Kulongoski Visits Baghad

Capitol Currents:

Don't look for Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski at any election night parties tomorrow. The term-limited Democrat, who's largely stayed out of the spotlight during this political season, is apparently having such a good time in the Middle East that he's extending his visit there by two days. Kulongoski departed Oregon a week ago on what was touted as a trade mission to Israel.

Now, Kulongoski is extending his trip by two days in order to swing by Iraq and Kuwait. The governor has made three trips to war-torn Iraq before, most recently in November of last year. While those trips were primarily to visit Oregon troops, this one will have a different focus. According to Kulongoski's press office, the governor will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Iraqi Minister of Higher Education "that will support the development of sustainable engineering curricula, expansion of research lab capacity, promotion of international student and faculty exchanges, and other sustainability efforts at Iraq’s public colleges of engineering." The agreement will also be signed by representatives from Oregon State University and the Michael Scott Mater Foundation.  Kulongoski's office says it's the first such agreement between the Iraqi government and a U-S state since the fall of Saddam Hussein.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width="1" height="1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3320471128493510714-3178847194853990055?l=www.capitolcurrents.com" alt=""/></div>

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