Lingle, five other governors take stealthy trip to Iraq

By Gordon Y.K. Pang and Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writers

On a trip shrouded in secrecy, Gov. Linda Lingle flew to Iraq with five other U.S. governors to meet with soldiers and Iraqi leaders.

Hawai'i Gov. Linda Lingle, third from left, and five other American governors visited the former Presidential Palace in Baghdad. With her were, from left, New York Gov. George Pataki, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco. Associated Press

Back home, Lingle's staff spent part of the day explaining why they told reporters she was in Honolulu on Monday even though she was on her way to Iraq. They cited security concerns.

The group of governors was invited to Iraq by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The trip is being paid for by the Department of Defense.

It was the first visit by governors to Iraq since the war began, and it comes as the U.S. military is carrying out a massive rotation of troops — a change that the governors said would bring a large number of reservists and National Guard troops from their states.

Also making the trip were New York Republican Gov. George Pataki, Idaho Republican Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, Oregon Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Louisiana Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

The trip began Sunday with a briefing conducted by Department of Defense officials at the Pentagon. They arrived in Iraq sometime yesterday, Iraqi time. Russell Pang, the governor's chief of media relations, said Lingle would return to Hawai'i during the weekend.

Soon after their arrival, the six governors — dressed in body armor — were taken in a convoy to a busy commercial street in the Baghdad neighborhood of Karrada to visit two stores, shaking hands with Iraqis who crowded the sidewalks.

The governors planned to meet Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, special envoy to Iraq, to discuss reconstruction efforts in the region. They also will meet with the Iraq Governing Council to discuss the country's new political structure, tour a women's center to address women's rights and meet with university students.

Lingle made a call to KSSK radio's Perry and Price morning show yesterday while having dinner with Hawai'i troops from an undisclosed location known only as "the Bob Hope Mess Tent."

"Our troops are well-trained and committed to the efforts here," Lingle told radio listeners, adding that morale was "very high." Hawai'i's first-term Republican governor was apparently chosen for a variety of reasons, Pang said, including the fact that a high number of Hawai'i-based troops are there.

Additionally, the Department of Defense indicated that they wanted to emphasize woman's rights in the new Iraq and said that "Gov. Lingle would be a good role model to show that women can play an important role in government and leadership," Pang said.

"I'm happy and elated that she is in Iraq supporting our troops at this point in time," said House Speaker Calvin Say, D-20th (St. Louis Heights, Palolo, Wilhelmina Rise).

"People thought it was cool," said state House Minority Leader Galen Fox, R-23rd (Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kaka'ako). "They thought it was really great. The need for secrecy is totally understood. It is a really dangerous place."

Senate President Robert Bunda, D-22nd (North Shore, Wahiawa), a Vietnam War veteran and representative for a district that includes several military installations, also endorsed Lingle's trip as a morale booster for Hawai'i troops.

But University of Hawai'i-Manoa political science professor Ira Rohter, also a Green Party official, said he saw no legitimate purpose for the trip other than good public relations for Lingle and the war. "What is the relevance of the governor of Hawai'i being in Iraq?" Rohter asked rhetorically.

Neal Milner, another UH-Manoa political science professor, said nearly any action taken by an elected official on a daily basis can be characterized as influenced by public relations and that a trip to Iraq is no different. Milner predicted that more attention will now be paid Lingle's views on the war as a result of the trip.

Pang said that Lingle's communications staff "did everything we needed to do to make sure there were no leaks" about the governor's trip.

On Monday afternoon, the governor's office issued a press release under the heading "Revised Gov. Linda Lingle's Public Schedule" that listed a wreath-laying ceremony with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak at the USS Arizona Memorial that was to take place yesterday morning.

Also on Monday, Pang told reporters "she's around" and pointed to the addition of Barak's wreath-laying ceremony as evidence of activity, even though he knew Lingle was headed for Iraq. In hindsight, Pang said, the event should have been listed under Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona's public schedule.

The Department of Defense told each of the governors that they could invite a member of its local media corps to join the trip. Lingle, according to AP, was the only governor not to extend such an invitation.

Pang said Lingle considered tendering an invitation but could not decide on whom to ask. He noted that she was aware an AP reporter would be covering the trip. Pang added that he expects Lingle, a former journalist, will summarize her trip in writings that will be made public.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070. Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8012.