Campbell discussed her Middle East fact-finding missions before and after the start of Iraq War in an interview with the Iowa Independent.

She visited Baghdad and Basra in December 2002, a few months before the start of the war.

Since then, she said, the perception of the U.S. in the Middle East has changed:

"When I went in 2002, people said to us in Iraq, "Well, why are you coming to invade us? Why are you coming to take away our freedom? Why are you coming to destroy us?"

But they made a distinction between us as people and our government …

Now in Syria and Lebanon, there is a fair amount of anger at what we have done, at how we have disturbed the Middle East, at our arrogance, at the control."

Campbell’s delegation asked one of their Syrian hosts about a message to take back to the U.S. about the refugee situation.

"When we said, 'Well, what message do we take back?' she said, 'We don't need any money. We don't need anything but peace. This war is a crime against humanity,' with a passion that — it touched me deeply.

I remember vividly what she said."

She also talked about her recent trip in January and her hosts, the Good Shepherd Sisters, in Syria. She described “heartbreaking” stories of Iraqi refugees and the “amazing” work being done by the Good Shepherd Sisters.

"A heartbreaking story is this Christian family in southern Iraq who was threatened by the militia and told to get out, to leave, because this is a Shia little town out near Basra. And they say, 'We're poor, we've lived here all our lives, we don't have any money to move, and besides, we've been here for generations.' 

The second or third time that they're threatened — they come back and the militia kidnaps the father, takes the mother out to the back yard, hands the baby the mother is holding to the oldest girl, who is 7 years old, and shoot and kill the mother, in front of the kids.

The oldest boy, the 14-year-old, who I guess was at school, comes back and finds his four siblings gathered around their mother's body.

And then the neighbors and this resourceful 14-year-old kid, who feels sort of guilty now, get the kids to Syria, where they meet up with the Good Shepherd sisters.

The Good Shepherd sisters find out that there is a grandmother who the kids don't know in Germany who had emigrated earlier. They get her to Damascus, and she thinks she's going to take the kids back quickly to Germany, but she's only a permanent resident. And in Germany, like in the United States, there's no provision for grandparents to petition for immigration or permanent residence for their grandchildren. And so she's now caught in Damascus with these kids. I mean, it's just — it's horrifying.  And the German Embassy says how do we know these are really your grandkids? They could be anybody.

Sister Marie-Claude and the Good Shepherd sisters are organizing DNA testing to prove their relationship and try to keep the pressure on … Those stories get repeated 2 million times; I mean, there are 2 million refugees. So it's HUGE. It's a HUGE problem.

___

Another woman who just broke my heart is this 30-year-old nuclear engineer, she has her masters in nuclear engineering and did nuclear medicine with her father, and had a contract with Parson's to rehab a hospital outside of Baghdad. There, militia people — she didn't know who, what militia — came and threatened them for working with an American company and … we've got this commitment and so they stayed and kept working and she saw her father killed in front of her. But she kept working, and they came back and threatened her again, and finally her family said you have to flee, you have to flee.

Finally her husband went ahead to find a place in Lebanon — she had studied in Lebanon, so they knew some people there — with the last threat, she fled to Lebanon, but she is so traumatized by this whole experience that when she told us the story, we were in her little teeny one-room apartment in Lebanon, and she closes all the windows, and she closes the door, even though they were letting in the sunshine to warm the place up because it was so, so cold when we were there, and she brings us real close in the middle of the room and whispers to us her story because she's terrified she's being followed.

They've already moved three times in Beirut because she heard an Iraqi accent.

So the trauma — it's one thing to see violence and to experience violence, but the trauma continues. The post-traumatic stress disorder — it's a whole nation of people with it.

We worry so much with our military folks coming back with it. It is a national tragedy in Iraq …

The Good Shepherd sisters have organized this whole big collection of Syrians to do a settlement house to meet the needs of Iraqis living in the northern part of Damascus, a shelter for women and children, women who have been abused, tortured or widowed or this kind of thing, and a hotline for domestic violence, for Syrians and Iraqis — it's the first hotline for domestic violence in Syria.

President Assad's wife is the honorary co-chair of it. They also are taking food out to people who are caught at the border who can't get into Syria right now. Food and water.

I mean, [they're] doing amazing work.

You need to know that it is across religious lines — not just for Christians but for everybody.

Iowa Independent: So are they in camps?

"No, they're not. Which makes it in some ways harder. They're — most of the refugees are just spread around Damascus. Damascus went from being a city of 4 million to being a city of 5 million in just three years. It's a huge change.

They've had to go to double school shifts, because they're giving the Iraqi kids free access to education, but it's hard for the Iraqi kids, because the Syrian education is in Arabic and French, and the Iraqis' was just in Arabic. They don't speak French. So that's a challenge, but they're working on that.

They also don't have a real strong medical system and so are now asking for help. The Syrians didn't think this problem would last this long. So they're now asking for international assistance in responding to this crisis. Everybody in Syria just kept saying, 'But they're our brothers and sisters, of course we would respond,' when we were amazed at their generosity.

And we as a nation have only taken in 5,000 refugees when they have taken 1.5 million. You can tell I'm a little outraged.
___

The Good Shepherd sisters in Damascus have started with a huge network of Syrian people that they've organized … ordinary folks, all kinds of folks across all faith lines are working to meet the needs of the Iraqi refugees … the Syrian people have been so welcoming. I rode in a taxicab with Iraqis and the taxicab driver heard them speaking with an Iraqi accent and he would not take money from them for the fare …

He said, 'You people have had such a hard life, at least let me give you this ride. You don't have much money … '"

Since returning from their Middle East meetings with Iraqi families, U.N. officials and religious leaders, the Catholic contingent has recommended that resettlement applications be expedited so the U.S. can reach its goal of resettling 12,000 Iraqi people in fiscal year 2008. Five months into FY 2008, fewer than 2,000 Iraqi refugees have been admitted into the U.S.

The group presented its findings to Congress in February.

"And in addition to the refugees we saw, there's an additional 2 million people who are displaced within Iraq. It's a huge issue.

Congresswoman [Betty] McCollum [D-Minn.] says that she thinks the reason we aren't letting in more refugees is because if we let in more refugees, then the story of what is actually happening will get out. And the control of the message. That's her take on it.

I think this is a perfect reason why 'we the people' need to be on our toes and engaged. Because the politicians only can do what the people want and unless we make that really known people are nervous and are not likely to stick their necks out. But we the people can demand change. And that's the perfect example of where we need change.

`We the people,' as it says in the Constitution, need to wake up and take our responsibility seriously as citizens. And that all of the fear and apprehension and individualism that's been so ripe in our country has caused us to pull away from the actual engaging in our constitutional role as a people. And so my effort is to say that we need to make sure that our values and our commitment is expressed in the election.

Voting, voter education, voter turnout, but then more than that, that we stay awake after the election and hold our elected officials accountable."

Iowa Independent: And so how do we do that? How do we stay involved?

"Well, it's things such as being aware of the issues we care about in the election, but then making sure that they carry over into actual legislative agenda.

I always suggest that folks join Network. What we do is we track federal legislation from a values perspective, a common good perspective, and so that's one way to stay engaged.

But whatever people do, they need to remember that the Constitution says, 'We the people,' not 'We the politicians,' and to stay alert and engaged with policy after Nov. 4."

Campbell's "Saving Democracy" talk is part of a series on election year events organized by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) of Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri.

Speaking to a packed house of about 150 people at the Carroll Moose Lodge just after noon, Richardson, a former congressman, energy secretary and U.N. ambassador, trumpeted his foreign policy credentials.

“We can’t afford a novice in the White House in foreign policy,” Richardson said. “Bill Clinton used to say, `Bad people like Richardson. Send him to talk to them.’”

Hours after news broke of the assassination in Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, Richardson talked of his experience in that nation and the diplomatic skills he would seek to employ there.

Here is a video of Richardson elaborating on Pakistan during his Carroll appearance:

Overall, in the arena of foreign policy, Richardson said he has the connections and experience to deal with troubling nations.

“You don’t make peace with your friends,” he said. “You make peace with your enemies.”

Richardson said recent American leaders have focused on the Middle East to the exclusion of other parts of the world.

“I’ll care about Africa,” Richardson said. “I’ll care about Asia and Latin America.”

He added, “The rebuilding of our foreign policy is not just getting out of Iraq.”
Richardson also pressed the case for realpolitick to Democrats, saying he could do well in the Southwest. Richardson is Hispanic.

“As a westerner I can bring some Southwest states that have not previously been in the Democratic column,” he said.

After fielding questions from veterans Richardson listed a number of accomplishments as governor and plans as a potential president.

In New Mexico, Richardson created $400,000 life insurance policies for all National Guardsmen to supplement what he felt was an otherwise inadequate benefit.
He also ended the state tax for military people.

“I would take steps like that” as president,” Richardson said.

In his second campaign stop in Carroll, Richardson joked about liking girls and baseball as a young man, and urged audience members to ask questions that were tough, but not to get carried away. He earned genuine laughter from the crowd at a number of points in the speech and question-and-answer session.

Richardson also covered an enormous amount of policy territory.

On Iraq: He pledged to get all troops out within a year, involve a United Nations peacekeeping force and establish a “donor conference” to get other nations to contribute to the rebuilding of Iraq.

On cancer research: The current federal funding of $6 billion annually is woefully short, he said.

On education: Richardson opposed No Child Left Behind and would propose a national starting teacher salary floor of $40,000. He also would seek to increase vocational-educational opportunities for those students who do not go to college.

In Carroll Thursday, as in recent western Iowa campaign appearances, Richardson said he would ask Americans to sacrifice for energy independence.

“I’m not going to have you all wear sweaters or turn off the lights,” he joked.
Richardson said his goal is to finish in the top 3 in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, close in to the top 2  in Nevada, and then do well in other western states.

He asked Iowans to look beyond the celebrity of top candidates.

“Shake them up, Iowa,” Richardson said.

Marion resident Mary McEniry didn’t have to drive far to attend Thursday’s campaign stop in northeast Cedar Rapids, but she also doesn’t consider herself a staunch supporter — yet.

“I’m leaning toward McCain,” she confided after the event. “I’m going to all the candidate events and trying to decide. With the [Benazir Bhutto] assassination today, that just made me think that we need somebody really strong, and he’s the one.”

The assassination of Pakistan’s former prime minister was at the top of McCain’s list when he offered his prepared remarks.

“Why do we care about Pakistan?” he asked the 200 or so supporters gathered at Granite City, a Cedar Rapids restaurant and brewery. “We care for several reasons. One of them is because of the fact that they have nuclear weapons and a nuclear arsenal. Another is … [Pakistan] borders on Afghanistan, which is now seeing something of a resurgence of the Taliban. There are parts of Pakistan…that the Taliban are using as bases to launch attacks into Afghanistan where young Americans are in harm’s way.”

The situation in Pakistan, as in the vast majority of the Middle East, he said, is “complicated,” and he cited the influx of “radical Islamic extremism” in the nation’s military, “questionable” tactics employed by the Pakistan intelligence community and the “rocky relationship” between India and Pakistan because of Kashmir as examples.

“Now we have this situation where there is significant unrest in cities, there’s a popular uprising and outcry because of this assassination,” he said. “The question you have to ask yourself is ‘Who wins and who loses in an event such as this?’ I’ll tell ya who wins and that’s radical Islamic extremists — the Jihadists, because the more unsettlement there is and the more riots and the more damage there is, the more they gain their objectives to turn Pakistan into a radical Islamic nation.”

McCain said the first thing the United States needs to do is to make sure that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are secure. The second thing is to ensure Pakistan’s people move forward with their plans for an election.

“Friends, I want to talk to you about a lot of other issues,” he said. “Let’s keep our fingers crossed. Let’s hope that diplomacy works. Let’s hope that the Pakistanis will move forward in a democratic and free and open way and give their people the kind of government they need.”

Sara Butterworth, a Coralville optometrist and longtime supporter, made the drive to Granite City in Cedar Rapids for the sole purpose of meeting McCain and listening to him speak.

“I was dating a Marine back in 1999, and he was the first one to introduce me to John McCain,” she said. “The Marine is long gone, but I’ve been a McCain supporter ever since then.”

Butterworth said the trip was well worth it and that McCain’s words on both domestic and international policies solidified her decision. She plans to caucus for McCain on Jan. 3, with her primary focus being the issue of health care.

“As an optometrist, certainly health care is very important to me,” she said. “I’m not only a health care provider, but also a health care consumer. So, I feel like I see both sides of it and, to me, that’s a very important issue facing our country today.”

Mary Ellwood and her husband, Georgia residents visiting relatives in Iowa over the holiday, were both excited and shocked to learn that McCain would be visiting the restaurant they’d chosen for lunch.

“We had no idea he was going to be here or that any of this was going to happen,” Ellwood said. “It was a great opportunity that I wasn’t expecting.”

Ellwood, an employee at Boeing in Macon, Ga., where she builds C-17 Globemaster cargo planes, called the meeting serendipitous because McCain had cast a vote in the U.S. Senate that she wanted explained.

“In the news clips for Boeing … they let us know what’s going on in the Senate,” she said. “McCain voted against it and I want to know why. It’s a wonderful plane and the military needs it. His response to me, when I asked him why just a moment ago, was: ‘Don’t need it. Can’t afford it.’”

In response to Ellwood’s question about why McCain voted not to purchase C-17s, he indicated that the Defense Department and the President hadn’t requested it and that the plane wasn’t on the Pentagon’s unfunded priority list.

“I know that’s what he said,” Ellwood responded when reminded of McCain’s comments. “But I know better… the planes were requested and are needed.”

The response, that included a McCain caveat that the C-17 was a “very good weapon system” and that “Boeing does a great job,” was not satisfactory to Ellwood, who said that she “does not” and “will not” support McCain.

“He doesn’t support my plane — and that’s my livelihood,” she said as her husband, who helps manufacture the much older C-5 Galaxy planes, nodded in agreement.

The good news for McCain is that the Ellwoods return to Georgia Saturday and won’t be caucusing.