thedrifter
12-13-07, 08:56 AM
denver and the west
Ritter trip to Iraq a secret
By Jennifer Brown
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 12/13/2007 06:25:22 AM MST
Gov. Bill Ritter, flown to Baghdad by Black Hawk helicopter, described a "glimmer of hope" in the war-torn country Wednesday as Iraqi military and police forces begin to stabilize.
But the governor — making a week-long, surprise visit to Colorado National Guard members — predicted American troops would remain in Iraq "for a very long time" and said political stability there is doubtful.
"Nobody is saying that success is guaranteed by any stretch of the imagination," said Ritter, who met with Pentagon chief Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington before flying to Kuwait on Monday. "There are innocent Iraqis whose lives are at stake if we don't try to move this country toward stability."
At the invitation of the Department of Defense, Ritter embarked on the trip with two other governors before dawn Monday. Though the journey had been in the works for days, Ritter's staff kept it quiet until Wednesday for his safety, he said.
The trip, funded by the federal government, took the Colorado Democrat and Republicans Donald Carcieri of Rhode Island and Michael Rounds of South Dakota overnight through Ireland to Kuwait City, landing at midday Tuesday.
Ritter had lunch with Colorado Guard troops, then flew by helicopter to Baghdad's Green Zone and later to Balad.
Wearing a helmet and flak jacket, Ritter said he listened in as one pilot told another about areas on the route where they had previously taken fire. Other soldiers manning guns kept their eyes on the ground, watching for attacks.
"Constant threat of attack"
"I just felt how vulnerable it is to ride in a Black Hawk helicopter," said the governor, a former Denver district attorney who does not have a military background.
"There is a constant threat of attack. That is just the order of the day for these men and women."
As commander in chief of the Colorado National Guard, Ritter said he wanted to see firsthand how the more than 600 Air and Army Guard members were doing in the Middle East.
"They are under my command essentially," he said. "It is extremely helpful to me to see this on the ground."
In Baghdad, Ritter met state Sen. Steve Ward, a Littleton Republican who is a colonel in the Marines; state Rep. Joe Rice, a Littleton Democrat who is a lieutenant colonel in the Army; and Denver police Officer Ken Chavez, who is commanding a Guard unit.
About two dozen Guard members came to meet the governor in the "chow hall" Wednesday morning, Ward said in an e-mail from Iraq.
Ward and Rice are expecting to return to Colorado within a couple of weeks of the legislature's convening in January.
Ritter made no call for shortening Colorado Guard deployments.
"As long as they are not asking me to do that, I'm not going to advocate differently," he said.
Air Guard troops are typically sent overseas for 60 to 90 days, while Army Guard troops could end up staying in Iraq or Kuwait for 15 months, he said.
"We'd all like to see it less," Ritter said.
And the governor did not advocate changing the current strategy in Iraq.
"It is important to understand that there is hope that it's moving in the right direction," he said.
In Mideast three more days
Ritter, who visited military installations, neighborhoods and an Iraqi hospital, planned to stay in the Middle East three more days, returning to Colorado on Sunday. He said he was not allowed to talk about where else he would visit.
Ritter is sharing dormitory-style quarters with the other governors and dining in mess halls with troops. He said morale among Colorado soldiers was "excellent," despite that they work seven days a week, 12 hours a day.
Colorado National Guard Gen. Michael Edwards called Ritter's visit a spirit-booster for the troops just before the holidays.
"It's a special memory that they cherish," he said. "You'll never forget it."
Former Gov. Bill Owens visited Guard troops in Iraq in February 2006 on a similar Department of Defense trip.
The Department of Defense has taken 37 governors to Iraq since 2004, a department spokesman said. The total cost of Ritter's trip was not available.
Ritter is the third Colorado Democrat to travel to Iraq in recent weeks.
U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a Golden Democrat, and Jared Polis, a candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, visited Iraq on separate trips in November and returned with starkly different views on the progress of the war.
Perlmutter, who opposes the war, described what he saw as "encouraging." But in contrast to Ritter, Perl mutter said that the Iraqi police force has not improved and that he had been told police were caught planting explosives along routes in Baghdad.
Polis said he had "a real hard time finding anything positive in Iraq."
Jennifer Brown: 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com
Ellie
Ritter trip to Iraq a secret
By Jennifer Brown
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 12/13/2007 06:25:22 AM MST
Gov. Bill Ritter, flown to Baghdad by Black Hawk helicopter, described a "glimmer of hope" in the war-torn country Wednesday as Iraqi military and police forces begin to stabilize.
But the governor — making a week-long, surprise visit to Colorado National Guard members — predicted American troops would remain in Iraq "for a very long time" and said political stability there is doubtful.
"Nobody is saying that success is guaranteed by any stretch of the imagination," said Ritter, who met with Pentagon chief Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington before flying to Kuwait on Monday. "There are innocent Iraqis whose lives are at stake if we don't try to move this country toward stability."
At the invitation of the Department of Defense, Ritter embarked on the trip with two other governors before dawn Monday. Though the journey had been in the works for days, Ritter's staff kept it quiet until Wednesday for his safety, he said.
The trip, funded by the federal government, took the Colorado Democrat and Republicans Donald Carcieri of Rhode Island and Michael Rounds of South Dakota overnight through Ireland to Kuwait City, landing at midday Tuesday.
Ritter had lunch with Colorado Guard troops, then flew by helicopter to Baghdad's Green Zone and later to Balad.
Wearing a helmet and flak jacket, Ritter said he listened in as one pilot told another about areas on the route where they had previously taken fire. Other soldiers manning guns kept their eyes on the ground, watching for attacks.
"Constant threat of attack"
"I just felt how vulnerable it is to ride in a Black Hawk helicopter," said the governor, a former Denver district attorney who does not have a military background.
"There is a constant threat of attack. That is just the order of the day for these men and women."
As commander in chief of the Colorado National Guard, Ritter said he wanted to see firsthand how the more than 600 Air and Army Guard members were doing in the Middle East.
"They are under my command essentially," he said. "It is extremely helpful to me to see this on the ground."
In Baghdad, Ritter met state Sen. Steve Ward, a Littleton Republican who is a colonel in the Marines; state Rep. Joe Rice, a Littleton Democrat who is a lieutenant colonel in the Army; and Denver police Officer Ken Chavez, who is commanding a Guard unit.
About two dozen Guard members came to meet the governor in the "chow hall" Wednesday morning, Ward said in an e-mail from Iraq.
Ward and Rice are expecting to return to Colorado within a couple of weeks of the legislature's convening in January.
Ritter made no call for shortening Colorado Guard deployments.
"As long as they are not asking me to do that, I'm not going to advocate differently," he said.
Air Guard troops are typically sent overseas for 60 to 90 days, while Army Guard troops could end up staying in Iraq or Kuwait for 15 months, he said.
"We'd all like to see it less," Ritter said.
And the governor did not advocate changing the current strategy in Iraq.
"It is important to understand that there is hope that it's moving in the right direction," he said.
In Mideast three more days
Ritter, who visited military installations, neighborhoods and an Iraqi hospital, planned to stay in the Middle East three more days, returning to Colorado on Sunday. He said he was not allowed to talk about where else he would visit.
Ritter is sharing dormitory-style quarters with the other governors and dining in mess halls with troops. He said morale among Colorado soldiers was "excellent," despite that they work seven days a week, 12 hours a day.
Colorado National Guard Gen. Michael Edwards called Ritter's visit a spirit-booster for the troops just before the holidays.
"It's a special memory that they cherish," he said. "You'll never forget it."
Former Gov. Bill Owens visited Guard troops in Iraq in February 2006 on a similar Department of Defense trip.
The Department of Defense has taken 37 governors to Iraq since 2004, a department spokesman said. The total cost of Ritter's trip was not available.
Ritter is the third Colorado Democrat to travel to Iraq in recent weeks.
U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a Golden Democrat, and Jared Polis, a candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, visited Iraq on separate trips in November and returned with starkly different views on the progress of the war.
Perlmutter, who opposes the war, described what he saw as "encouraging." But in contrast to Ritter, Perl mutter said that the Iraqi police force has not improved and that he had been told police were caught planting explosives along routes in Baghdad.
Polis said he had "a real hard time finding anything positive in Iraq."
Jennifer Brown: 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com
Ellie