Senator Collins' blog- Mainers in Iraq

Senator Collins with members of the 101st Air Refueling Wing, from right to left: Senior Airman John Chambers (Old Town), Staff Sargent Stephanie Tracy (Bangor), Airman First Class Luc J. Marquis (Garland), Senior Airman Dwight Evans (St. Albans), Airman First Class Bill Burns (Bangor), and Lt. Col David R. Vashon (Waterville).

Mainers are everywhere.  In Iraq, the State Department security guard assigned to our group is Justin Alderman, a former Portland police officer who grew up in Scarborough and has a home in Windham. At the embassy is Kim DeCesare , the deputy chief of protocal, who is from Kezar Falls.

Serving on a provincial reconstruction team and working on rule of law issues in Diyala Province is Jon Nass, an attorney from York County. Jon worked several years on my staff in Washington, and I am delighted to see him again.

And tonight I had dinner at Sather Air Base in Baghdad with seven National Guard members from Maine.  And is it ever a small world -- one of them is Bill Bruns whose parents I know in Bangor. I remembered that Bill had sent me a military unit coin prior to his deployment a couple of months ago.

I am delighted to see all of these great Mainers serving our country.

I spent most of the day in Irbil, the capital of Kurdistan in Northern Iraq - more on that in the next post.

Senator Collins' blog- Meeting with Iraqi PM Maliki and President Talabani

After the briefing with Gen Odierno and Ambassador Hill, we meet first with Prime Minister Maliki and later  with President Talabani.  I am impressed with the Prime Minister's growth as a leader. As John McCain said to him, "A couple of years ago, everyone worried that you were too weak; now everyone fears that you are too strong."

We discuss many issues from the disputed lands in Kurdistan to the failure of the Iraqis to pass a "hydrocarbon law" allocating oil revenues among the various sects and regions. We also talk about American troop levels and our future relationship. As I had promised the Ambassador and General, I bring up the government's (lack of) effort to encourage the return of Iraqi refugees. The PM dances around in his response, leading me to believe that he is worried about the electoral consequences of an influx of Sunnis prior to the January elections. To be fair, however, there is also  a deep-seated fear among many Shiites that Sunni  Baathist elements (Saddem Hussein's former party) will  return once again to seize control and oppress the Shiite majority.

We then meet with Iraqi President Talabani, a gregarious, warm Kurd and talk about our upcoming trip to Kurdistan in the morning.

Finally at nearly 10 p.m., the meetings are concluded, and we go to the American embassy for soup and sandwiches for dinner.

Senator Collins' blog- Meeting with General Odierno and Ambassador Hill

The helicopter ride from the Baghdad airport to the Green Zone was the first indication that life has improved for the Iraqis. When last I took that ride in December 2006, during what General Odierno refers to as the "dark days," the streets were largely empty, barricades were prevalent, and evidence of explosions was everywhere. Now from the air I could see many cars on the roads, people congregating in front of cafes and stores, and intact buildings and fewer checkpoints.  Still I had only to look at the gunners manning the open  helicopter windows to be reminded that Iraq is still a dangerous country.

Upon arrival in the Green Zone, we went immediately into a briefing with General Ray Odierno, the Commanding General of our forces in Iraq, and our new Ambassador Chris Hill, a 1974 graduate of Bowdoin.

I first met Gen. Odierno in 2003, and he is on his third tour of duty in Iraq, having served 45 months (not consecutively but still an astonishing amount of time.)  Although proud of the progress made by American and Iraqi troops, he looked tired and thin, and I was glad to hear that he was going on leave next week.

He told us that the withdrawal of American combat troops from all Iraqi cities had met the June 30th deadline and generally had gone better than he had expected.  The number of violent incidents is at an all-time low although the number of Iraqi civilian casualties per incident has climbed because the insurgents and Al Qaeda are choosing "soft" (lightly guarded or otherwise vulnerable)targets with lots of civilians.

We discussed the restraint shown by the Shiites in respond to sporadic attacks by Al Qaeda intended to spur retailiation against the Sunnis.

Another topic was the continuing tensions over the future of oil-rich Kirkuk, which is predominately Kurdish.
American troops twice have had to avert clashes between the Kurdish militia and the Iraqi Army in recent months.

I raised the issue of Iraqi refugees.  More than a million educated, middle-class Iraqis fled to neighboring countries, particularly Syria and Jordan, to escape the war.  Since their skills would help to bring prosperity and stability to Iraq, I asked what steps Iraqi officials were taking to encourge their return home.  (I believe the number returning is also an important measure to evaluate how safe Iraq is becoming.)  Ambassador Hill said that only about 20,000 had returned since the beginning of the year. Both he and Gen. Odierno urged me to raise the issue with the Prime Minister whom we would be meeting with next this evening.  They suggested that the Prime Minister, who heads a Shiite political party, is not pursuing the return of the refugees, who are largely Sunnis, because he wants to get past next January's elections first.

Senator Collins' blog- from Libya to Iraq

U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is part of a congressional delegation that has embarked on an official visit to the Middle East. Senator Collins is joined on the trip by Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), and Lindsey Graham (R-NC).

After a press conference in Tripoli first thing this morning, we departed for Kuwait where we boarded a C-130 cargo plane to fly into Iraq. The C-130 is jammed full of soldiers and their gear. Along the sides of the plane and in the middle are red webbed canvas and metal frame seats that fold down from the walls of the plane and from the steel posts in the middle.

Every inch of the plane is utilized for equipment and cargo. Gear is suspended from the walls, clipped to the ceilings, and piled high on the metal floor.

Each of us is handed ear plugs and an air sickness bag as we board, and assigned a bullet-proof vest and helmet that we don as we get closer to landing.

The plane is too noisy to talk, too dark to read, and too crowded to move around, so most of the soldiers and Senator McCain, who can sleep anywhere, doze off. The plane is extremely hot.

For me one of the physically difficult parts of this journey is wearing the heavy and always-too-big flak vest. I don't know how our troops manage all the gear they carry.

As we leave the plane, we chat with the soldiers and express appreciation for their service. It is 113 degrees when we land in Iraq.

Then we take a helicopter to the Green Zone. I am off to meetings with General Odierno and Ambassador Hill.

By the way, although I often write these reports in real time, I have to delay sending them until several hours later for security reasons.

Senator Collins' blog- Meeting with Qadhafi in Libya

U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is part of a congressional delegation that has embarked on an official visit to the Middle East. Senator Collins is joined on the trip by Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), and Lindsey Graham (R-NC).

The lead-up to our meeting with Colonel Qadhafi was bizarre indeed. Initially we were scheduled to meet with him at 4 p.m. Then the meeting was changed to 6, at which time we received word that it would be 7:30 because the Colonel was fasting in preparation for Ramadan. That time came and went, and we told 9 p.m. Finally at the point that we were close to complete exasperation, we were whisked off at 9:40 p.m. in a convey for a 40-minute drive to a secret location on the outskirts of Tripoli. There an enormous tent had been erected for our meetings, first with Qadhafi's son, who is the national security advisor, and then with Qadhafi himself. The tent was air-conditioned and outfitted with lavish carpets, couches, and coffee tables. Apparently, Qadhafi is on the move constantly and rarely spends two nights in the same place.

We discussed a host of issues. I focused my comments on the need for Libya to proceed with an agreement to transfer highly enriched uranium from his nuclear program.

Senator Collins- Blog from Libya

I am on Senate Armed Services Committee business with my colleagues, John McCain, Joe Lieberman, and Lindsey Graham. We flew all night and arrived in Tripoli, Libya, this morning where we were greeted by staff from our embassy and Libyan protocol officials.

We are scheduled to meet this evening with Colonel Muammar Qadhafi, who rules Libya, and separately with his son, Muatassim al-Qadhafi, who is the National Security Advisor. Our relationship with Libya has improved dramatically in the wake of Qadhafi's decision to forgo WMD in 2003 and his cooperation with the U.S. on counterterrorism efforts. Qadhafi views the extremist Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt as a threat to his regime.

Despite these common interests, there are obvious concerns. Qadhafi is a dictator who has ruled Libya with an iron fist for 40 years. Posters with the number 40 and Qadhafi's picture are everywhere in Libya in anticipation of a September celebration of his four decades of rule. Dissent is not tolerated; the press is state-owned, and the country's human rights record is appalling.

Senator Collins will be updating her blog from other locations throughout her trip.

Senator Collins interview on WGAN

Senator Collins discusses healthcare and other issues on WGAN radio.