[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 23, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9743-S9744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           DISSENT IN AMERICA

  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, as the majority leader noted, yesterday 
was a remarkable day. I had a chance to listen to Ambassador Bremer. As 
a former mayor, I understand how difficult it is to have cities 
function--electricity, water, and other challenges, kind of the basics. 
I marvel at the challenge that Ambassador Bremer is facing.
  The good news is that we are making tremendous progress in Iraq. 
Yesterday was a good day because two of Saddam's diabolical offspring, 
as the majority leader said, are dead. It is kind of strange to say 
that the death of any individual is a great thing. But here we are 
talking about the most brutish, thuggish, reprehensible individuals who 
terrorized those with whom they came into contact. There were 
celebrations in the streets of Baghdad yesterday with news of the death 
of Saddam's sons.
  So in this time of good news, yet at the same time that American 
lives are being lost, that the path to liberation of Iraq and 
ultimately freedom and democracy and greater stability in that region 
is a difficult one, I think it is important to come to the floor of the 
Senate to reaffirm the justice and purpose of American and coalition 
efforts in Iraq. My only regret is that it is necessary to do so.
  We have a great tradition of dissent in America, and we need people 
to ask the tough questions. But just because we value dissent doesn't 
make that dissent right or just. At a time when lives are being risked 
and lost, when America and her friends are trying to do something which 
is both very difficult and supremely important, this is a moment where 
unity should be at a premium.
  Yet out on the campaign trail we are observing a mixture of Monday 
morning quarterbacking, political opportunism, and media exaggeration 
which threaten to deprive us of perspective and resolve when we need it 
most.

  America came into its own as a major player on the world stage at the 
beginning of the 20th century, in part because of the leadership of a 
great American President, Theodore Roosevelt. As we consider our role 
in our new century, I think it is important to reflect on some words 
from Theodore Roosevelt. He said:


[[Page S9744]]


       It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out 
     how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could 
     have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is 
     actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweet 
     and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short 
     again and again, because there is no effort without error or 
     shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great 
     devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause. . . .

  Let me reiterate the worthiness of the cause we have undertaken. We 
live in a world where we are more connected than we ever imagined we 
could be. The benefits of globalization to consumers and impoverished 
millions are clear. But so are the risks. September 11 showed us how 
vulnerable we are and reduced our acceptable tolerance level for brutal 
leaders who wish to harm our people.
  Saddam Hussein's danger to his neighbors, the Middle East region, and 
the world has been an unquestioned assumption of American foreign 
policy for more than a decade. He flaunted the authority of the world 
community and the United Nations, ignoring 17 solemn resolutions 
directed against his regime. He failed to account for 30,000 liters of 
biological toxins, 3.9 tons of nerve agents, and tens of thousands of 
munitions capable of delivering them against targets. He aggressively 
pursued nuclear weapons. The Israelis wiped out an Iraqi nuclear 
function in 1981.
  In 1991 and after the gulf war, we found solid evidence of him 
attempting to pursue nuclear weapons. He harbored and supported 
terrorists. He destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands of his own 
people. He ruthlessly cannibalized the assets and resources of the 
Iraqi people to support his tyranny and lavish lifestyle.
  Some people shy away from the term ``evil,'' but I would ask them: Is 
there any form of evil that is not part of the confirmed record of 
Saddam Hussein?
  To rid the world of a person such as this and a regime such as this--
an evil regime, an evil person--is ultimately just and wise and the 
right thing to do.
  Do the critics dispute this? Not directly. They criticize the means 
to that end. They support our troops but not the military leaders or 
their stated mission. They support protecting American interests but 
not in this particular way on this timetable or at this cost. They want 
results, but they want them more quickly and at lesser or no cost. But 
at some point, endlessly criticizing the means calls the ends into 
question.
  The flow of the argument has been interesting. Before the war began, 
this was an impossible, protracted war against devoted Iraqi forces. 
When there was early success, the argument shifted to criticize that 
the war would take months rather than days, and now with the hard work 
of rebuilding the country--not from American war damage but from 
decades of Saddam's economic devastation--the focus is on what was said 
and understood and communicated before the war began. It reflects an 
attention span and a degree of patience measured out in new cycles.
  Part of Saddam's evil is deception and the desire to humiliate us. To 
give him credibility--``maybe he didn't have weapons of mass 
destruction''--and then question our own leaders is ludicrous. Can we 
actually question the justification of this war because we have not yet 
found weapons of mass destruction in a matter of months that a master 
of deception had years to hide in an area the size of California?
  My question to the critics is simple: What is your alternative? We 
live in the real world, not a Hollywood stage. There are evil people 
who want nothing more than to destroy us, and they understand only the 
language of force. They will not rest while we sit around saying: If 
only . . . if only . . . if only . . . if only.
  Last night I had a wonderful conversation with Mayor Kevin Finnegan 
of West St. Paul, MN. He has a son and a daughter-in-law serving in 
Iraq. His message to me was simple: We need, Senator, to stay the 
course, to keep our eye on the ball. We have rid the world of Saddam's 
leadership. Let's work for democracy and stability in Iraq.
  The more we talk about weapons of mass destruction, the harder it is 
to achieve our ultimate underlying objective: the liberation of Iraq.
  In the real world, there are choices to be made, challenges to be 
dealt with, and burdens to be carried. This is not a game with a reset 
button. America must stay the course. To pull out now would be a 
victory for terrorists of unimagined proportions. We must stay the 
course to show our resolve. And yet every loss of life for an American 
service person is a tragedy, but we should not fail to recognize those 
lives are not being lost in vain.
  From the devastation and corruption of Saddam's reign, freedom and 
order are being restored. When we understand the depths to which he 
took that society, we recognize the time it will take to bring it back. 
Murderers, thugs, and terrorists owned the streets of a whole nation. 
Slowly but surely, we are prying them loose from their bloody hands.

  There is a city council now in Baghdad, and yet as a former mayor, I 
ask the question: Haven't they suffered enough? But there is democracy 
coming back to Iraq. Winning the peace will take longer than winning 
the war, but victory will be ours. The great victors will not only be 
the Iraqi people but children of the whole world who will grow up in a 
more peaceful century because we saw our duty and stuck to it until we 
finished the job.
  Prime Minister Blair gave us a rare and beautiful insight on our role 
at this time. It was an honor for me to be in that Chamber. It is a 
moment as a freshman Senator that I will never forget. It is important 
to reflect. He said:

       And I know it's hard on America, and in some corner in this 
     vast country, out in Nevada or Idaho--

  He could have inserted Minnesota or New Hampshire--

     or these places I've never been to, but always wanted to go, 
     I know out there there's a guy getting on with his life, 
     perfectly happily, minding his own business, saying to you, 
     the political leaders of this country: Why me? And why us? 
     And why America? And the only answer is: Because destiny put 
     you in this place in history, in this moment in time and the 
     task is yours to do.

  Let's pull together, recognize the realities we face, commit for the 
long and difficult haul ahead, and move forward. Nothing worthwhile is 
easy, but it never has been for America.
  I applaud our young men and women who are on the front lines, who are 
doing the hard work for all of us, but we will all benefit from their 
efforts.
  I thank the Chair, and I yield the floor.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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