[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 25, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H615]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  GREAT WORK BEING DONE BY 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION, FORT DRUM, NEW YORK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, we have certainly heard a lot of 
information here this evening. Of course, both sides in this House have 
not only the right, they have the obligation to speak out when they 
believe that things are not right. It is an election season, and we are 
hearing a lot of political discourse and rhetoric. We hear a lot of it 
from the Presidential campaign trail. While it is their right and while 
it is their obligation, we all know, we should know, that words have 
consequences, and the words spoken here in this House do resonate 
across the country.
  I would never question anyone's motives or patriotism, but, at the 
same time, Mr. Speaker, I just cannot help but point out, last week I 
traveled to the countries of Iraq and Afghanistan, it was my second 
trip to Iraq, my first trip ever to the country of Afghanistan, and had 
a chance to see what was happening there on the ground.
  Mr. Speaker, we hear about Afghanistan and Iraq and the capture of 
Saddam Hussein in December. In an effort, I guess, to minimize the 
importance of that, and let me say that was important and we are safer 
because that man is in custody, but in an effort to minimize the 
importance of that significant event, we heard rhetoric that, well, it 
does not really matter, because we should not have been in Iraq in the 
first place, we had not finished the job in Afghanistan.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to take a minute tonight and talk about what I 
saw going on in the country of Afghanistan, and I wanted to talk about 
the great work that is being done by the 10th Mountain Division out of 
Fort Drum, New York.
  Mr. Speaker, General Austin in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain 
Division spoke to us, and as part of his briefing he shared with us a 
picture, and the picture was so dramatic that I wanted to share it with 
this House, and, in fact, I wanted to share it with the country.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a picture of what our guys in Afghanistan are 
doing to end the war on terror in that country, to reclaim that country 
for its people, and, in the end, to make us safer here at home.
  Here you see some of our young soldiers. Here is a man, and I do not 
remember whether he was Taliban or al Qaeda, but he lived in a house on 
a steep mountainside. He thought he was relatively immune from 
prosecution in that perch because he could see anyone coming up the 
hillside to apprehend him. So he was sitting by his campfire one 
morning taking his morning meal, and this very large helicopter, half 
of it landed on his roof, and he was apprehended by our forces. You see 
him being loaded in the back of the helicopter to come and face 
whatever charges were brought against him.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a dramatic, dramatic photo showing what lengths 
our fighting men and women will go to in order to end the conflict in 
Afghanistan, and I believe they are well on the way to ending that. In 
fact, Mr. Speaker, I would go so far as to say as soon as the snow 
melts out of the passes in those mountains on the border area between 
Afghanistan and Pakistan, we are very likely to see the very beginning 
of the end for those groups who mean to harm our troops and innocent 
Afghani citizens and those individuals who want to prevent the return 
of civil society to Afghanistan.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I know it is a little bit off the point of what we 
have just been hearing, but, in fact, there are some good things going 
on in the world. Our troops are doing a masterful job on the ground, 
both in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am proud of them. I am proud of our 
country.
  Just for the record, Mr. Speaker, I was over there, but I did not 
consume any meals, so we will not have to reimburse the people for 
those.
  But, once again, I wanted to point out just the dramatic aspect of 
that photo. Think of the risk that pilot is taking in order to 
apprehend that individual and bring him to justice, the loadmaster in 
the back of that craft that essentially landed the helicopter on that 
man's roof. You can imagine the surprise of that individual as he was 
brought into United States custody.

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