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Thank you for contacting me regarding the U.S. military presence in Iraq. I appreciate hearing from you. As a former Army Ranger who served as an assault helicopter flight commander in the Middle East, I am deeply concerned about our troops and their families. I have friends and West Point classmates serving in Iraq. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am working everyday to ensure that our troops have the tools and training they need to accomplish the mission and return home as soon as possible. As you know, Operation Iraqi Freedom began on March 19, 2003, and saw success when the Iraqi regime fell on April 9, 2003. On June 28, 2004, the U.S.-led coalition transferred full sovereignty to the Iraqi interim government, and the Iraqi government is now running the day-to-day operations of its country. Embracing new freedoms, 60% of eligible Iraqi voters went to the polls during the country's first free election in 50 years on January 30, 2005. The Iraqi people have been buoyed by their participation in the election and are continuing to take discernable steps toward eradicating the threats posed by terrorists and suicide bombers. Iraqis are also enjoying enhanced nutrition programs, better health care, improved water and sanitation, increased economic activity, and strengthened education. When Prime Minister Allawi and his colleagues acquired sovereignty at the end of last June, large parts of the Shiite south, including its religious centers of Najaf and Karbala, were controlled by militia. Today, most of Shiite Iraq is quiet; and government police walk the streets of its cities and towns, as the insurgency is focused on the three Sunni provinces around Baghdad. In these areas, with the offensives against Samara and Fallujah and parts of North Babil, inroads are being made against the terrorists. Iraq's growing border police have apprehended more than 60,000, foreigners in the past seven months, most of whom are Iranians trying to enter Iraq illegally. Iraqi officials recently arrested Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's top bomb-maker, who has reportedly confessed to 32 attacks. Progress, while slower than we may like, is being made throughout Iraq. As the continuing terrorist violence in Iraq reminds us, the road to self-governance will remain a challenge. However, our progress is impressive, and the vast majority of Iraqis are supportive of our efforts. Schools and hospitals are being built, clean water is beginning to flow, crops are being replanted, and families are freer. I am proud of our armed forces' accomplishments, and I am also encouraged that Iraqis are taking control of their own country, which will lead to enduring stabilization. Large numbers of Iraqis continue to volunteer for service. There are more than 200,000, Iraqis involved in five separate security organizations: the Army, police, border guards, facility protection services (which guards Iraq's extensive oil infrastructure and other key facilities), and civil defense corps. Iraq's security forces were instrumental in the successful election in spite of the terrorist threats against them and their families. The activities of insurgents are becoming increasingly unpopular among the Iraqi people. There is no doubt that the work and sacrifice of the U.S. armed forces have made our country and the world a safer place. Our troops have removed a dangerous tyrant with perpetual interest in using weapons of mass destruction against the United States. They have stabilized a fledgling democracy in a crucial geographic region. They have eliminated the Taliban and Al-Qaida networks in Afghanistan. Their efforts are extra- ordinary. While I want to see our troops leave Iraq as soon as possible, we must not set a date certain for withdrawal of troops. That will only encourage terrorists that they can wait us out. We must fully train the Iraqis to provide security in their own country before we can withdraw troops. Again, thank you for contacting me. If I can be of further assistance to you on this or any other issue, please call me at 202-225-3465.
Sincerely,
Geoff Davis Member of Congress
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