The criticism President Bush has received from the war is unwarranted, an Iowa congressman said Wednesday.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, spoke to a group of about 80 in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union. King, who recently returned from Iraq, said he visited schools and hospitals in Baghdad and Mosul and spoke with Iowa soldiers.

“Going to Iraq gave me the opportunity to differentiate between what I was seeing in the media and what I was hearing in daily briefings from Iraq,” King said.

King commented on the progress that has taken place in improving hospitals and schools. After the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, many civilians stormed public buildings, looting “everything but the walls and roofs.”

King said new desks, chalkboards and fans had been replaced in the school he visited. He recalled students chanting “Long live Iraq” and pointing proudly at the new chalkboards when he entered a classroom.

“The Iraqi people want the U.S. to be there to help them get their country back,” King said. “Yes, they want us to leave, but most of them don’t want us to leave any time soon.”

King recalled President Bush telling other congressmen that ordering American troops into Iraq was a much harder decision than he thought it would be.

He expressed his disappointment in the media’s criticism toward President Bush and the war in Iraq.

“If it is written correctly, [the war] will go down as the most efficient, well-planned military operation of all time,” in consideration of the short amount of time America was able to invade and occupy Iraq, he said.

King said a million tons of ammunition have been recovered from Iraqi militants. He helped the audience digest this number by explaining it would take a string of trucks starting at the west border of Nebraska reaching across Iowa and halfway across Illinois to carry that amount of weaponry.

King said many Iraqi people have access to American news through broadcasts from Arab news stations. He said he thinks the media’s criticism toward the war puts America at an even higher risk.

In Iraq, King took the opportunity to visit with Iowa soldiers. He said one Iowan told him she was willing to commit eight months or a year of her life to give Iraqi people a chance at freedom.

He said he thinks a miracle can happen in the Middle East.

“People have the desire, hunger, thirst for freedom,” King said. “If we aren’t willing to take risk and pay a price, how do we defend our freedom and rights in the future?”

Jessica Riedl, senior in mechanical engineering, said it was interesting to hear about Iraq from someone who had just been there.

“It was reassuring to hear that children are happy and things are getting better,” she said.

Alex Segebart, sophomore in agriculture, said he thought the way King described what he saw in Iraq was very detailed and well-defined. “He told everything like it was,” Segebart said.