Altmire

U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire returned Thursday from a quick tour of Iraq disappointed by the lack of progress made by the Iraqi government.

Altmire, D-4th, spent about 22 hours in Iraq, visiting military sites and meeting with top officials as part of a congressional delegation.

Joined by Reps. Michael Acuri, D-N.Y., Charles Boustany Jr., R-La., and led by Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., the group saw the conditions and sampled the attitude of the region.

"There's nothing like seeing it first hand," Altmire said Thursday.

After meeting with officials such as Gen. David Petraeus, commanding general of the Multinational Force in Iraq; Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq; Iraq Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zobaie, and other representatives, Altmire said the Iraqi government is not prepared to be self-sufficient.

"The Iraqi government is clearly not ready to step up," he said.

Despite American efforts to move the Iraqi government toward self sufficiency, it is not anywhere near that point, he said.

"They haven't done any of that,"he said. "They've actually gone backward."

And, the government isn't in any hurry to change, he said.

"There's no sense of urgency,"he said of the Iraqi government.

It's time to show the Iraqi government that American commitment is not unlimited, he said.

At the same time, Altmire praised the work of the men and women in the armed forces. He had dinner with soldiers, including a woman from Beaver County, which is part of the 4th District.

This woman, a 2003 graduate of Western Beaver High, is on her second tour of the region and plans to attend Penn State in the spring.

Most impressive to him was "the bravery of our men and women,"he said. "I just can't say enough about them."

Other parts of his agenda included touring a U.S. combat hospital and visiting Fallujah. He was also in nearby Kuwait, where the plane he rode was based.

He watched an Iraqi security force training session and a counter-terrorism demonstration. He also walked the streets of the country, he said.

Altmire, a freshman congressman, and the other officials were on what is likely the final congressional delegation before a progress report is issued by Petraeus and Crocker.

That report, which is due Sept. 15, is expected to detail military and political developments in Iraq, including those affected by President Bush's surge strategy. That initiative pumped an additional 21,000 soldiers into Iraq to quell violence.

About 162,000 troops are in Iraq now.

Altmire opposed the surge policy, but he said Thursday he went on his tour with an open mind.

Now, he said, it's time to move forward with his first-hand knowledge, and he said he will look forward to the Petraeus-Crocker report.