Iraqi delegation visits Balad, applauds U.S. military efforts

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jason Lake
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  Hoshyar Zebari, Iraqi minister of foreign affairs, and other members of the Iraqi governing council, including Iraqi defense minister Hazim al-Shaalan, visited here June 27 on their way to Istanbul, Turkey, to the NATO summit. While here, Mr. Zebari thanked the United States for its assistance in helping form a new Iraqi government.

"Your mission was worth it," Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoshyar Zebari said of the U.S. military's effort in Iraq. "We're very proud of your sacrifices and deeply appreciate what you have done.

"Today, as we flew here we saw satellite dishes mounted on people's rooftops," said Mr. Zebari, an Iraqi-Kurd who fought in numerous rebellions against the former regime. "One and a half years ago, people would have gotten sentenced to death for having something like that. This is a new era for (Iraqis)."

He said that since Operation Iraqi Freedom started, Iraqis have experienced great leaps in personal freedoms including freedom of the press and religion, unrestricted Internet access and other privileges of a democratic society.

Mr. Zebari also said many Iraqis have seen a significant rise in their income.

"Another great change has been the rise in salaries for civil servants, teachers and other government jobs," he said. "Some salaries have gone up 100 times higher in some sectors."

Mr. Zebari said that the end result of pay raises has been the steady improvement in the quality of life for Iraqis.

"People are out buying all kinds of new gadgets," he said. "Before (Operation Iraqi Freedom) this would have been impossible. Most people never dreamed of this kind of freedom before."

But freedom has not come free. Mr. Zebari said the challenges both American and Iraqi security forces are facing is the other side affect of having more freedoms.

"Every era of change has its complications," he said. "But I believe it's just a matter of time before the security situation improves."

Mr. al-Shaalan planned to address some security concerns while attending the NATO summit.

He said the Iraqi military is still in the early stage of development and needs more equipment, training and facilities.

The defense minister also urged U.S. servicemembers to not let negative media reports or poll results dissolve their resolve for accomplishing the mission.

"The media can be unfair at times," he said. "We think (Operation Iraqi Freedom) was the right decision. History will show that your actions were right."