AP: Courtney visits Iraq for Memorial Day

Courtney visits Iraq for Memorial Day - May 30 2007

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Joe Courtney said his Memorial Day trip to Iraq underscored how "the clock is ticking" on keeping up current U.S. troop levels in the war-wracked nation.

Courtney, an anti-war candidate who narrowly defeated GOP incumbent Rob Simmons last fall, spent about 12 hours in Iraq as part of a congressional delegation that met with U.S. soldiers, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Iraqi officials. Such trips have become common among members of Congress.

"You had a general sense from the leadership, our leadership, that the clock is ticking right now in term of anyone's realistic expectations about how long we can maintain this level of presence," Courtney said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday from overseas.

A helicopter crash in Iraq on Memorial Day claimed the life of a Norwich soldier, Army 1st Lt. Keith Heidtman, 24, who was from Courtney's 2nd District in Connecticut. Heidtman was among ten American soldiers killed that day in roadside bombings and the helicopter crash, making May the deadliest month of the year for U.S. troops.

"It's a terrible tragedy," said Courtney. "He was working in a very dangerous place .... I think everyone should pay homage to what a magnificent job him and his comrades are doing for all of us."

The freshman congressman, who has called for a "responsible and timely conclusion" of the war, said the trip also highlighted the need for Congress to ask tough questions about Iraq.

The lawmakers visited about 80 U.S. troops deployed with about 20 Iraqi forces to secure a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad.

The units are part of a security push begun earlier this year and aimed at quelling sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites.

Some U.S. soldiers Courtney met said they were frustrated that the Shiite government in Baghdad was not providing equal access to Sunnis for basics like food and electricity.

"All the effort that the U.S. troops are trying to put in to create trust and lower the tension is undermined by the failure of the Iraqi political leadership to get to the bottom of these very basic issues that are dividing the two sides in the civil war," Courtney said.

There were reminders of danger all around the congressman on this trip. A roadside bomb went off about 500 yards away while the lawmakers visited the neighborhood, said Courtney.

He said was struck by how U.S. forces are stretched to the limit with extended tours. He said one veteran soldier he met whose second deployment to Iraq had been extended described it as a "punch in the gut to him and his family."

Courtney said he was extremely impressed with the dedication and skill of U.S. forces.

Iraq government's defense minister voiced confidence that Iraq's army will be self-reliant by 2008, said Courtney.

"I conveyed to him in the strongest terms possible that people in my district and the people in America in general are very anxious to see that self-reliance happen as quickly as possible," Courtney said.