A Missouri Congressman asseses the movement toward democracy in Iraq and is finding movement, but it’s slow and it’s dangerous. Northwest Missouri Congressman Sam Graves (R-Tarkio) is part of the first Congressional delegation to meet with the leaders of Kurdistan before moving on to meet with other Iraqi leaders. Graves says what the delegation has been asking Iraqi leaders is what would happen if the United States withdrew troops. He says the universal response is that they’re worried to death and fear insurgents and terrorists would fill the vacuum created by such a withdrawal. Graves says cooperation among differing factions is improving, but he adds that democracy in Iraq remains in its infancy and is developing slowly. Graves says it would be good for impatient Americans to look at their own past. He notes it took decades for Americans to form their democracy. Graves says it will take time and that the Iraqis must work out their differences and their rivalries. He says insurgents are stepping up their effrots to keep democracy from happening as it gets closer to happening, because it’s going to affect every country in the Middle East. Graves says the American military cannot pull out at this fragile time.
