Congresswoman Mazie Hirono, on an official visit to Iraq, said with the expansion of Iraqi security forces, the U.S. should be able to withdraw its troops.

Hirono, D-Hawai'i, was in Baghdad this week, meeting with soldiers from the Islands and with military officials. It was her first visit to the Middle East since being elected to Congress in 2006.

She said Sunday that her stance favoring a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces has not changed.

"We've been told that the violence has decreased. The Iraqi security forces are ramping up their numbers and training, so they should be able to protect the population and fight the insurgents on their own," Hirono said. "That says to me that we should be able to bring our troops home."

Hirono, who has opposed the war during her campaign and has criticized President Bush over Iraq, is leading a delegation that includes Reps. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif.; Travis Childers, D-Miss.; Robert Goodlatte, R-Va.; and Thelma Drake, R-Va.

"The mission should change from a military mission to one that I hope is a multinational involvement in helping Iraqis rebuild their country," Hirono said. "We're not there yet, but I'd like to bring our troops home at a faster pace."

Hirono had dinner with two soldiers from Hawai'i and received briefings from the State Department and Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd James Austin III and other officials. She was scheduled to return to Honolulu Thursday.

"In all of our briefings, we've been told that there's a lessening of violence in Iraq, but you can still have things like the tragic death of our three Marines," Hirono said. "I don't think we've turned the corner yet."

Three U.S. Marines based in Hawai'i were among more than 20 people killed Thursday in an Iraq suicide attack.

Lt. Col. Max Galeai, 42, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kane'ohe Bay, was killed in Karmah in Anbar province, about 30 miles west of Baghdad, in a suicide bomb attack. Also killed in the attack were Capt. Phil Dykeman, 38, of New York, the leader of the battalion's Fox Company, and 23-year-old Cpl. Marcus W. Preudhomme, of North Miami Beach, Fla.