January 8, 2005: Headlines: Iraq: Congress: virginiamn: Coleman leaves Iraq; on way to Afghanistan
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January 8, 2005: Headlines: Iraq: Congress: virginiamn: Coleman leaves Iraq; on way to Afghanistan
Coleman leaves Iraq; on way to Afghanistan
Coleman leaves Iraq; on way to Afghanistan
Coleman leaves Iraq; on way to Afghanistan
Senator spends time with troops; discusses election with officials
Bill Hanna
Mesabi Daily News
Last Updated: Saturday, January 08th, 2005 11:24:57 PM
KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait - The meeting with 100 sheiks was going well - a good candid give-and-take with leaders of the Sunni minority in Iraq that are not exactly thrilled with the upcoming elections because they are sure to not win a government majority.
"It was kind of a like a town meeting back in our country, just like many held on the Iron Range, where people strongly voice their opinions," said U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn.
Then a shell exploded about 500 meters away, shaking the building in Baghdad where the meeting was being held.
"I’ll tell you, the Iraqi security people didn’t flinch. They just went about their business. It was just another day in Baghdad," Coleman said in a telephone interview with the Mesabi Daily News on Saturday.
The senator made the call from Kuwait City at about 2 p.m. CST, or midnight there, following his day in Iraq. He was to leave today for India along with a small delegation of U.S. senators that includes Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to tour some of the tsunami-devastated areas of that country. The group travel will later in the week to Afghanistan.
Coleman left Iraq feeling good about the Jan. 30 elections, the first free and democratic ones ever in the country, despite what has been escalating violence.
"A United Nations official who will be helping with his 13th election told me that this is the best one he has seen as far as preparation by local officials. We certainly have violence problems in some areas, but that’s not the case in 14 of the 18 Iraqi provinces," Coleman said.
"The elections are going to happen and that is going to be good news for this whole area. There are great challenges, but the people are excited about the elections."
Coleman, who wore a flak jacket and helmet while in Iraq, also met with members of the Minnesota 134th National Guard unit and had dinner with some of them.
The senator said troop morale is high, but Guard members also voiced some of their concerns.
"The separation from family is of course tough. And there are also worries about whether their stay will be extended. But the overall morale is strong," Coleman said.
"These people take a lot of pride in what they do. And I am filled with pride for what they are doing and how they are handling it."
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Bill Hanna covers politics and the IRRRB and writes editorials and columns. He can be reached by phone at 741-5544 or e-mail at bill.hanna@mx3.com.
When this story was posted in January 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
| Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help? |
| The World's Broken Promise to our Children Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005. |
| Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia." |
| Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors. |
| The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn. |
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Story Source: virginiamn
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