PORTLAND – U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud has returned to Washington after visiting Iraq and Kuwait.

Michaud, D-Maine, joined Reps. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., and Todd Platts, R-Pa., to assess reconstruction efforts and the political and military situation in Iraq.

The trip originally included stops in Afghanistan and India, but was cut short because of security and logistics issues. They returned to Washington on Wednesday.

While in Iraq, the congressmen visited the Golden Mosque in Samarra, a sacred site that was bombed by insurgents in 2006. They also visited a hospital, a marketplace, a water treatment plant and a health clinic.