ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gov. Linda Lingle, second from left, joined fellow governors yesterday at a Baghdad news briefing at the former presidential palace of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. They included Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, left, Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco.
Lingle cloaks
trip to Iraq
in secrecyThe governor's spokesman defends
lying about her whereabouts
to ensure safety and security
Gov. Linda Lingle and five other state governors are wrapping up a secrecy-shrouded two-day trip to Iraq.
It was the first visit by governors to Iraq since the American occupation began in April, and it comes as the U.S. military is carrying out a rotation of troops -- a change that will send 4,800 25th Infantry Division soldiers to Iraq in addition to Hawaii Army reservists, National Guard soldiers and local Marines.
The trip was so hush-hush that a spokesman for Lingle lied Monday, saying the governor was in town, when he knew she was traveling to Iraq and had left town Friday night.
Russell Pang, Lingle's chief of media relations, was asked Monday if Lingle was in town, and he said she was in her office.
"She's around here, working on several things," Pang told the Associated Press.
The governor's office also released a media advisory Monday saying that Lingle would attend a wreath-laying ceremony the next day with Ehud Barak, a former prime minister of Israel.
Asked about the misleading statements, Pang said yesterday his objective was "to prevent any leaks, to ensure the safety and security of the governors and not jeopardize the trip."
Helen Varner, dean of communications at Hawaii Pacific University, said she was "flabbergasted -- we expect people to tell the truth.
COURTESY OF GOV. LINDA LINGLE
Gov. Linda Lingle flashed the shaka sign in Iraq yesterday as she posed with members of the 25th Infantry Division from Hawaii.
"There are legitimate reasons why a spokesperson cannot release information, but I can't think of a reason why an untruth would be necessary," Varner said. "Communications is built on trust, and it can be destroyed with one mistake and you lose all your credibility."
The security for the trip was similar to that of President Bush's surprise Thanksgiving visit. On that trip, reporters who accompany Bush were told the trip would be canceled if the story leaked.
Lingle Chief of Staff Bob Awana said the trip was so quietly planned that when he and Lingle left late Friday night for Washington, D.C., and a round of Pentagon briefings, not even Lingle's security detail knew about it.
After attending a late Friday evening dinner, Awana said Lingle was driven back to the governor's residence.
"She got out and asked the security to stand by. She came out a couple of minutes later with her luggage and said, 'Would you put this in the car and take me to the airport?' She said: 'Just take me to the airport. Everything is OK,'" Awana said.
Lingle met Awana at the airport, and Awana told the security detail that "the governor and I need to go to Washington for some meetings, and we will be back shortly." Awana traveled to Washington with Lingle for a military briefing, but he returned to Honolulu.
Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona was brought into the planning at the last minute but was not told where Lingle was going, only that she would be out of town and Aiona would be acting governor.
Awana said he got the go-ahead from the Department of Defense yesterday morning to announce the trip.
About 3 a.m., calls were made to the Cabinet members, legislative leaders and the news media.
In Iraq, Lingle met with Iraq's top American administrator, Paul Bremer, military chiefs and members of the Iraqi Governing Council. In the evening, Lingle had dinner with troops from Schofield Barracks.
In a radio interview yesterday morning with KSSK, Lingle said that security surrounding the delegation is heavy.
"There are three heavily armed Humvees in front of us," Lingle said, "and there are two Apache (helicopters) overhead."
Lingle passed out 50 "care packages" to Hawaii soldiers and letters to the troops from students in three classes at Kailua Elementary School.
The packages also contained a letter from Lingle, a Hawaiian coffee packet, chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, roasted macadamia nuts, the "Alone in IZ World" CD by Israel Kamakawiwoole, a gold coin with the state seal, Hawaiian cookies and packages of Hawaiian ice tea concentrate, Pang said.
In the radio interview, Lingle described Iraq as "a very colorless country."
"There is a very little architecture outside of Saddam's palaces. ... Almost all of the buildings are two stories and concrete and colorless. That's my visual impression of the country."
Soon after their arrival, the six governors -- dressed in flak jackets -- were taken in a convoy to a busy commercial street in the Baghdad neighborhood of Karrada to visit two stores, shaking hands with Iraqis who crowded the sidewalks.
Lingle's route to Iraq took her first to Washington, D.C., then to Amman, Jordan, and then to Baghdad in a C-130 yesterday.
Awana said the Department of Defense contacted him Jan. 20 and offered the trip to Lingle. Awana was told not to tell anyone except Lingle and was asked not to use a state computer to communicate about the trip.
"I was concerned about her personal safety, but she made the decision to go and saw the value in going," Awana said.
Lingle was picked, Awana said, because the Bush administration is concerned about women's rights in the reconstruction of Iraq.
Two of the nation's five female governors, Lingle and Kathleen Blanco (D-La.), went on the trip. The other governors were Ted Kulongoski (D-Ore.), George Pataki (R-N.Y.), Dirk Kempthorne (R-Idaho) and Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.).
While the five other governors took advantage of being allowed to bring one local reporter on the trip, Lingle rejected the idea because of concerns that the plans would leak out, Awana said.
"We were told that if there was a leak, the trip would be aborted because it would be too dangerous for the delegation," Awana added.
The governors are due back in Washington tomorrow.
Lingle's trip was hailed by Democrats in the state Legislature who said she was helping morale.
"From the point of view of those who have concerns about our troops fighting a war, she is sending a good message," Senate President Robert Bunda said.
But one legislator raised questions about Lingle, who is Jewish, going to the Muslim country of Iraq.
Sen. Kalani English said he thought it sent the wrong message.
"I am part Russian-Jewish, and I am sensitive to the strains and tensions of the area," English said. "I thought it strange to send a Jewish woman into a Muslim country -- the religious differences are such, I don't know how she would be effective. She is really showing some insensitivity."
Spokesmen for the governor declined comment on English's complaint.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
