Victory In Iraq Caucus Members Receive Encouraging News About Iraq Reconstruction

Today, Members of the Victory in Iraq Caucus hosted a lunch in the Rayburn House Office Building regarding reconstruction operations in Iraq. Ms. Dawn Liberi, the Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Iraq Mission, and Brigadier General John F. Kelly led the discussion.

"A stable and successful Iraq will directly improve the national security of our own country," said Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02), Co-Chair of the Victory in Iraq Caucus. "Today, we were grateful to be joined by Director Liberi and General Kelly, two officials who recognize the tremendous importance of building a civil society in Iraq and are dedicated to successfully completing this mission. Under their leadership, thousands of brave American men and women are working tirelessly to help ensure Iraqis live in a stable, democratic, and prosperous state."

USAID Iraq Director Dawn Liberi currently oversees the largest U.S. Government reconstruction effort since the Marshall plan, with more than $5 billion in program resources. While describing USAID's efforts in Iraq, Director Liberi stated, "Often, Americans see the images of car bombings, but they rarely see Iraqis as people, moving in their communities and looking forward to their futures. At USAID, we are working with some extraordinarily courageous Iraqis to grow their economy, strengthen their democracy, improve their education system, and advance their civil society."

To learn about USAID's strategic accomplishments in Iraq, please visit: https://www.usaid.gov/iraq/accomplishments/.

Brigadier General John Kelly, Legislative Assistant to the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, said, "the Marines, from day one after the fall of Baghdad, immediately began the process that USAID is doing so well at today in building the country. This, and the development of the Iraqi security forces, are key to winning this fight." In 2002, General Kelly served with the 1st Marine Division as the Assistant Division Commander and spent much of his two year assignment in Iraq.

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