It was a one-hour stop March 24 for U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson at Cooper Lighting in Peachtree City. But Isakson and the two dozen Fayette County residents and business representatives on hand made good use of the time, covering topics that included Iraq, immigration and border security, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and global job outsourcing.

Isakson said he just returned from his most recent trip to Iraq. Unlike what is being reported in the media, the transition over the past two years is remarkable, he said. The Iraqi Army is much better trained and is carrying out a significant amount of the engagement with insurgents, he said.

“Most of the boots on the ground are worn by Iraqi soldiers,” Isakson said.

Isakson cited the three major goals of the overall operation in Iraq, that of taking Saddam Hussein out of power, conducting elections and adopting a Constitution and training the Iraqi Army to take care of their country.

Isakson acknowledged the successes of the mission, noting that the mission is not completed even though much has been accomplished, adding that CNN functions as the enemy’s intelligence network. He continued, saying that Iraqi insurgents are being armed and financed by al Qaeda.

“It took us years to accomplish all this,” Isakson said, an obvious reference to the time that elapsed between 1776 and Feb. 2, 1790, the date when the federal government became fully operational under the U.S. Constitution. “Iraq is a strategically located country and we hope to remain a friendly partner with Iraq for many years.”

Commenting on the various claims by former Iraqi Gen. Georges Sada and the mountain of confiscated, but as yet untranslated, documents that allude to Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) prior to the invasion and their purported shipment to Syria and the Bekka Valley in Lebanon, Isakson said the administration is working to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.

“We haven’t found the smoking gun but we have found a lot of the pieces, including nuclear notes and notations,” he said. “And there was significant traffic going into Syria during and just before the invasion.”

Immigration was another of the topics Isakson addressed during his remarks to the group at Cooper Lighting. The Senate is set to engage in a two-week debate on the issue, he said. Border security and immigration are tied together and the two must be resolved. That resolution must be tied to a meaningful guest worker program, he explained.

Isakson said he has a bill that will address immigration and border security issues. He believes the borders can be secured by use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as the Predator surveillance vehicle, thus providing “eyes in the sky” to detect illegal entry. Such a method is now being successfully utilized along 150 miles of the U.S. border in Arizona, he said.

Funding for the initiative calls for $400 million for 26 UAVs and 1,500 additional border and immigration agents to be stationed along the Mexican and Canadian borders.

The use of UAVs and additional personnel working in tandem would allow U.S. efforts to work seamlessly. Once the borders are secure the guest worker program can be managed, he said. A final component of the plan would repeal laws that rewards the illegal activity associated with hiring illegal laborers.

“Illegal aliens are our single biggest domestic issue,” Isakson said.

Other topics in Isakson’s one-hour stop in Peachtree City included Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

“FEMA did a horrible job, but there is plenty of blame to go around with New Orleans and the state of Louisiana,” he said.

Isakson contrasted the follow-up efforts of Louisiana and Mississippi, noting that the latter has made significant headway towards recovery. Mississippi has done a better job dealing with the aftermath of the devastating hurricane, he said.

“Haley Barber has done a remarkable job,” he said. “The damage in some parts of Mississippi was more devastating than the damage in (New Orleans and Louisiana).”

Isakson said people and communities must take an active role in the recovery planning. The federal government is poised to do its fair share, he said, but only if the states and cities participate as partners.

Isakson was asked about the continuing job losses due to global outsourcing and how America might regain its competitive edge. A growing number of the old barriers do not matter anymore with the advent of the Internet, he said, and those changes call for new solutions. Some of those solutions might be a result of the employment gains other countries are experiencing and the rise in income levels that accompany those gains.

“We have to reach the world marketplace with things we take for granted, but things the world sees as something they need or things they see as luxury items,” Isakson explained.