Menendez, Reed to visit Iraq

Two Democratic senators are going to get a firsthand look at the war in Iraq this week, but there’s probably a big difference in what they’ll see and hear.

The two are Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Robert Menendez of New Jersey. Reed left Tuesday on what will be his 11th visit to Iraq since 2003, while Menendez will make his first visit to Iraq on Thursday.

{mosads}And while Menendez will be going to Baghdad to be briefed by top U.S. military and diplomatic officials, Reed will bypass Baghdad while visiting other regions of the war-torn country.

Reed, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee and a West Point graduate who served in the 82nd Airborne Division, has made it a practice to go to Iraq on his own rather than with a congressional delegation, while bypassing official briefings and meeting with military commanders and troops in the field.

Reed, who is believed to have made more visits to Iraq than any other senator, has consistently called on the Bush administration to press the Iraqis to take greater responsibility for their own security and future.

Menendez, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, on Monday met with members of a New Jersey National Guard unit at Fort Dix, N.J., who are heading to Iraq later this year. He said that while he’s consistently opposed the war, he wanted to meet with the New Jersey soldiers and determine what needs to be done to help them and their families.

“They answer the call,” he told The Associated Press. “They don’t ask whether it’s the right or wrong war.”

Both senators will return from Iraq this week.