Trip to Iraq, Afghanistan makes strong impression on on Bright

U.S. Rep. Bobby Bright, D-Montgomery, said he doesn’t know of anything that could have prepared him for his first trip to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“There is no doubt that what I saw here will make me a better representative to my district,” the congressman said Wednesday in a telephone interview with the Dothan Eagle from the Middle East. “It was truly eye-opening. I am coming back better educated.”

Bright is near the end of a five-day trip to the Middle East with five other congressmen to speak with U.S. troops as well as residents and leaders of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bright, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said he came away with a few initial impressions.

First, he said there is a “glimmer of hope” for Iraq’s future.

“I still see a country ravaged by war, and I see the fear in the eye of citizens when they ask us not to leave for fear their country may relapse into chaos,” Bright said.

“I realized real soon we don’t need to lose what we’ve gained there by pulling out too quickly,” he added. “We have to give Iraqi government time. But we stressed to them that we simply can’t do this indefinitely.”

Second, he said Afghanistan is in worse shape than he realized.

“The most depressing part of my trip and one of the most depressing ventures of my life was walking down the streets of Kabul and seeing how far behind the world has left them,” Bright said. “The utter poverty and desperation I saw makes the country very vulnerable to terrorist mobilization. How we approach Afghanistan is going to be very critical.

“We don’t need another Vietnam, and we really can’t afford another Iraq,” Bright added. “But at the same time, can we afford not doing something to gain some stability there?”

Others on the trip included Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-Me.; Duncan Hunter Jr., R-Calif.; Stephen Cohen, D-Tenn.; Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.; and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla.

The delegation met Sunday with U.S. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of Multi National Forces Iraq, as well as Iraqi officials. The delegation had lunch with service members serving in Iraq. Bright said he was able to speak with several service members from Alabama.

Bright is scheduled to return to Washington on Friday, and then will come home to Montgomery.