[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 132 (Wednesday, September 24, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11877-S11878]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION REQUEST

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, very briefly, I want to make a comment on 
the President's comments yesterday before the United Nations.
  The President of the United States and leaders from across the globe 
gathered yesterday at the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan to 
receive the President's address. It is worth pausing to consider just 
where that was. The address yesterday was in New York City, in the 
heart of Manhattan, a few dozen blocks from Ground Zero. The world's 
leaders were able to safely assemble and freely debate their proposals 
in a city that had borne the tragedy of September 11. Many were able to 
exercise more freedom yesterday in New York than is allowed in their 
own countries.
  President Bush, in his address, boldly challenged the assembly to 
support the cause of liberty in Iraq. His case was powerful, and his 
case was powerful in part because the cause of freedom itself is so 
powerful. Some of my colleagues have basically questioned again and 
again the overall war on terror. There is this magnification of each 
setback along the way, and many people dismiss the many advances that 
are being made each and every day. There seems to be this attempt to 
discredit the war on terror.
  Some people say we have acted unilaterally. We know that is false. 
The truth is we were joined by 49 countries to depose Saddam Hussein 
and remove his regime. Now we hear increasingly that there was a lack 
of broad international support on the ground. That is

[[Page S11878]]

not true. We know there are 31 nations that currently have troops 
deployed to Iraq. British troops are leading a multinational division, 
as are the Polish troops; and the President hopes to have at least one 
more international division helping to bring stability and security.
  I think those people claiming the President has lost opportunities to 
make his case before the American people ignore the many times the 
President has spelled out his case and argued his case before the 
American people, to this Congress, and, indeed, multiple times now to 
the United Nations.
  The President's opponents continually move the goalposts further and 
further, so that never is there enough detail or never are there enough 
specifics. But we have these claims. These claims are specious; they 
can be rebutted one by one.
  I think the most powerful rebuttal is what the Iraqi people feel and 
what they say. Finally free to speak their own minds in a remarkable 
poll--the first of its kind--conducted in August and published by the 
Wall Street Journal, the Iraqi people themselves say loudly and clearly 
that they want us to stay and they want us to finish the job.
  They are optimistic about the future. Seven out of ten say they 
expect that their country and their personal lives will be better 5 
years from now. A third say much better. When asked about which country 
they would prefer as a political model out of five--Syria, Saudi 
Arabia, Iran, Egypt, or the United States--the most popular by far is 
the United States.
  A majority of those who hold an opinion have a negative view of 
terror leader Osama bin Laden, and 74 percent of respondents want to 
see Saddam's henchmen punished. They want us--not Saddam or Osama bin 
Laden--to stay and help make their country whole.
  The President has submitted a reconstruction plan to us with three 
clear objectives: to improve security by aggressively hunting down the 
terrorists; to expand international participation; and, finally, to 
help Iraq and Afghanistan become free, democratic, and stable nations.
  This week, there are a number of hearings being conducted on both the 
Senate side and the House side to closely examine the President's 
proposal and to assess what is needed in a thoughtful way. These 
proceedings give us all the opportunity to ask questions and allow the 
administration to demonstrate how, when presented accurately, 
carefully, and clearly, we can achieve the objectives we have set out 
in the war on terror.
  The debate, I hope, will continue to be dignified and serious, and in 
good faith I believe we can complete consideration of this emergency 
request by the end of next week. There are a lot of questions being 
asked. I encourage that. Ultimately, I am confident we will 
overwhelmingly support the President's request.
  Mr. President, we will stand by the Iraqis. We will help them build a 
free, prosperous, and democratic country. Their future security--
indeed, our security--and the security of civilized people everywhere 
depends on it.

                          ____________________