On Sunday, we arrived in Yemen, an ancient land said to have been founded by Shem, Noah's son. Being there is like stepping back into an exotic world of several centuries ago. It is also one of the most dangerous places on earth.
Yemen is a tinderbox: the government is fighting two different insurgencies as well as Al Qaeda cells. It's strategically important because of its significant cargo ports and its location adjacent to Saudia Arabia.
Unlike the rest of the Arabian Pennisula, Yemen is extremely poor. It has little oil and has depleted a large amount of what it did have.
The country also faces a demographic time bomb with 60 percent of its population under the age of 25, creating a growing pool of recruits for Al Qaeda and for the insurgents, particularly given the very high rate of unemployment. The birth rate is 6.7 children, one of the highest in the world.
Yemen men often have more than one wife - at the same time. Most Yemeni women wear black abayas with only their eyes visible when they are in public.
Yemen also has a terrible problem with a native drug called qat that is chewed by 70 percent of the men and a growing number of women. Many of the men wear traditional short curved swords held by ornate belts. Envision this: most of the men are drugged with a stimulant every day and are carrying sharp knives!
All these factors combine to make Yemen unstable. The site of the infamous bombing of the USS Cole in the port of Aden in 2000, Yemen continues to be attractive terrority for Al Qaeda, which attacked our American embassy with suicide bombers just last September. Both the Ambassador and his wife, (who is a native of Sanford, Maine,) were at home at the time but escaped unhurt. Guards at the embassy were not so lucky - several died in repelling the attack.
Approximately 100 of the remaining 240 detainees at Guatanamo are from Yemen. What to do with them if Gitmo is closed is a major concern since some of the previously released Yemenis have rejoined Al Qaeda. We discussed this and other challenges with the Yemini President Saleh and separately with our Ambassador and the Embassy staff.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Senator Collins in Afghanistan
Senator Collins, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is part of a congressional delegation that is currently on an official visit to Afghanistan. Senator Collins is joined on the trip by Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
Their visit comes as millions of Afghanis prepare to go to the polls on Thursday amidst violence that has recently rocked the country. For security reasons, a detailed itinerary of their visit to Afghanistan cannot be released until later.
In April, during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to examine the President’s $83.4 billion spending request to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Senator Collins questioned Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about women’s rights in Afghanistan. Initially, after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the position of Afghan girls and women improved dramatically. But, troubled by a controversial new law that restricts women's freedom, Senator Collins expressed her concern that women's rights are now being rolled back.
"We have seen President Karzai sign a highly repressive law that, among other provisions, actually legalizes marital rape, it's troubling to me that the American taxpayers are being asked to ramp up assistance to Afghanistan at a time when the treatment of girls and women is becoming more repressive," Senator Collins told Secretary of State Clinton.
Senator Collins, and the other delegation members, have visited Libya, Yemen, Kuwait and Iraq. This is Senator Collins’ fourth trip to the region. Her last visit was in December 2006.
Their visit comes as millions of Afghanis prepare to go to the polls on Thursday amidst violence that has recently rocked the country. For security reasons, a detailed itinerary of their visit to Afghanistan cannot be released until later.
In April, during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to examine the President’s $83.4 billion spending request to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Senator Collins questioned Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about women’s rights in Afghanistan. Initially, after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the position of Afghan girls and women improved dramatically. But, troubled by a controversial new law that restricts women's freedom, Senator Collins expressed her concern that women's rights are now being rolled back.
"We have seen President Karzai sign a highly repressive law that, among other provisions, actually legalizes marital rape, it's troubling to me that the American taxpayers are being asked to ramp up assistance to Afghanistan at a time when the treatment of girls and women is becoming more repressive," Senator Collins told Secretary of State Clinton.
Senator Collins, and the other delegation members, have visited Libya, Yemen, Kuwait and Iraq. This is Senator Collins’ fourth trip to the region. Her last visit was in December 2006.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Senator Collins' blog- Kurdistan
Saturday began early with "Salute to Our Troops" interviews for all of us on Armed Forces Network. Then we left Badhdad on a C-130 for the one-hour flight to Irbil in the Northern Iraq region known as Kurdistan. Once again, the aircraft is terribly hot and packed with soldiers, marines, and equipment and even a country music singer (Mark Chesnutt) who is travelling to perform for the troops.
We land in Irbil where local leaders take us for a tour of the ancient Citadel, show us the weaving of utilitarian but beautiful Kurdish rugs, and welcome us with Kurdish dancers and singing children.
Irbil is a bustling, relatively prosperous city of about 750,000 people. Construction is underway everywhere with major investments by the Turks and the Lebanese.
It is much more prosperous and much more pro-America than the rest of Iraq.
You won't see an Iraqi flag here anywhere. This region suffered greatly under Saddam Hussein. Kurdistan President Barzani told us that that Hussein destroyed 4500 of 5000 Kurdish towns and villages and used poisonous gas to kill thousands of Kurds in one massacre.
Tensions between Arabs and Kurds are running high in Iraq, requiring our troops to intercede to keep the peace in recent months. The disputed cities of oil-rich Kirkuk and Mosel and the allocation of oil revenues are serious frictions between Baghdad and Irbil. The Kurds want almost complete autonomy from the central government. Even though a Kurd (Talabani) is Iraq's president, it is PM Malaki, an Arab, who controls the levers of power.
One positive development is the great improvement in the relationship between Turkey and Kurdistan that has led Turkey to invest heavily in the region.
We met at length to discuss these issues with both President Barzani and Prime Minister Barzani - his nephew. And that demonstrates a serious problem in Kurdistan: two clans, the Barzanis and the Talabanis, control much of the political power and wealth.
That has given rise to a new reform party called the Change Movement. We met with one of its leaders who said that recent elections in Kurdistan were not "free and fair" as the Barzanis claim. It's difficult to judge who is correct, but the fact that the Change Movement, as a brand new party, won 25 seats in the 111-seat Parliament seems an indication that the elections were at least relatively "free and fair."
The overall message that we received from all the Kurdish leaders was: "Please don't send a signal that the U.S. no longer cares about Iraq and wants to leave at any cost." We indicated that we want an ongoing relationship, but ultimately, the Iraqis must reconcile and take responsibility for their own security.
After the day in Kurdistan, we climb aboard a crowded C-130 once again for the flight back to Baghdad where I had the dinner with the Maine Guard members as described in my previous post.
We land in Irbil where local leaders take us for a tour of the ancient Citadel, show us the weaving of utilitarian but beautiful Kurdish rugs, and welcome us with Kurdish dancers and singing children.
Irbil is a bustling, relatively prosperous city of about 750,000 people. Construction is underway everywhere with major investments by the Turks and the Lebanese.
It is much more prosperous and much more pro-America than the rest of Iraq.
You won't see an Iraqi flag here anywhere. This region suffered greatly under Saddam Hussein. Kurdistan President Barzani told us that that Hussein destroyed 4500 of 5000 Kurdish towns and villages and used poisonous gas to kill thousands of Kurds in one massacre.
Tensions between Arabs and Kurds are running high in Iraq, requiring our troops to intercede to keep the peace in recent months. The disputed cities of oil-rich Kirkuk and Mosel and the allocation of oil revenues are serious frictions between Baghdad and Irbil. The Kurds want almost complete autonomy from the central government. Even though a Kurd (Talabani) is Iraq's president, it is PM Malaki, an Arab, who controls the levers of power.
One positive development is the great improvement in the relationship between Turkey and Kurdistan that has led Turkey to invest heavily in the region.
We met at length to discuss these issues with both President Barzani and Prime Minister Barzani - his nephew. And that demonstrates a serious problem in Kurdistan: two clans, the Barzanis and the Talabanis, control much of the political power and wealth.
That has given rise to a new reform party called the Change Movement. We met with one of its leaders who said that recent elections in Kurdistan were not "free and fair" as the Barzanis claim. It's difficult to judge who is correct, but the fact that the Change Movement, as a brand new party, won 25 seats in the 111-seat Parliament seems an indication that the elections were at least relatively "free and fair."
The overall message that we received from all the Kurdish leaders was: "Please don't send a signal that the U.S. no longer cares about Iraq and wants to leave at any cost." We indicated that we want an ongoing relationship, but ultimately, the Iraqis must reconcile and take responsibility for their own security.
After the day in Kurdistan, we climb aboard a crowded C-130 once again for the flight back to Baghdad where I had the dinner with the Maine Guard members as described in my previous post.
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.
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.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
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.
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.
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