No Time to 'Walk Away' in Iraq

Returning from a weekend visit to Iraq, Rep. Jim Ryun said Monday that he was "heartened" by the commitment of members of the U.S. military fighting there.

Ryun spoke with The Associated Press by telephone en route back to the United States. The Kansas Republican was part of a delegation of elected officials who made the weekend trip. It was his first visit to Iraq.

Ryun said his impression of the war was consistent with those views shared by U.S. military members he has spoken with who have returned from Iraq since the war began in 2003.

"I was very encouraged," Ryun said. "It is really remarkable what our young men and women are doing there for us."

Ryun, who is seeking his sixth term in Congress in the November election, said he saw that the U.S. military is playing more of a support role to Iraqi forces in fighting the insurgency. While in Iraq, he said, the delegation was informed that some Iraqi soldiers had been killed by insurgents.

"It is evidence that they are taking more of a lead role," he said.

Ryun was part of a bipartisan delegation that included GOP leadership and members of the House Armed Services Committee. The delegation visited Jordan and Iraq over two days.

House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the issue of the United States leaving Iraq too early was raised by the Iraqi leaders. The delegation repeatedly told the Iraqis that the United States was staying put, Boehner said during a conference call with reporters Monday.

"This is not time to walk away from them," Boehner said from Spain.

Recently, the Senate defeated two measures that would have set a timeline for removing U.S. troops from Iraq, currently numbering about 127,000. Ryun said it would be wrong to set deadlines for troop withdrawals, creating a situation for the insurgents to wait for the United States to leave before thrusting Iraq into further chaos.

Ryun said that during his visit, Iraqi leaders said they were frustrated by negative media reports in the United States, which they say focus more on the conflict and less on the progress being made. Part of the problem, Ryun said, is that it has been just three years since Saddam Hussein was removed from power.