PORTLAND (AP) – Sens. Olympia Snowe of Maine and Ron Wyden of Oregon traveled to Baghdad under tight security Saturday to get a firsthand look at the situation and to meet with the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. George W. Casey.

The senators, both members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, held a town hall-style meeting with soldiers from Maine and Oregon at Camp Liberty before meeting with deputy interior and oil ministers within the heavily fortified Green Zone.

Speaking by satellite phone, Snowe said Casey told her at Camp Victory that this is a transitional year as Iraq builds up its security forces and establishes a new government. Success in both areas will mean a reduction of U.S. forces in Iraq.

Snowe said one good thing that came out of the recent upsurge in sectarian violence was the performance of Iraqi security forces.

Without security, it will be difficult to achieve the ultimate goal of forming a unified government to lead the country, she said.

“The real key in the future is not only developing a professional military but making sure that they have all of the skills, the equipment and the training that’s essential to deter that type of civil conflict,” said Snowe.

It was Snowe’s third attempt to travel to Iraq. Two previous trips were canceled at the last minute because of security concerns, and sectarian violence that broke out 1 weeks ago nearly caused the Pentagon to scuttle this trip, as well.

Casey said Friday that the worst was over after the country was pushed to the brink of civil war following the Feb. 22 bombing of a sacred Shiite shrine in Samarra and reprisal attacks against Sunni Muslims that claimed at least 500 lives. The violence claimed the life Army Spc. Joshua Humble, 21, of Appleton, Maine.

Security remains an issue.

On Saturday, a bomb that detonated outside Baghdad killed seven and wounded 25, and a Shiite lawmaker was seriously wounded in an attack on his car in Basra.

The two senators flew from Kuwait aboard a C-130 to Iraq. At Camp Liberty, near the Baghdad airport, they met with about 130 members of the Maine National Guard’s 152nd Maintenance Co. as well as units that included soldiers from Oregon.

The Maine unit, which is due to leave Iraq in April after a 14-month deployment, has performed superbly on its assignment of maintaining equipment, as well as providing security, which is outside the unit’s area of expertise, Snowe said.

“I told them they’re the pride of Maine, that we’re proud of what they do, and that we’re profoundly grateful” for their service, she said.

Outfitted in body armor and a helmet that together weighed more than 35 pounds, Snowe said she has a greater appreciation for what soldiers have to endure, especially in the summer when the temperature tops 120 degrees.

Afterward, Snowe, a Republican, and Wyden, a Democrat, traveled via helicopter to U.S. embassy in the Green Zone and then to Camp Victory to meet with Casey. On Sunday, they’ll travel to Kirkuk and visit wounded soldiers at a military hospital in Balad before returning home.

AP-ES-03-04-06 1448EST

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