An interesting idea...

CNN has an interesting article which posits the idea of politicians, from Congress to the President, spending time "embedded" with the troops.

I'm right there with the soldiers interviewed. There should be at least a short period of time (maybe a couple weeks at a time) where at least those in Congress spend time with the troops in front-line positions when doing so does not compromise security. While I appreciate that it would be helpful for the President or the Secretary of Defense or the Senate Majority Leader to go, I don't see how that could occur without seriously compromising the security of the unit. A congressman would be tempting enough target...

Soldiers wish politicians would embed with them
CNN

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Army Staff Sgt. Antonia Gonzales points his weapon across the Tigris River, keeping a close eye on a bridge that was cracked in half by an insurgent attack a few months ago.

He's 31 and on his second tour in Iraq. His survival and that of the men he serves with rely on an instinctive ability to spot hidden threats. A pile of trash, an odd formation of wires, a cart seemingly left innocently by the side of the road -- all could mean death.

"If you don't come out here, then you really have no clue," says Gonzales, a member of Task Force Justice, which is operating in northern Baghdad. "They don't understand what it is (like) driving down the road and to wonder if you are going to get blown up or not."

Gonzales and soldiers like him across Iraq must continue the day-to-day duties even as debate back home intensifies about the 160,000-plus U.S. commander in Iraq, testifies before Congress Monday that the "surge" has improved security and that some U.S. troops could begin leaving Iraq by the end of the year.