Austin makes unannounced visit to Iraq as 20-year anniversary of invasion approaches

Mike Brest

March 07, 06:57 AM March 07, 06:57 AM

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit to Iraq, where he reaffirmed the U.S.'s long-term commitment in the region.

Austin's trip makes him the highest-ranking Cabinet official to visit the country since the start of the Biden administration. He met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and is expected to meet other senior officials while he is in the country.

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The secretary said in a statement he's in Iraq to “reaffirm the US-Iraq strategic partnership as we move toward a more secure, stable and sovereign Iraq," according to the press pool.

Austin's visit comes weeks ahead of the 20-year anniversary of the U.S.'s invasion of Iraq in March 2003, which ultimately resulted in both the toppling of Saddam Hussein and the deaths of 185,000 and 208,000 Iraqi civilians, according to the Costs of War Project by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University.

The defense secretary, who was the last commanding general of U.S. forces there after the invasion, is in the middle of a trip that includes stops in Jordan, Egypt and Israel.

His trip is designed to reaffirm to U.S. allies in the Middle East that the U.S. "remains committed to supporting their defense and increasing and strengthening the strategic partnerships with each of these countries," a senior Pentagon official told reporters on Friday, ahead of his departure.

The topic of Iran's ongoing maligned behavior is also a top issue for Austin to discuss with regional partners.

“He will obviously be speaking about the unprovoked war of choice by Russia and Ukraine,” the official added. “He will share his views about the imperative of increasing support to Ukraine now. He will also talk about the strategic implications of increasing Russian-Iranian military cooperation, which right now is killing Ukrainians but, eventually, will come back with significant and negative security consequences for the Middle East.”

Incoming congressional members include 19 veterans

Tori Richards

December 31, 04:00 AM December 31, 04:00 AM

Veterans will have a big presence in the 118th Congress as 19 newly elected veteran members will join the ranks of high-profile military advocates like Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Reps. Jim Banks (R-IN) and Brian Mast (R-FL).

The new slate includes the first black West Point graduates along with two women, which will bring the number of serving female veterans to seven.

Sixteen of the incoming veterans are Republican. They will all join the House except for J.D. Vance of Ohio, who was elected to the Senate.

"Working with somebody who you build that trust with, at West Point and at war, will be essential to move this nation forward," Rep. John James (R-MI) told Politico.

James flew 750 combat hours in Iraq while serving as an Army Ranger. He ran for the Senate in 2018 and 2020 before securing a victory in the House this year.

“Diversity in the Republican Party is not the best,” Rep.-elect Wesley Hunt (R-TX) said to the New York Times. “If you don’t have people like me, and women, stepping up and saying it’s actually OK to be a person of color, then we’re going to lose the next generation.”

Hunt’s service mirrors James's: They both graduated from West Point in 2004, and Hunt was an Apache pilot in Iraq with an additional deployment to Saudi Arabia.

The women who were elected are Jen Kiggans (VA) and Anna Paulina Luna (FL) — both Republicans.

Kiggans was a Navy pilot deployed to the Persian Gulf, and Luna served stateside as an airfield manager for the Air Force.

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Two other high-profile members joining Congress are retired Navy SEALs: Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, who attended the Jan. 6 Trump rally but left before the mob descended on the Capitol, and Ryan Zinke of Montana, who served in the Trump administration as interior secretary. Both are Republican representatives, Military.com reported.

Pew Research looked at the new Congress and found that 80 House members and 17 senators will be veterans. Only seven in the group will be women. They range in age from being in their 30s (9) to 80s (3) with the majority in their 40s (31).