits the popular Shorja market in central Baghdad, Iraq last April. McCain drew criticism over his abundance of security.
Presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain, R-Ariz. center, visits the popular Shorja market in central Baghdad, Iraq last April. McCain drew criticism over his abundance of security.   (AP Photo/Sgt. Matthew Roe, US Army, File)
U.S. Congressman Lee Terry, Rep.-Neb., right, shakes hands with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in Baghdad, Iraq, last year. Many leaders jet in, have meetings in the Green Zone, and jet out.
U.S. Congressman Lee Terry, Rep.-Neb., right, shakes hands with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in Baghdad, Iraq, last year. Many leaders jet in, have meetings in the Green Zone, and jet out.   (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, Pool)
Where the troops meet the enemy, U.S. lawmakers are scarce, instead sticking to US Embassy created itineraries involving photo-ops, meetings and lots of time in the Green Zone.
Where the troops meet the enemy, U.S. lawmakers are scarce, instead sticking to US Embassy created itineraries involving photo-ops, meetings and lots of time in the Green Zone.   (AP Photo/Staff Sgt. Bennie Corbett, US Army)
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Iraq • Barack Obama • John McCain • Green Zone • US embassy in Baghdad • US Congress • Iraq war • Iraq exit strategy • political strategy

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