WASHINGTON -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is on a fact-finding tour of the Middle East, including his second visit to Iraq, his office said today.

The Rhode Island Democrat is part of a Senate delegation led by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., that met today with U.S. officials including Army Gen. Raymond Odierno, who leads the multinational force in Iraq, and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan C. Crocker.

Whitehouse said in a statement released by his office that he had a chance to meet and convey thanks to "our troops spending this holiday season far from home.'' The troops included some Rhode Islanders.

The delegation, which also includes Senators Kent Conrad, D-N.D. and Thad Cochran, R-Miss., also visited Eqypt and Jordan. Whitehouse is a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.