[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 37 (Tuesday, March 23, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2954-S2955]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  IRAQ

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, a year ago we started the Iraqi freedom 
activity. I will talk a little bit about what has been accomplished 
this past year, to recognize all those who have done so much to have a 
successful operation there. We are moving toward completion--hopefully 
not too long in the future, but we have accomplished a great deal. We 
recognize and thank those who have given so much to continue to fight 
for freedom, in this case in Iraq and, of course, around the world.
  I am sorry this has become so much of a political issue. The fact is, 
we are talking about finishing a task we started. It is not something 
that ought to be constantly talked about as a political issue in a 
Presidential election. Certainly we ought to be talking about some of 
the successes that have occurred there.
  I had the opportunity to visit Iraq and Afghanistan. I was impressed 
with the things that have been done and are being done by our troops 
there, by other Americans there seeking to work for a secular 
government and freedom in that part of the world. I hope we can be more 
positive about it than we have been, particularly in the media.
  I was especially interested to read an editorial in the newspaper 
``Wingspan'' from Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, WY. It 
was partially about a young man named Nathan Span, and written by 
Ashley Colgan, the co-editor of this college paper. Marine Corporal 
Nathan Span, at the age of 22, is a two-time war veteran and has only 
good things to say about the risks he has taken. He was in Operation 
Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and returned home in 
December of 2003. It was interesting what Ashley had to say.

       On this one-year anniversary, I remind people that although 
     the war may be somewhat political, it is not so to the men 
     and women who fought and still fight in Iraq. Americans 
     should remember that at one point we fought for our freedom 
     from oppression, and we also had to seek help. All I ask for 
     Americans to remember is what soldiers in Iraq represent: 
     Freedom.

  Ashley goes on to say:

       I understand the fear, pain, and confusion but why get 
     angry at what I feel is America's attempt to make the world a 
     better place. Many Americans feel misled and lied to by the 
     administration, but let's keep in mind the greater good for 
     which the soldiers are fighting. Soldiers in Iraq feel they 
     are setting an example of what America will not tolerate from 
     a malicious dictator.

  Corporal Span is a young man who just returned from spending part 
of his life in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the editorial, Span says, ``For 
those who have fought for it, freedom has a taste that the protected 
will never know.''

  I will talk a little bit about where we are. Certainly, most 
recognize this action in Iraq was necessary for a number of reasons. 
Saddam Hussein's regime harbored and supported terrorists and was 
consistently an aggravating factor in the Middle East. He had attacked 
his neighbors and launched wars of aggression. Saddam had a history of 
possessing and using chemical and biological weapons, in violation of 
the terms of the cease-fire agreement in 1991 of the Gulf War, and 
numerous United Nations resolutions.
  The best intelligence available at the time showed Saddam Hussein to 
be a growing threat to the United States. I am pleased the President 
acted swiftly and decisively before the threat became imminent. The 
mission in Iraq is critical to winning the global war on terrorism. The 
war on terrorism remains an aggressive effort to bring not only the 
perpetrators of September 11 to justice but also those who supported, 
aided terrorism. This has been policy from day one in Iraq and clearly 
fits this definition.
  The conclusion that Saddam Hussein was hiding chemical and biological 
weapons while conspiring to rebuild the nuclear program was also 
reached in the Clinton administration, the United Nations, and a number 
of other western governments, including several that actively opposed 
the war. In fact, regime change in Iraq has been a U.S. policy since 
1998. It is clear that some of the prewar intelligence on which 
decisions may have been made were not complete, perhaps were flawed, 
but the fact remains the President acted in good faith based on the 
best intelligence available at the time.
  But cynical political efforts, of course, have portrayed the 
President as deliberately misleading the public and remaining 
dishonest. Rather than playing the election year politics with this 
issue, we need to focus on correcting the existing programs, focus on 
the future and where we are going, and how to complete the task to 
ensure that our leaders have accurate and reliable information on which 
to implement policy in the future.
  I hope the mission of the September 11 Commission that we hear so 
much about, the talk about it, what should have been done and was not 
done--what we ought to do is keep this from happening in the future. 
That is really the issue. This idea of seeking to assess blame in the 
past is immaterial. The point is, What can we do differently to avoid 
something of this kind happening in the future? We all know what is 
going on with respect to those issues.
  Where are we today? Two weeks ago, the Iraqi Governing Council 
unanimously signed an interim constitution toward a secular government, 
an amazing change in that part of the world. It guarantees freedom of 
religion and expression, the right to assemble, to organize political 
parties, the right to vote, the right to a fair and speedy and open 
trial. It prohibits discrimination on gender, nationality, religion, 
and arbitrary arrests and detention.
  Of course, what the terrorist enemy fears most is a free and 
democratic Iraq. Freedom, liberty, and democracy are threats to all 
that oppose it. They will not see this happen without a fight.
  Our challenge is to stay there until we have completed our goals. The 
situation remains dangerous and volatile. The cost of freedom is high. 
Thanks to the selfless devotion and hard work of our men and women in 
uniform, we continue to make definite and visible progress toward a 
goal of returning a free and stable country to the Iraqi people.
  Iraqis are much better off today than they were under Saddam Hussein. 
The Middle East is more stable and the United States is safer with 
Saddam out of power. Operation Iraqi Freedom is the right action. We 
are winning the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism.
  I thank those who have participated, those service men and women who 
have given so much for this kind of freedom to be achieved.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.

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