NewsOK.com: Fallin: Iraq Conflict Not 'Open-Ended'

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NewsOK.com: Fallin: Iraq conflict not 'open-ended'

Rep. Mary Fallin said Monday there is "still a lot of work to be done" in Iraq and that Americans are running out of patience with the conflict that is now more than four years old.

Fallin, R-Okla., traveled to Iraq for the first time over the weekend on a two-day "whirlwind trip" of the Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Ramadi as part of a delegation of six freshman members of Congress that included Democrat Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the only Muslim member of Congress.

Fallin, a three-term Oklahoma lieutenant governor who was elected to the 5th Congressional District last fall, said she was "pleasantly surprised by the progress we've been making in Iraq" and believes that President Bush's troop increase is helping to bring more order to the country.

"That's not to say that everything's fine, that everything's settled," said Fallin, a stalwart supporter of Bush's Iraq policies. "Many times we get the picture back in the United States that it's a lost cause, that's there's no reason to be there ... I think there is progress being made."

But Iraq remains an active battlefield where al-Qaida terrorists are "alive and well," she said.

"There's still a tremendous amount of work to do," Fallin said.

She said she met with Bush's top military commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, as well as Iraqi military leaders and stressed that Americans are becoming impatient with the war.

"Progress has to be made. The American public's patience is wearing thin," Fallin said. "I don't think it's an open-ended conflict. It has been a long war. We all want the war over with as soon as possible. We all are concerned about the cost."

Fallin said the goal of the Iraqi military is to take full command of ground forces next year.

"They would like to have control of their own country, be self-sufficient," she said. "They don't like to be occupied by another nation."

But Iraqi leaders also believe it would be a mistake for the U.S. to pull out before they can stabilize their government and armed forces, she said.

Fallin said she met with several groups of soldiers from Oklahoma who are stationed in Iraq and said their spirits were high.

"The soldier's attitudes were very positive, upbeat. They were very proud to help the Iraqi people," Fallin said.

Fallin said she experienced some of the rigors of serving in the country when she rode aboard Chinook helicopters wearing a 60-pound armored vest and an armored helmet in 130-degree heat.

On one trip, the helicopter unexpectedly fired defensive flares that Fallin said she mistook for an incoming rocket.

"When it flared out I think I let out a little yelp. I thought we were under fire," Fallin said. "It was a little bit frightening. That's what our soldiers do every single day."

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