Gutknecht on his Iraq trip; the Mankato Free Press asks: What took him so long?

Here is what Rep. Gutknecht says about his recent trip to Iraq:

Over the past weekend, I traveled to Iraq to visit our troops and learn first hand about the conflict and reconstruction there. I was awed by the incredible professionalism from the men and women on the ground. I also witnessed enormous sacrifice. I'm proud to say that the Minnesota troops are well-equipped and in good spirits.

The future of Iraq is balanced on a three-legged stool: safety in the streets, a healthy, independent political system, and economic opportunity. All three rely on each other, and no nation can survive without them.

I asked tough questions about progress in Iraq and got some straight answers. While there is progress in Iraq, that progress is moving forward at glacial speed. That is not good enough for the American people.

We have given the Iraqis a chance. We have trained over 280,000 for their security functions. Now it's time to begin taking the training wheels off.

The Mankato Free Press, which endorsed him in 2004, counters with this editorial:

Our View -- Gutknecht’s late insight on Iraq

The first thing that comes to mind upon learning of Congressman Gil Gutknecht’s comments this week that the peace in Iraq is not going well is: What took him so long to figure it out?

Bad news coming out of Iraq has been constant. For quite some time, it has been difficult to envision the day when Iraq might actually be able to stand on its own, reasonably free of violence and bloodshed.

Gutknecht, an early supporter of the war in Iraq, is not unlike millions of Americans who, because they saw clearly the evil of Saddam Hussein and the benefits of a free Iraq, clung to their optimism that our Middle East nation-building could be a success. But hope eventually fades into disenchantment when it comes to Iraq, and Gutknecht seems to have finally grasped the reality of the situation.

The 1st District congressman returned this week from a weekend visit to the war zone, and he said while openly debating the merits of drawing down our forces, “Baghdad is a serious problem.” He also said, “Americans are going to start losing faith in this thing.”

Start? Many Americans have begun to lose faith in this adventure well before now. It is somewhat troubling that the Republican congressman, a vocal supporter of the Iraq War since it began more than three years ago, decides now is the time to say conditions are getting worse instead of better. It is also troubling that not until now has Gutknecht come to the conclusion that the Bush administration has been less than candid in its assessment of the situation. Should we have expected our congressman to have learned this sooner?

Even so, it is a good thing to hear Gutknecht’s assessment now, before Iraq becomes the kind of quagmire that cannot be escaped. The congressman’s statements — given his credentials as a respected conservative Republican — may serve to wake up other influential lawmakers who continue to hang on to their favorite fantasies. As Gutknecht’s Democratic opponent in the upcoming election, Tim Walz, said, Gutknecht’s statements may serve to re-energize debate at a time when a reassessment is most needed.

Granted, workable answers are very hard to come by. If we all agree that Iraq must soon begin to solve its own problems without our hand-holding, then when should we begin our withdrawal? How many troops? How soon? And what happens when we finally do pull out? These are questions that still confound us, because we know America can’t defend Iraq forever, and we fear that a pullout now will abandon Iraqis to a vicious insurgency.