Agriculture, armed forces celebrated during Governor's Ham Breakfast

Elected officials, active candidates and politically engaged Missourians crammed under the Director’s Tent on Thursday morning for the 58th annual Governor’s Ham Breakfast.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon used the annual Missouri State Fair political gathering to celebrate the state’s deep agricultural roots and to champion initiatives his office has undertaken to transform agriculture through innovations and investments in “next- generation technology.”

“The world is getting smarter, smaller and faster. Scientists and engineers are blazing new trails in a wide a variety of industries, and agriculture, my friends, is no exception. When it comes to agriculture research, Missouri is on the cutting edge,” Nixon said.

He said investments in a range of technology programs would help secure Missouri’s agriculture base for the next century.

“The fair shows us a lot about who we are, where we come from, and most importantly, while touching on tradition, the fair really speaks to our future,” Nixon said. “Advanced education, cutting-edge technology, next-generation seeds, high-speed Internet, enhanced transportation and worldwide markets — agriculture is changing. That is the future our state fair shows us, and that is the future that gives us hope.”

He singled out his MoBroadbandNow initiative, which has helped secure $134 million over the last year to help lay a fiber optic “backbone” that, it is hoped, will provide opportunities for farmers and rural business owners.

A federal award announced this week will bring $66 million to two Missouri companies, expanding high-speed access to “59 more counties, 600,000 more homes and 60,000 businesses,” Nixon said.

Nixon also used the event to thank members of the armed services one day after the announcement that all combat forces have left Iraq — a topic on the mind of military personnel and Republican and Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate and 4th Congressional District offices in the November general election.

“Today, thousands of brave men and women, including folks from every corner of our great state, are fighting terrorists and defending freedom halfway around the world. On two occasions I have had the honor of visiting these patriots in Iraq and Afghanistan — looking in their eyes, shaking their hands and on behalf of all 6 million Missourians, thanking them for their service,” Nixon said.

Nixon recognized Brig. Gen. Stephen L. Danner, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard, who received a sustained round of applause.

After Nixon’s remarks, Danner told The Democrat he is relieved the mission in Iraq is winding down and called for increased support for noncombat missions in Afghanistan, including Agriculture Development Teams like the one fielded by the Missouri Guard and 11 other breadbasket states, that are helping rebuild the farm economy in Afghanistan. Danner said the teams have helped replace opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan with food crops — a crucial step in stabilizing the country.

“I was in Iraq in ’05 and ’06. I will just say that having experienced that, it is something you don’t want your kids or grandkids to go through. So, I really applaud those soldiers and airmen and Marines and all the sister services,” Danner said. “I think we are through the eye of the needle in Iraq.”

Danner said “the president’s plan for withdrawal (from Iraq) is working,” and praised Nixon for helping “to ensure we had the right capability through having the right equipment, the right training and the right support to get things done the way we had to.”

Rep. Ike Skelton, a Lexington Democrat and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, greeted the news of a successful withdrawal of combat troops with a smile, but cautioned there was still work to do in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I am pleased we have finished the combat phase in Iraq, but it is still has major challenges for us and the 50,000 troops remaining there. The big question is: Will the Iraqi government get itself glued together over the next several weeks? If they learn to get along, it will be a good success,” Skelton said.

Skelton, like other officials, said he holds out hope the Iraqi government, made up of a coalition of the country’s Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish populations, will be able to form a stable government five months after the country held national parliamentary elections.

“There is a lot at stake, and I am sure they realize that,” Skelton said.

Skelton’s Republican challenger, former state representative Vicky Hartzler, said there is more to do in Afghanistan and believes the U.S. will “need to keep a strong presence in Iraq.”

“We have accomplished the mission of keeping the war over there and not here at home, and that is good. I think it behooves us to have a presence in the Middle East, so we need to continue to have a presence there — let them run their own country but still be there,” Hartzler said.

She said troops should remain in Afghanistan until “you have a stable government there that is able to control and eradicate the terrorists.”

U.S. Senate candidates Republican Rep. Roy Blunt and Democratic Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan also expressed cautious optimism as the seven-year war in Iraq winds down.

“I am glad to see what the president did was stay with the timetable President Bush established. It turned out that was one that could work. We still have support troops there and will have for a long time,” Blunt told The Democrat.

He questioned President Obama’s time line for withdrawal from Afghanistan, which is set to begin next year, saying “we will also have to relook at the Afghanistan policy and the hard deadline the president set months ago and which I think will not be the hard deadline.”

Carnahan said she is “glad the pullout has proceeded on course and things are stable enough in Iraq to be able do that.”

“It is right that we begin to focus on Afghanistan. That is the place al-Qaida trained the 9-11 terrorists. It is the place where we have to make sure they don’t get that space again,” Carnahan said.

She said she supports the strategy in Afghanistan and believes “Gen. (David) Petraeus is the right person to be leading our troops.”

“He has come up with a strategy to develop a stable local force. They have to be able to police themselves, but will need our help to get trained up,” Carnahan said.