Congressman returns from second trip to Iraq

Congressman Steve King’s just back from his second tour of Iraq, and King says the soldiers have a longer-term view than they did when he was there eight months ago. King, who represents 32 counties in western Iowa, says there wasn’t a morale problem when he was there in mid-October, but the soldiers now understand “this isn’t going to be over in a month or two.” King says he is proud of the courage and commitment of the soldiers, and for the sacrifices their families are making state-side. King was in Iraq last week, and says he didn’t get “face-to-face” time with the Iraqi people. King says the “military brass” he met with told him there’s no way the insurgents who oppose the American-led coalition and the new government in Iraq pose a “credible threat.” King says all the insurgents in Iraq can do is “terrorize us to some extent.”King says the troops told him they’re concerned about “the home front” and the resolve of the American people to see the fight through. King says one matter of urgency in Iraq is getting the infrastructure in place, as sewers are flooding in areas where he says the insurgents are coincidentally having their best success in recruiting. King says he has two regrets about the trip: he missed former President Ronald Reagan’s funeral in D.C. on Friday and the Iowa Republican Party’s state convention in Des Moines on Saturday.