Suozzi is ‘changed’ by Middle East trip

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After his recent trip to the Middle East, U.S. Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi said all the military-themed movies got it wrong. There’s no pumping music in the background and no cowboy-like rowdiness. Instead, it’s real people doing real jobs in life or death situations.

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Suozzi visited Afghanistan where he met with military officials and troops to learn about their progress in the area. He visited the cities of Kandahar and Jalalabad, the latter of which is close to where the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) exploded the following day.

He also met with General John Nicholson and attended many briefings to learn about the U.S. operations in Syria. “I’ve joined many other Democrats and many Republicans in saying to the president, ‘you’ve got to come to Congress first before you do anything further that goes beyond set American policy in Syria, so you can try to build some bipartisan consensus as to what the agenda should be,’” Suozzi said.

Suozzi was joined by other members of Congress including Rep. Elise Stefanik, Rep. Keith Rothfus and Rep. Anthony Brown. The group also traveled to the U.S. allied countries of Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

The current mandate of the military in the Middle East is the Train Advise and Assist command, a part of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission within Afghanistan. Suozzi explained the goal of the TAA is for U.S. troops to advise and assist the local governments in Afghanistan so they can fight terrorist groups locally. In addition, the U.S. is helping to build up the country’s infrastructure, police force and education system.

“Sadly for all of us, we can’t leave these places because we have real enemies that will be there for some time,” Suozzi said. “This will be a generational effort. I’m fully supportive of the philosophical shift that took place under President Obama and that is being continued.”

He explained that U.S. troops are not fighting local Afghanistan terrorist organizations such as the Taliban, but are fighting international groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda. “If we give them any rest and fail to disrupt what they’re doing, they’re going to organize and plot more attacks in America,” Suozzi explained.

He added that Obama’s reduction of the troops stationed abroad was definitely a positive action, but while in the Middle East he spoke with military officials who said that a few more troops would be beneficial for force protection while the current troops are out on patrol. Because of the decrease in troops, the U.S. has hired outside contractors to guard bases and protect them. “Increasing the force level by a few thousand will save money and prevent other groups from getting involved,” said Suozzi. “We should be doing more of this training, advising and assisting in more places like Jordan and Kuwait.”

On the local level, the congressman held an Aeronautics and Defense Contractor Roundtable to meet with companies in his district who supply the military with supplies. He said his district receives about $1.7 billion in defense contracts, the largest dollar amount in the state. He stated it was important to help these companies and figure out what he can do to make them more successful in this area, which will be beneficial to the local economy.

“We have to support our troops but I really am changed by this trip,” Suozzi said. “It’s a much deeper feeling that I have because I’m so impressed by not only the intelligence, but the courage and the responsible way in which our military conducts themselves.”