Steve Isreal is in it!
"BIG TIME"
By Sean M Hennessey
Chairman
Jefferson County Democratic Party
I just got off a conference call with Congressman Steve Israel. Congressman
Israel recently returned from his sixth trip to the Middle East. Congressman Israel
accompanied Governor Paterson and other NYS Electeds to the front line in order to
thank all our brave men and women serving overseas for their selfless committment
to our country.
He was kind enough to update his friends in the DRC (Democratic Rural Conference) of his
view of the progress in Iraq and Afganistan. I can tell you that there were over 40 reps.
from across NY State on the call -and Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain division- was the main
topic of discussion. Congressman Israel was incredibly impressed with all the hard
work our troops are doing abroad and stessed our need to suppot them as they deploy
to Afghanistan.
During the call I expressed my concern for our Military Families and opened an invitation
for the Congressman to visit our region and see first hand the profound impact Fort Drum
has on our whole community. As we all know, many of our neighbors have seen spouses
deploy for 1, 2 and 3 tours. I stressed the burden these long and extended stays have on our military families.
Congressman Israel concurred that these depolyments have placed serious strain on many in our community and that he
felt our efforts have reached somewhat of a plateau in Iraq. Congressman Israel also explained that
if Afganistan is not suitably fortified we could see further escalation in militant attacks there.
The Congressman agreed to visit our community in the near future and we will be talking soon to
coordinate his arrival.
Congressman Israel impressed me as someone with great understanding of the complexities
facing our military famlies and a person willing to go the extra yard to further a resolution
to the Iraqi conflict as well as support our troops on the front line of the true war on terror in
Afganistan. I feel very lucky that Governor Paterson has such a talented slate of candidates
to pick from to replace Senator Clinton and I look forward to hosting Congressman Israel in the
near future.
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