[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 151 (Friday, October 24, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13187-S13188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IRAQ PROGRESS
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I take just a couple of moments to comment
on some of the activities in Iraq, especially in light of the donor
conference that is underway as we speak. We know it is very important
for the world to have a clear picture of the progress that is being
made in Iraq today. My comments will really center, again very briefly,
on that.
Not very many Americans have heard of Karada Street, I would wager.
Karada Street is Baghdad's busiest commercial avenue, and something
truly remarkable is happening there. Iraqis for the first time are
enjoying the fruits of economic freedom. Not
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even a bomb blast at the Baghdad Hotel just a few blocks away from this
now very busy commercial strip has dampened the growing activity. A
number of our colleagues have traveled and are continuing to travel to
Iraq, and they come back with those encouraging reports that we are
just beginning to hear about these days.
Recently, ABC News reported that at one computer and data system
company, trade is up 70 percent since sanctions were lifted in May. At
the Al Farah used car lot, a 9-year-old Jeep sells for $1,000 less
today than when Saddam was in power. Meanwhile, government workers at a
Karada Street match factory have seen their salaries soar fivefold. The
manager tells the news agency, ``Now my salary is much better . . . I
can buy anything I want now.''
There is much more. Portable generators are selling at discounted
prices. Why? Because electricity has become more reliable. Indeed,
washing machine and air-conditioner sales are brisk. In a particularly
vivid example of how things have changed since the fall of Saddam, a
local ice cream shop that used to serve almost exclusively Saddam's
circle is now open to any local resident who comes in for that cold
treat.
All of these stories are out there and they all point to the
dramatic, remarkable changes that are underway that are associated with
tasting freedom for the first time in decades.
One of the freedoms Iraqis have been most enthusiastic to exercise is
the freedom to express their views. Pollsters for a new Gallup poll
reported last week that Iraqis were pleading to share their opinions,
and almost every Iraqi asked to participate in the survey volunteered
to do so. Gallup's director of international polling told reporters
that once they started talking, the Iraqis ``went on and on.''
It is not hard to imagine the exhilaration they must feel today, how
their hearts must swell with the realization that they, for the first
time in decades, are truly free--free from tyranny, free from torture,
free from persecution, free to speak their minds and create a
government of their own devising, for the people and by the people.
For the first time in a generation, the Iraqi people live free of the
tyranny of Saddam Hussein. They have begun to develop democratic
institutions of government. They are pursuing economic policies on
trade and investment that are more liberal than any other country in
the region. The Iraqi people have begun replacing that old Saddam
currency with the new, unified dinar. They will have in their wallets a
powerful symbol of their liberation, money to save or to spend as they
choose, without Saddam's face mocking their hopes.
The Gallup poll I mentioned just a few minutes ago found that, even
in Baghdad, the Iraqis want us to stay that course. That is because the
Iraqis now have an opportunity, as do we, to change the course of
history and bring peace and stability to the heart of the Middle East.
For the sake of Iraq, for the sake of America, we must continue to
fight for freedom. Our Declaration of Independence tells us that all
men are created equal. Now, in Iraq, we have the opportunity to once
again realize that essential truth.
I yield the floor.
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