Suitably Flip

Conference Call With Congressmen Chris Chocola (R-IN) and Gresham Barrett (R-SC)

At 3:00 this afternoon, I'll be participating in a blogger conference call with Representatives Chris Chocola and J. Gresham Barrett, both freshly back from Iraq, discussing post-election conditions in the country.

Congressman Chris Chocola was elected to serve Indiana’s 2^nd District in 2002 and was re-elected in 2004. Congressman Chocola sits on the House Ways & Means Committee and the House Budget Committee, and is also an Assistant Majority Whip.

Congressman J. Gresham Barrett currently serves South   Carolina’s 3^rd District. He is also a veteran of our military, having achieved the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army Field Artillery. He serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, House Budget Committee, the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on International Relations.

Watch this space for a recap...

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The call just wrapped up.

Both Congressmen Chocola and Barrett sounded encouraged by what they saw in Iraq.  They had each been there in 2003 and reported significant progress and high morale, both among Coalition troops and among Iraqi civilians and security forces.  That said, they cautioned that there was a lot of work left to be done (Barrett referred to the engagement still being a "major scrap").

Matt Margolis asked what the troops thought about the mainstream media's coverage of the war.

Chocola said the troops he spoke with by and large don't watch American news coverage.  They know what they're doing.  They know they're being successful.  And they don't need the media to tell them any different.  He noted that their perspective was shy of a sense of disgust, but definitely a "sense of dismissal".  Barrett agreed.

I asked what the Congressmen felt were the most dramatic manifest changes since their last visit.

Chocola found their movement to be far more restricted during this visit, owing both to security and weather.  Interestingly, when he asked Iraqi security forces what motivated them, he was often told it was the drive to provide for the security of their country, not for "flowing language" about democracy and freedom.  He made the point that until they can come to rely on day-to-day security, something they haven't known for a generation, they won't likely be focused on loftier pursuits.

Barrett said during his prior visit, we were all wearing rose colored glasses to some degree and that over time, we've come to realize the terrorist forces we're fighting are highly motivated, with a single mission to inflict as many Coalition and civilian deaths as possible.  He was encouraged to see Iraqi forces and politicians willing to get up in front of television cameras and microphones, where even just months ago, many were still fearful of community reprisals or even the threat of Saddam's return.  He referred to this shift as "Iraqiization".

Mary Katherine Ham asked about the pending report on allegations of fraud and irregularities in the Iraqi election.

Chocola and Barrett both marveled at the stratospheric voter turnout among Iraqis contending "with people firing at them".  They laughed at the nature of some of the complaints, namely those regarding theft of campaign signs and posters (something Chocola noted was pretty common in Indiana).

Joe Katzman asked about military appropriations, citing a report that neither Congressman was immediately aware of.  They did state that when they asked troops about supplies and support, they unanimously replied that they had everything they needed.

Chocola and Barrett repeated the President's refrain of "When Iraqis stand up, we will stand down," adding that we're now actually seeing that take place in many tangible ways.  Barrett added that as this process continues, the next stage will be Iraqi police forces standing up, while the Iraqi army stands down.

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Conference Call With Congressmen Chris Chocola (R-IN) and Gresham Barrett (R-SC)

At 3:00 this afternoon, I'll be participating in a blogger conference call with Representatives Chris Chocola and J. Gresham Barrett, both freshly back from Iraq, discussing post-election conditions in the country.

Congressman Chris Chocola was elected to serve Indiana’s 2^nd District in 2002 and was re-elected in 2004. Congressman Chocola sits on the House Ways & Means Committee and the House Budget Committee, and is also an Assistant Majority Whip.

Congressman J. Gresham Barrett currently serves South   Carolina’s 3^rd District. He is also a veteran of our military, having achieved the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army Field Artillery. He serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, House Budget Committee, the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on International Relations.

Watch this space for a recap...

---

The call just wrapped up.

Both Congressmen Chocola and Barrett sounded encouraged by what they saw in Iraq.  They had each been there in 2003 and reported significant progress and high morale, both among Coalition troops and among Iraqi civilians and security forces.  That said, they cautioned that there was a lot of work left to be done (Barrett referred to the engagement still being a "major scrap").

Matt Margolis asked what the troops thought about the mainstream media's coverage of the war.

Chocola said the troops he spoke with by and large don't watch American news coverage.  They know what they're doing.  They know they're being successful.  And they don't need the media to tell them any different.  He noted that their perspective was shy of a sense of disgust, but definitely a "sense of dismissal".  Barrett agreed.

I asked what the Congressmen felt were the most dramatic manifest changes since their last visit.

Chocola found their movement to be far more restricted during this visit, owing both to security and weather.  Interestingly, when he asked Iraqi security forces what motivated them, he was often told it was the drive to provide for the security of their country, not for "flowing language" about democracy and freedom.  He made the point that until they can come to rely on day-to-day security, something they haven't known for a generation, they won't likely be focused on loftier pursuits.

Barrett said during his prior visit, we were all wearing rose colored glasses to some degree and that over time, we've come to realize the terrorist forces we're fighting are highly motivated, with a single mission to inflict as many Coalition and civilian deaths as possible.  He was encouraged to see Iraqi forces and politicians willing to get up in front of television cameras and microphones, where even just months ago, many were still fearful of community reprisals or even the threat of Saddam's return.  He referred to this shift as "Iraqiization".

Mary Katherine Ham asked about the pending report on allegations of fraud and irregularities in the Iraqi election.

Chocola and Barrett both marveled at the stratospheric voter turnout among Iraqis contending "with people firing at them".  They laughed at the nature of some of the complaints, namely those regarding theft of campaign signs and posters (something Chocola noted was pretty common in Indiana).

Joe Katzman asked about military appropriations, citing a report that neither Congressman was immediately aware of.  They did state that when they asked troops about supplies and support, they unanimously replied that they had everything they needed.

Chocola and Barrett repeated the President's refrain of "When Iraqis stand up, we will stand down," adding that we're now actually seeing that take place in many tangible ways.  Barrett added that as this process continues, the next stage will be Iraqi police forces standing up, while the Iraqi army stands down.