GOVERNOR LINGLE ON UNPRECEDENTED MISSION TO IRAQ

For Immediate Release:  Tuesday, February 10, 2004

HONOLULU — At the request of U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Governor Linda Lingle has joined five other governors from around the nation on an unprecedented, bipartisan mission to Iraq to visit U.S. troops and officials as well as meet with the Iraq Governing Council.  Governor Lingle is joined by Governor George Pataki (R-New York), Governor Dirk Kempthorne (R-Idaho), Governor Ted Kulongoski (D-Oregon), Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-Minnesota) and Governor Kathleen Blanco (D-Louisiana). 

The delegation arrived in Baghdad on Monday evening Hawai`i time, where they met with Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, the specially appointed presidential envoy to Iraq, to discuss reconstruction efforts.  They also toured parts of the city and assessed some of the devastation caused by the war.

The governors also met with the Iraq Governing Council to discuss the country’s new political structure and the council’s progress on moving post-war Iraq toward democracy.  The council first convened on July 13, 2003. 

“We discussed the challenges the country faces going forward on the political, social and economic fronts,” said Governor Lingle, during a live telephone call to KSSK’s “Perry & Price” show this morning.  “This is an opportunity to rebuild the country and they are very committed to not going back to the kind of regime that previously existed.”

The Governor made the call while dining with Hawai`i troops stationed in Iraq.  Governor Lingle reported that the morale of the Hawai`i troops is “very high” and she was having a “great time” sharing a meal and taking pictures with the soldiers in the Bob Hope Mess Tent.  “Our soldiers are well trained and committed to the efforts here,” said the Governor, who met soldiers from around the state, including Maui and Kaua`i.

This is the first visit by statewide elected officials to Iraq since the start of the Iraq War.  As the commanders in chief of their state’s National Guard divisions, the visit by the governors is an unprecedented and unified showing of support and appreciation for the nation’s troops serving in Iraq. 

The governors are scheduled to visit a women’s center where they will address Iraqi women leaders on issues relating to women and children.  As one of two women governors on the trip, Governor Lingle’s presence is crucial for demonstrating support for the Iraq Governing Council’s efforts to involve women in Iraq’s future and to address women’s rights.  The Governors will also meet with university students.

The governors began their trip on Sunday with a Pentagon briefing conducted by Department of Defense officials, including Lt. General Steve Blum, chief of the U.S. National Guard Bureau.  The delegation also visited the Pentagon memorial established for the victims of the September 11th terrorists attack.

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Media Information:
Time change:  Iraq is 13 hours ahead of Hawai`i.

For more information, contact:
Lenny Klompus 
Senior Advisor – Communications 
Phone: (808) 586-7705 
Cell:     (808) 386-5186

Russell Pang
Chief of Media Relations
Phone: (808) 586-0043
Cell:     (808) 382-7023

Visit the Governor’s Web site at www.hawaii.gov/gov.