Representative Jeff Miller (R-FL 1st) Visits Iraq for 7th Time

Representative Jeff Miller (R-FL 1st) Visits Iraq for 7th Time

by Jeff Miller

As I return home from my seventh congressional trip to Iraq, I arrive in Northwest Florida even more proud of our brave men and women serving in harm’s way. It was an honor to meet and talk with them and to hear their perspectives on the progress of the war. I had the opportunity to observe the success of the surge with my own eyes. Our troops, led by General David Petraeus have performed well. Overall violence in Iraq is at its lowest in four years. Anbar province, once the hotbed of violence and terrorist attacks, has seen the violence drop dramatically. Markets and shops are opening in greater numbers. The success of the surge is a direct result of our brave men and women in uniform, some of whom spent fifteen months on the ground in Iraq.

I was also very impressed at the high quality of military health care that our troops are receiving in theater. On the way back from Iraq, I had the opportunity to visit Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany which treats more of the seriously injured military personnel. The surgeons, nurses, support staff and facilities were first rate. These men and women work long hours to save the lives and limbs of wounded military personnel. We should all thank them for their great work and service to our nation. I was very pleased to observe that the number of patients at Landstuhl has significantly decreased – in large part due to our military successes on the ground in Iraq.

I am deeply concerned about the inverse relationship between our military successes on the ground and the media coverage here at home. As conditions on the ground in Iraq improve, media coverage by the liberal, mainstream media goes down.  According to the Project for Excellence in Journalism, coverage of the Iraq War dropped to 3% in February, 2008 – the lowest so far. Why? Perhaps the elite media executives think that the success of the surge and the fact that we are winning the war isn’t newsworthy. Perhaps they do not want to show that the resolve of the “stay the course” side of the argument was actually the right side to be on.

Here are a few things that the media is not telling the American people. The average number of attacks in Iraq has decreased 80 percent from a year ago. Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks are down 70 percent. The Iraqi economy is expected to grow by 7 percent which will result in a more stable environment.  Keeping this stability in place with allow for political progress as Iraq approaches its national elections in 2009.  Americans want to hear the good news, but the media only wants to report on the bad news. This is wrong, and it must stop.

The media is also not reporting the dangerous and inconsistent language by some politicians. For example, prior to the surge, many Democrats, including Senator Obama predicted that it would be a failure. The Senator promised his anti-war supporters that he would pull out of Iraq immediately. Now, he is “refining his position” and claims that withdrawal should be based on conditions on the ground. These irresponsible flip-flops send the wrong message to our troops serving in the field.  They also embolden the enemy. Once again, the mainstream media does not hold these politicians accountable for their flip-flops.

It would be a tragedy for the United States to arbitrarily pull out of Iraq. While some political and military mistakes were made early in the period following major combat operations, the surge has resulted in significant improvements on the ground. Our troops and our country have committed too much to simply walk away, especially when the momentum is on our side.  This is a critical time for Iraq as conditions condition to improve. If the United States stands firmly with Iraq during this important time, stability will result in more political progress.  We must support our brave men and women in uniform and support them in winning the war. The media has a responsibility to also report on the improvements in Iraq and not only report the negative.

Meeting so many of our brave troops on duty in Iraq was a truly inspiring experience. Everyday, they continue to serve in harm’s way so that we in America are safer at home.  Please continue to keep our troops and their families in your thoughts and prayers.  

I’m Jeff Miller and that’s what I think, what do you think?  Email me through my website at www.house.gov/jeffmiller.