GOVERNOR LINGLE CONTINUES HISTORIC MISSION TO IRAQ
Second day in Baghdad spent visiting troops, receiving military intelligence briefings
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, February 11, 2004
HONOLULU — Governor Linda Lingle and five fellow governors spent their second day in Iraq meeting with U.S. military men and women, receiving intelligence briefings, and touring key military facilities in Baghdad. Highlights of today’s trip include:
· A visit with the First Armor Division in Baghdad and a briefing from the Brigadier General.
· Lunch with the troops in the Bob Hope mess tent.
· A tour of the Joint Operations Center, including a secured intelligence briefing at Camp Victory.
· A tour of the Palace on the Lake.
· Shopping at the PX with soldiers.
Due to bad weather in Baghdad today, the governors’ original schedule, which included a visit to a women’s center, was altered. The governors’ mission was not affected by the most recent suicide bombing in Baghdad.
Governor Lingle is participating in an unprecedented, bipartisan mission to Iraq at the request of U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. 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. On their first day in Baghdad, the governors met with the Iraq Governing Council, received an intelligence briefing from Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, the specially appointed presidential envoy to Iraq; met with the commander of the combined task forces, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez; had dinner with U.S. troops serving in Iraq; toured a former palace of Saddam Hussein; and visited a factory, where they talked with factory workers and Iraqi citizens.
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Media Information:
Iraq is 13 hours ahead of Hawai`i.
Additional information about the governors’ activities in Baghdad will be released to the media as updates become available.
Photos, including many taken by Governor Lingle, will be posted on the Governor’s Web site (www.hawaii.gov/gov) as they become available.
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
