Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) made his second trip to Iraq today as part of an official congressional delegation visit to the Middle East.
While there, Whitehouse met Lt. Theresa Mainuli of Middletown and Maj. Johann Gomez of Rumford at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Shield in Baghdad. Whitehouse also received briefings from U.S. military and State Department officials, including Gen. Raymond Odierno, Commander, Multi-National Force – Iraq, Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, Commander, Multi-National Corps – Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker. Whitehouse last traveled to Iraq in March 2007.
“I was glad to have the chance to thank our troops spending this holiday season far from home for their service to our country,” said Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. “We owe it to these courageous men and women to do all we can to bring them home safely.”
The trip was led by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and included Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Thad Cochran (R-MS). Before arriving in Baghdad, the delegation stopped in Cairo, Egypt and Amman, Jordan. While overseas, the delegation is meeting with regional leaders and U.S. military and diplomatic officials, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan.
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