Nelson takes the public on a virtual trip to Iraq

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) unveiled a first-of-its-kind website Friday that allows the public to share his thoughts, pictures and videos of a recent trip to Baghdad.

Following the April 26 Senate vote on the Iraq supplemental spending bill, Nelson flew to Iraq with Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) for a three-day visit. His staff documented the trip.

{mosads} After Nelson returned, he used the popular Google Earth software to tell the story of the visit , complete with pictures and videos, including a nearly four-minute clip from a helicopter ride above Baghdad.

“Each time I travel to Iraq I learn more about the obstacles and opportunities confronting the country and our soldiers,” said Nelson. “Using technology to share these lessons with people back home is important to me and I hope my Iraq map-journal is as informative and impacting for visitors as the four-day tour was for me.”

Google spokesman Adam Kovacevich said Nelson’s virtual trip is “a pretty cool example of an elected official using technology to communicate in a more compelling way.”