By Peter Sachs / The Bulletin
WASHINGTON - Following a weekend visit to Iraq, U.S. Sen. Gordon
Smith, R-Ore., on Tuesday echoed calls that the newly formed Iraqi
government needs to take control of the security of the nation,
using American forces as backup.
The Oregon Republican's visit coincided with the first meeting of Iraq's parliament, though the two events happened on the same day by chance, Smith said.
"We were able to take the temperature of the situation on the ground and, frankly, to celebrate with them the historical achievement of a democratically elected government in Iraq," he said.
Smith and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, spent Saturday in the Green Zone in central Baghdad.
He visited a handful of Army troops and Marines from Oregon deployed there and met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Smith also made a stop at the World Economic Forum in Egypt, speaking as part of a panel on the prospects for democracy in other Mideast countries.
This was Smith's second trip to Iraq. In March 2005, he spent time in Baghdad and Kirkuk and made stops in Afghanistan. Comparing the two trips, Smith said that the overall climate now seems a bit safer. He noted that the plane he traveled in late Friday night made a less steep approach than when he arrived there in March 2005, indicating that there was a lower risk this time of being hit by insurgents on the ground.
After his visit last year, Smith was quoted in The Oregonian as saying that Iraq has passed a "tipping point" in terms of stability. Yet on Tuesday, Smith acknowledged that the situation has continued to be difficult in Iraq since then.
"It's hard to get a good sense of it in the Green Zone, and most of the violence is Iraqi-on-Iraqi," Smith said.
Using the phrase "tipping point" again Tuesday to say the American footprint in Iraq is too large, and comparing the U.S. role in Iraq to a pair of training wheels, he said, "You've got to take them off at some point."
While shying away from explicitly calling for a withdrawal or reduction in troop numbers, Smith said American troops should play support roles.
"Our presence ultimately can go from one of liberation to one of occupation if we're not careful," he said.