³I know it is very risky to go to Iraq right now, but I feel compelled to go there. I want to see my son and daughter and talk to the other troops. I want to talk to the Iraqi people, especially the women,² said Anabelle Valencia, a military mother traveling with the delegation. ³And I want to talk to the US authorities there and ask them when they are going to send our troops home and allow the Iraqis to run their own country.²

The delegates will leave from various airports in the United States on Saturday, November 29 and arrive in Iraq on December 1. During their stay, they will meet with representatives of the Iraqi Governing Council, human rights organizations, and women¹s organizations. They will visit hospitals, schools, and U.S. military installations. The delegation also hopes to meet with Coalition Provisional Authority Administrator Paul Bremer and Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez.

Among the participants in the delegation are Fernando Suarez del Solar of Escondido, CA, whose son Jesus was killed on March 27 during the invasion of Iraq, and Anabelle Valencia of Tucson, who has two children (a 24-year-old daughter and a 22-year-old son) currently serving in the U.S. military in Iraq. Two women who live on the military base at Fort Bragg, NC will also be traveling with the delegation. Both are married to soldiers who are serving in Iraq.

Participant Sean Dougherty is a Vietnam Veteran whose 22-year-old daughter is serving in Iraq. The other veterans traveling with the delegation are Michael McPhearson, a Gulf War Veteran who lives in Newark, NJ and has a son in the military, and John Grant, a Vietnam veteran from Philadelphia, PA. ³This trip will serve me in my quest to help our country find an honorable path to building world cooperation and maintain our leadership as an example of freedom,² McPhearson said.

Upon their return, members of the delegation have requested meetings with U.S. and U.N. policymakers, including President Bush, National Security Advisory Condoleeza Rice, U.N. Secreatry-General Kofi Annan, and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Negroponte.

The organizations sponsoring the military families and veterans delegation to Iraq are Global Exchange and the International Occupation Watch Center. Global Exchange is a human rights group based in San Francisco that sponsors educational trips to such countries as Afghanistan, Vietnam, and Israel/Palestine. The International Occupation Watch Center was established in July by international peace groups to monitor and report on the occupation of Iraq.