Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell will head a delegation of eight Democratic senators that will visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel later this week. ``It is important for members of Congress to have first-hand knowledge of the serious issues in the Persian Gulf,'' the Maine Democrat said in a statement announcing the seven-day trip. A 19-member House delegation, meanwhile, was leaving Tuesday for a trip to Saudi Arabia that also will include a stop in Israel. That group is led by Intelligence Committee Chairman Anthony Beilenson, D-Calif., and Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., the senior GOP member of the panel. ``Through meetings with our allies, briefings with U.S. military commanders and discussions with our servicemen and women in Saudi Arabia, I am hopeful that this trip will increase our understanding of the issues in the Middle East,'' Mitchell said. Joining him on the Senate delegation leaving Thursday will be: Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont.; Richard Bryan, D-Nev.; Bob Graham, D-Fla.; Herbert Kohl, D-Wis.; Charles Robb, D-Va.; Richard Shelby, D-Ala.; and Paul Simon, D-Ill. The members of the delegation will travel first to Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, where they are scheduled to meet with King Fahd. After military briefings and meetings with service personnel in Dhahran, they will go to Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and other officials. The delegation also is scheduled to visit Jerusalem and meet there with Israeli officials.
