Four Governors Visiting Troops in Iraq

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Four U.S. governors were in the Middle East Tuesday as part of a Pentagon program to let state leaders see their guard members in action, officials said. The trip was kept secret for security reasons, said Jason Gibbs, spokesman for Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas.

Douglas was traveling in Kuwait and Iraq with fellow Republican Kenny Guinn of Nevada and Democrats Timothy Kaine of Virginia and Phil Bredesen of Tennessee, Gibbs said. Douglas left for Iraq Sunday night, a day after speaking at the funeral of Army Spc. Christopher S. Merchant, 32, who died March 1 after an attack on his vehicle in Ramadi. On Tuesday, the governor visited the Ramadi region, Gibbs said.

Kaine, meanwhile, met with Virginia Army and Air National Guard troops on Tuesday and visited Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. Talking to reporters by phone from Kuwait, he said he will visit more troops in Afghanistan before returning home Friday.

Bredesen met Tuesday with Tennessee units serving in Al Taqaddam, followed by a briefing from Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5686049,00.html