Page 13
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Rep. Walden fields town hall questions ranging from county funding to Iraq
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden
(R-Hood River) faced nu-
merous questions regarding
the continuing war in Iraq
during a town hall meeting
Tuesday afternoon, July 3 at
Anne Basker Auditorium in
Grants Pass.
Walden represents Ore-
gon’s vast Second District,
comprising most of the east-
ern part of the state and por-
tions of Josephine County.
In opening remarks,
Walden admitted that not all
has gone well in the Iraq con-
flict, which began in 2003.
“We know the score-
card has not been a good
one,” Walden said.
The War on Terror has
so far cost approximately
$503 billion, Walden said,
with the Iraq conflict ac-
counting for $352 billion.
While Walden said that
“the day is not too far off in
the future” for the with-
drawal of U.S. troops from
Iraq, the logistics of doing
so remain difficult. Dividing
Iraq into three separate sec-
tions will not work, as Tur-
key’s government is hostile
to the idea of an independ-
ent Kurd-controlled area,
Walden said.
Turkey’s army is
amassing troops along Iraq’s
northern border, with light
skirmishes and incursions
already occurring, he said.
Walden said that there’s
“incredible genocide that
can ensue” if American
forces pull out of the con-
flict prematurely. He noted
that the United States must
be mindful of how such a
move could affect the entire
Middle East.
“All that is a reality,”
Walden said.
However, he said, the
future of Iraq will depend
ultimately on that country’s
leaders and their willingness
to take responsibility for
providing security and other
services to their citizens.
Walden said the United
States should not bear that
burden indefinitely.
“Their leadership needs
to recognize that our patience
is not forever,” he said.
Resident Kevin Marr
asked Walden point-blank
when the congressman
would stop supporting the
Iraq War.
“I’m not there yet,”
Walden said. “I want to hear
what (U.S. Army) Gen.
(David) Petraeus has to say
in September.”
Walden went on to say
that the Bush administration
should adopt more of the
recommendations issued by
the independent, non-
partisan Iraq Study Group.
“We need to do more on
diplomacy,” Walden said. “I
fault this administration for
not doing more of it.”
Walden’s vote in favor
of the Military Commis-
sions Act of 2006 also was
called into question during
Rep. Greg Walden
the town hall meeting. That
controversial bill included
the suspension of habeas
corpus for terror suspects.
American prisoners of
war aren’t allowed habeas
corpus when held in other
countries, Walden said. And
some of the persons released
from detention have been
found later on battlefields.
Walden denied that de-
tainees are entirely without
rights.
“There is a bit of an
appeal structure still in
place,” Walden said. “There
is a process there.”
The U.S. Supreme
Court will rule on the issue
in October, Walden said.
Meanwhile, the United
States should work to expe-
dite the trials of the accused.
“I don’t think we ought
to hold them there forever,”
Walden said.
He also addressed the
county payments issue. Sev-
eral Oregon counties, in-
cluding Josephine, receive
funds from the federal gov-
ernment in lieu of declining
timber receipts.
The 1994 Northwest
Forest Plan reduced timber
harvests by 85 percent, Wal-
den said. As such, the key to
fixing local economies lies
in responsible forest man-
agement, he indicated.
“What built Oregon is
the wood products indus-
try,” Walden said.
Immigration was a
popular topic during a
question-and-answer ses-
sion. Walden stated that
1986 was the last time Con-
gress passed any major im-
migration legislation, but
that little has been done to
uphold its provisions.
“No administration has
adequately enforced that
bill,” he said.
Audience members
questioned Walden about
formation of the North
American Union, which
would group the United
States, Canada and Mexico
into a single political entity
along the lines of the Euro-
pean Union.
Walden said that he
would not support formation
of that organization, and that
it could not be done outside
the democratic process.
“Any of those sorts of
changes have to be voted on
by Congress,” he said.
Questions also were
posed regarding the trans-
Texas corridor, a proposed
superhighway project. Crit-
ics of the project character-
ize it as part of a plan to
merge this country with
Canada and Mexico.
Walden said that upon
1994 passage of the North
American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), the
nation’s borders were sup-
posed to be opened to truck
traffic.
“That never happened,”
Walden said.
He stated that “private
entities are looking at the
construction of toll roads,”
but that there are no federal
plans for the superhighway.
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