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Africa, Mideast first congressional tour for Minnesota's Paulsen
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WASHINGTON - Freshman Rep. Erik Paulsen had thought his first official trip as a congressman would be to war-torn Iraq or Afghanistan.
Instead, the Minnesota Republican accepted an invitation to tour six nations in Africa and the Middle East, part of a congressional delegation looking at the political, security and humanitarian situation in the troubled region.
"The Horn of Africa is a global hot spot right now," Paulsen said in an interview Wednesday. "It's everything from piracy, to the ongoing struggles in Somalia, to the overall national security situation."
Paulsen's unannounced trip, completed last week, included stops in Burkina Faso, Congo, Kenya, Yemen, Egypt and Morocco. In Kenya, the group was briefed by part of the intelligence team that was involved in the rescue of the Maersk Alabama, the U.S. freighter that was hijacked by Somali pirates.
The delegation, led by Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., also toured a refugee camp in Congo holding 30,000 people displaced by the civil unrest in that country. "It was a very powerful experience," said Paulsen, who encountered a Minnesota aid worker there named Chelsie Frank.
Paulsen, whose suburban district contains large populations of Liberian and Somali refugees, said U.S. assistance will be important in bringing stability to the region.
"Anarchy in areas like that can give way to actions like piracy, which affects us all," he said.
Paulsen, a member of the House Finance Committee, also emphasized the importance of monitoring the effectiveness of U.S. aid initiatives. "As we move forward, we need to take a very close look at how we provide foreign aid to this region," he said. "Corruption can waste tax dollars."
KEVIN DIAZ
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