On Jul 19, 2006, at 11:17 AM, Jim Devine wrote:
"The situation [in Iraq] seems far more stable than when I was here
two or three years ago. The security seems better, people are more
relaxed." -- U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, to the NYT while
hanging in the Green Zone in Baghdad.
<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=156238&page=3>
Fresh from a trip to Iraq, Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-MN) told reporters
in a telephone conference call Tuesday that American forces appear to
have no operational control of much of Baghdad. LINK
Saying "Baghdad is worse today than it was three years ago," Rep.
Gutknecht was critical of some of the "spin" from Bush Administration
officials in the Pentagon and State Department. "What I think we need
to do more is withdraw more Americans," he said. Until his recent
trip to Iraq, Rep. Gutknecht had been a strong supporter of the war
in Iraq. He is running in a competitive — though likely Republican —
district against Tim Walz, a former command sergeant major in the
Army National Guard.
