Inouye will visit Iraq to survey damage

By Jaymes Song
Associated Press

Sen. Dan Inouye wants a firsthand look at Iraq to assess what type of work and resources it will take to rebuild the war-torn country.

Inouye, D-Hawai'i, and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, are leading a group of senators next week on a trip to the Middle East, including a visit to Baghdad.

"It's to meet the troops and see what sort of damage we're confronting because my assignment is on the appropriations committee," he said Thursday. "The rebuilding and reconstruction of Iraq and the establishment of a stable government, that's not going to be easy. It's going to be a major challenge."

Some legislators believe that with the end of major fighting in Iraq, President Bush will request billions of additional dollars for reconstruction and ongoing U.S. security costs there.

Finding money for Iraq will be difficult task for lawmakers in a sagging economy and with Bush's tax-cut plan looming.

"The war, as of this moment, has cost about $80 billion," Inouye said. "I have no idea what the reconstruction and restoration of government will cost. It's going to be expensive."

Inouye also repeated the importance of finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, noting that disarming Saddam was the premise under which many nations backed the U.S.-led war.

"I hope we locate the weapons right away," he said. "After all, there is some question and our credibility may be placed in jeopardy."

There is a possibility the senators' visit to Iraq may be postponed if "it gets contentious and violent" in Iraq, Inouye said.