Congressman Dave Reichert's weekend trip to Iraq backed up his long-held belief that the troop escalation is working and that U.S. soldiers oppose any quick withdrawal. Reichert said that in his first battle zone visit since 2005 he saw signs of military progress and some stability returning to Baghdad neighborhoods.

He remains committed to Gen. David Petraeus' strategy. In his first interview since returning from Iraq Monday morning, Reichert did say there were two things he'd now push to change in Iraq.

He says the "rules of engagement" that require, for example, U.S. troops to fire warning shots at oncoming vehicles could be endangering American soldiers. He said he wants to "pressure the administration to loosen these rules."

Reichert is also unhappy with reconstruction efforts. He is concerned about fraud by U.S. contractors and wants Iraqis to start paying for more of the costs of rebuilding the country.

Here's how Reichert's trip unfolded:

He and other members of Congress on the trip flew Thursday by commercial airline to Kuwait. From there, they boarded a C-130 bound for Baghdad and loaded with Army and Air Force personnel heading to battle. But what was supposed to be a 90-minute flight to the capital, instead took 3 ½ hours and ended up about 50 miles north of Baghdad, at the massive Balad air base.

A sand storm and word of gunfire around the Baghdad airport required the diversion. Balad is home to a large military medical complex. It has a fully equipped trauma center. Seriously injured soldiers are treated there before being flown to Germany, and then back to the U.S.

Reichert was given a tour and talked to soldiers and was allowed to wander on his own some. He stopped in a waiting room where injured soldiers wait to be flown out of the country. He said:

Soldiers have started to write their thoughts about the war on the walls. Every wall is covered with a thought, a poem — patriotism just oozing from these walls.

To me it was like walking into a church. I had to pause there. I just reflected on partners that I lost in my first career and some of the thoughts that I had about my friends were the same as what was on those walls. One said: "Proud father," and then it lists his rank, his name, his son's name and his rank and his daughter's name and her rank, and it says, "All serving together at the same time in Iraq."

Reichert said he told a sergeant at the medical base that the walls needed to be saved and at war's end "cut these walls out and ship them back to the states and reconstruct this room."

A second attempt to fly into Baghdad was successful, though again a sandstorm turned what was supposed to be a 20-minute flight into hours in the air as the pilot circled and made repeated attempts to see the airport to land.

In Baghdad the congressional delegation met with generals who serve under Petraeus and with Ambassador Ryan Crocker. There were briefings and dinner with the ambassador in the former Saddam palace that now serves as the U.S. Embassy.

Reichert talked with soldiers at the complex.

I did not hear one complaint. We talked to these ladies and gentlemen and they never complained. I didn't hear one solider say, "Get us out of here now." It was everyone, to the person, saying, "Let us finish the job and with dignity. Don't let my friends die in vain, my fellow troops."

At a briefing the congressmen were told that a siren would sound with a 10-second warning of incoming mortar or missile fire. Reichert said he joked with a nearby solider and said, "I guess what they're saying is if you hear that you can just kiss your ass goodbye."

At the embassy he talked with U.S. troops who had been stationed along the Iraq/Iran border. He and Congressman Steve Pearce of New Mexico sat down with soldiers who had piled their machine guns on the table. They talked for hours in the 100-plus degree nighttime heat.

We heard them the say things you heard Petraeus say: "We're making progress. We want to finish the job."

One solider, nicknamed, Big Bear, told the congressmen about chasing down an Iraqi who had videotaped a Humvee being hit by an IED. They did that after an Iraqi soldier had told them the person they had spotted in a nearby shack was only a witness, not someone worth capturing.

The rules of engagement were one of their complaints and that's one of things I plan to look at. I think we are hamstringing our guys and gals way too much. They are required to fire warning shots at cars that are barreling down on them with who knows what in there.

Some of the rules of engagement are really causing some of the unnecessary deaths and injuries, at least from the soldiers' opinions. And I would tend to agree with that.

I asked Reichert if Congress has any say about the rules of engagement for soldiers in battle. He concedes Congress can't mandate such things.

We're going to look into that. But we certainly can have oversight. We can certainly apply some pressure on behalf of the soldiers. That's our responsibility. We represent those guys and gals over there. I think if we speak loud enough we can pass ... a sense of Congress resolution. We can go down and pressure the administration to loosen these rules.

Reichert also left the Green Zone. He rode in a Humvee to a police station in the Red Zone. He said he saw people in the marketplace and saw a woman walking with a child and carrying a Snoopy shopping bag.

People are starting to come out of their homes. People are sick and tired of al-Qaeda and the insurgents and others.

...

It's not all rosy. But you can feel it just turning to more of a positive. At least people are beginning to see that.

Is it where we wanted it to be? No. Are we happy with the progress we've made? We're happy we made progress but there is still a lot of hard work ahead.

Reichert said that he was told of a model neighborhood of sorts the U.S. is building along the Tigris River.

There'll be a shopping center, parks, schools and we're rebuilding the entire area as a showcase to say, "Here is your city. Your entire city can look like this if we all work together and get rid of these terrorists."

Reichert is unhappy, though, with the pace of development of the Iraqi government. And, he said,

This surge should have been suggested much sooner.

He came back to the states more sure than ever that the surge, though, is now working, and needs to continue as long as the military says that's what needs to be done.

He said every member of Congress is "going through the same mental gymnastics" he is about Iraq and the surge.

This isn't a rock solid decision as you see and learn with the finite mind you are blessed with to evaluate these things. Should we be there? Should we leave there? How long should we stay? How much should we commit? What are our responsibilities? What about all their responsibilities?

If we don't do the job right over there and you look at the possibility of what could happen to the safety and security of the Middle East and then extrapolate out to the rest of Europe and across the ocean to America, we really need to be strong in this.

On the same trip, though, was Congressman Jim Walsh, R-N.Y. He came back saying he had changed his mind and no longer supported the surge.

Reichert told me that he didn't think he and Walsh were far apart in what they believe today. Walsh does agree there is short-term success from the surge. And he doesn't specify what he means by calling for an orderly withdrawal of troops. But his language is certainly more critical. Walsh says on his Web site:

Iraq's stalled political progress will continue unless it is forced to take charge of its own destiny. The Iraqi military will not stand up until the U.S. military physically begins to step down.

The American people have given much to the people of Iraq — its best and brightest, its wealth, its prayers, and its patience. We now need to see some improving evidence that this sacrifice is not without promise. The clock is running out on American military support.

At a forum earlier this week, Reichert said he was asked by someone when in history has so much faith been put in the hands of one general. Reichert said that Abraham Lincoln put that faith in General Grant and before that, the country had that faith in General Washington.

Reichert said that the American people today won't put that faith in President Bush.

They don't trust his words anymore. That's just obvious from the low ratings. And they don't trust Congress either, by the way. You know who they trust? They trust the military to make the right decision. General Petraeus is the guy we can put our trust in right now.