[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 117 (Friday, September 24, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9661-S9663]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  IRAQ

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I want to talk a little bit about the 
war in Iraq and what I consider to be a larger problem confronting this 
Nation, indeed, confronting the American people, particularly during an 
election year. It is really a challenge we all have, and that is how, 
in a country that is founded on the legitimacy of our laws, being 
founded on consent of the governed, how do the people know what is 
happening, not just in their Government but in the world? How do they 
get good information?
  I will give an example. Two nights ago, I received a call from one of 
my constituents in Lubbock, TX, who said he had heard we were going to 
reinstate the draft because of concerns about Iraq and Afghanistan and 
American forces being spread too thin. Of course, I told him we have 
more than 2.5 million men and women in uniform, including our Active 
Duty, our Reserves, and our National Guard. I said the phrase I have 
come to use often, and that is that we are out of balance, but we are 
not out of troops.
  Secretary Rumsfeld yesterday spoke before the Armed Services 
Committee--the distinguished Presiding Officer, of course, is a member 
of that committee and heard those remarks as well--that we are in the 
process of restructuring our military forces so we can access more of 
those forces, so we can put those troops where they need to be. That is 
a process that is part of the global posture review and certainly the 
Base Realignment and Closure Commission process that goes forward next 
year, all of which falls under the heading of transformation.
  Getting back to the question my constituent asked--which is, I am 
worried because I hear that we may reinstate the draft--I asked 
Secretary Rumsfeld that very question. Indeed, I alluded to a statement 
that had been made the day before by the Democratic Presidential 
nominee where it was said that it was possible that the President would 
reinstate the draft to handle the war in Iraq if President Bush was 
reelected. This statement followed on a charge last week that the 
President was planning a surprise postelection callup of additional 
Guard and Reserve troops.

  I asked the Secretary of Defense, Secretary Rumsfeld, for the record: 
Are there any plans for a postelection callup of additional Guard and 
Reserve troops, and is there any truth to this rumor that the President 
plans to reinstate the draft?
  He gave a very spirited response, but the bottom line is he said: 
That is nonsense. It is not true. It is false.
  I guess if he could find other ways to try to get that message 
through, he would do that. I cannot remember if it was Mark Twain who 
said rumor makes it halfway around the world while the truth is still 
putting on its shoes, or something to that effect. It is in that vein 
that I come to the floor of the Senate to talk about Iraq.
  Let me start by sharing the results of a recent nationwide poll of 
the Iraqi people conducted by the Independent Institute for 
Administrative and Civil Society Studies. I refer to this poll because, 
of course, like the distinguished Presiding Officer, I am sure she has 
experienced troops who have been in Iraq and come back to the United 
States, who read the newspaper accounts, watch TV news, and do not 
recognize what they are seeing and reading because, indeed, the troops 
in Iraq, in addition to being everyday heroes, are well disciplined, 
morale is high, and they know they are doing an important job and they 
are getting the job done. But they come back to the States, read a 
newspaper and watch the news, and they are met with gloom and doom and 
pessimism about our prospects.
  I worry--and I expressed this concern yesterday--that particularly in 
an election season, those of us who are in elected office need to be 
very careful and very responsible about our statements, even when we 
are in the heat of political combat, because we do not want to do 
anything that would have the consequence of demoralizing our troops or 
breaking the resolve of the American people as we fight this global war 
on terror.
  But this poll of the Iraqi people I believe is important because it 
consisted of more than 2,300 household interviews and was distributed 
across Iraq's 18 provinces. Here are just a few of the interesting 
statistics this survey reveals:
  A full 75 percent of the Iraqis expressed hopefulness about the 
future of the nation, and more than 70 percent say they would not leave 
their country even if they were given an opportunity to live elsewhere.
  While earlier polls show the Iraqis were concerned with security, and 
that is obvious to all of us that they would be and should be, as we 
are, the Iraqi police and army are gaining the confidence of the Iraqi 
people to deal with their transition from a terrible, bloodthirsty 
dictator under Saddam Hussein

[[Page S9662]]

to now this interim government leading up to full democratic elections 
in late January. More than two-thirds of the respondents expressed 
trust for the Iraqi men and women trying to bring about peace and 
stability and security--that is, the growing Iraqi Army and security 
forces--and, in fact, as the distinguished Presiding Officer knows, the 
single largest component of the coalition efforts in Iraq now are 
Iraqis. More than 238,000 Iraqis serve as part of that country's 
security force as we speak. As we have heard from Secretary Rumsfeld 
and others, that will continue to grow.
  General David Petraeus is assigned the job of making sure they are 
trained. As we train more recruits to become good security forces in 
Iraq, it will decrease the pressure on America to provide those 
security forces and others of our coalition partners. That is good news 
to me and I am sure good news to people all across this country.
  This same survey revealed that the interim government of Iraq is 
trusted by 65 percent of its citizens.
  I wish all of us in elected office could claim those sorts of 
approval ratings in the United States, but I will not go there. The 
Iraqi courts and judges, the most important component of restoring 
respect for the rule of law in Iraq, are trusted by more than 64 
percent of Iraqis responding to this survey of 2,300 households. More 
than 77 percent of those polled believe that holding regular, fair 
elections is the most important political right for the Iraqi people.
  I will talk more to that in a moment, because I am afraid there are 
some who do not believe that the people of the Middle East are capable 
of democracy and doubt their aspirations for liberty. But 77 percent of 
those polled believe that holding regular, fair elections is the most 
important political right for the Iraqi people.
  Finally, 58 percent of those polled believe that democracy in Iraq is 
likely to succeed. That is a far cry from the doom and gloom preached 
by some of the naysayers in this election season and, indeed, some of 
what we see on our televisions and read in our newspapers.
  Yesterday, in a joint session of Congress, I had the honor to hear 
interim Prime Minister Allawi speak. He started out his remarks, after 
a few moments, with these words: Thank you, America. Thank you, 
America, for delivering the Iraqi people from a terrible dictator and 
tyrant in Saddam Hussein.
  He went on to express his appreciation not only for the sacrifices of 
the men and women in uniform but to all of the people of this great 
country who hold the ideal of liberty, freedom, and opportunity as not 
just an American aspiration but something that everyone, every human 
being, aspires to.
  I will quote from his remarks because they go to the heart of the 
pessimism that is expressed in some quarters about the Middle East and 
what is happening in Iraq. He said:

       Ladies and gentlemen, good will aside, I know that many 
     observers around the world honestly wonder if we in Iraq 
     really can restore our economy, be good neighbors, guarantee 
     the democratic rule of law and overcome the enemies who seek 
     to tear us down. I understand why, faced with the daily 
     headlines, there are these doubts. I know, too, that there 
     will be many more setbacks and obstacles to overcome.
       But these doubters risk underestimating our country and 
     they risk fueling the hopes of the terrorists.

  I will read that again because it is so important. Prime Minister 
Allawi said:

       But these doubters risk underestimating our country and 
     they risk fueling the hopes of the terrorists.

  He goes on to say:

       Despite our problems, despite our recent history, no one 
     should doubt that Iraq is a country of tremendous human 
     resources and national resources.
       Iraq is still a nation with an inspiring culture and 
     tradition and an educated and civilized people. And Iraq is 
     still a land made strong by a faith which teaches us 
     tolerance, love, respect and duty.
       Above all, they risk underestimating the courage, 
     determination of the Iraqi people to embrace democracy, peace 
     and freedom, for the dreams of our families are the same as 
     the dreams of the families here in America and around the 
     world. There are those who want to divide our world. I appeal 
     to you, who have done so much already to help us, to ensure 
     they don't succeed.
       Do not allow them to say to Iraqis, to Arabs, to Muslims, 
     that we have only two models of governments, brutal 
     dictatorship and religious extremism. This is wrong.
       Like Americans, we Iraqis want to enjoy the fruits of 
     liberty. Half of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims already 
     enjoy democratically elected governments.
       As Prime Minister Blair said to you last year when he stood 
     here, anywhere, any time ordinary people are given the chance 
     to choose, the choice is the same: freedom over tyranny, 
     democracy not dictatorship, and the rule of law not the rule 
     of the secret police.
       Do not allow them to convince others that the values of 
     freedom, of tolerance and democracy are for you in the West 
     but not for us.
       For the first time in our history, the Iraqi people can 
     look forward to controlling our own destiny. This would not 
     have been possible without the help and sacrifices of this 
     country and its coalition partners. I thank you again from 
     the bottom of my heart.

  Finally, the Prime Minister said:

       And let me tell you that as we meet our greatest challenge 
     by building a democratic future, we the people of the new 
     Iraq will remember those who have stood by us. As generous as 
     you have been, we will stand with you, too. As stalwart as 
     you have been, we will stand with you, too. Neither tyranny 
     nor terrorism has a place in our region or our world. And 
     that is why we Iraqis will stand by you, America, in a war 
     larger than either of our nations, the global battle to live 
     in freedom.

  I believe that lengthy quote is worth hearing again because I also 
want to talk a minute about the nature of the threat we confront and 
that Prime Minister Allawi spoke of, not just a war confined to Iraq 
but indeed a global war on terrorism.
  It was 3 years ago this month that we were forced to realize as a 
nation that the terrorist foe we had been fighting on the margin for 
years sought a more deadly goal than we ever suspected. The terrorist 
threat we battle today does not just seek victory over America; it 
seeks an extermination of our unity, our culture, our liberty, 
everything that makes America the envy of the free world today.
  I think of recent expressions I have read. The 9/11 Commission did a 
very good job of expressing the nature of the threat Prime Minister 
Allawi spoke of and that we confront today. Under its recommendations, 
the 9/11 Commission said:

       The enemy is not just ``terrorism.'' It is the threat posed 
     specifically by Islamist terrorism, by Bin Ladin and others 
     who draw on a long tradition of extreme intolerance within a 
     minority strain of Islam that does not distinguish politics 
     from religion, and distorts both.
       The enemy is not Islam, the great world faith, but a 
     perversion of Islam. The enemy goes beyond al Qaeda to 
     include the radical ideological movement, inspired in part by 
     al Qaeda, that has spawned other terrorist groups and 
     violence. Thus our strategy must match our means to two ends: 
     dismantling the al Qaeda network and, in the long term, 
     prevailing over the ideology that contributes to Islamic 
     terrorism.

  Skipping down a paragraph, they conclude from this reading:

       What should Americans expect from their government? The 
     goal seems unlimited: Defeat terrorism anywhere in the world.

  We have seen--and it is not a matter of taking my word for it or even 
the 9/11 Commission's word for it or Prime Minister Allawi's word for 
it--that the war we are fighting is not confined to Iraq. It is not 
confined to Afghanistan. In fact, I think those who suggest otherwise 
are ignoring the lessons of history, as well as the sage words of the 
9/11 Commission, the Prime Minister, and others.
  We have seen the evil works of this terrorist wave, and not just on 
9/11. We saw the attack on the USS Cole in 2000, an attack that killed 
17 American sailors and wounded 39. We saw the bombing in Bali in 
Indonesia 2 years ago. We see, it seems like with horrible regularity, 
Palestinian suicide attacks in Israel, and the United Nations compound 
car bomb attack in Iraq.
  This year alone we have seen massacres in Madrid, the Twin Tupolev 
bombings in Russia, and the suicide car bomb attacks in Afghanistan and 
Iraq. Most recently, we have seen the butchery by terrorists who 
murdered children in the schoolyards of Beslan.

  No, the war on terror is not limited to Iraq. It is not limited to 
Afghanistan. They are but fronts in the global war we are waging today. 
In fact, it was the combatant commander, the Central Command General 
John Abizaid, who only a couple of months ago admonished all of us in 
the Senate not to look at the war as though looking through a soda 
straw, not to look at what is happening in Afghanistan and at what is 
happening in Iraq and say this is all there is, this is reality.

[[Page S9663]]

Indeed, some have even suggested that the war in Iraq is a diversion 
from the real war on terror. But, of course, that is flying in the face 
of the facts: the long litany of terrorist attacks in many different 
parts of the world, the presence of Al Qaeda forces and allies in Iraq, 
and, of course, what Prime Minister Allawi has said as well.
  Indeed, during this political season when international affairs and 
the war on terror is a prime topic in political debates and 
discussions, there appears to be an attempt to decouple Iraq from the 
global war on terrorism, to suggest that it is a distraction. But I 
hope I have convinced those within the sound of my voice that cannot be 
true; that is not true. Indeed, I believe that argument is a disservice 
to the American people and our forces in the field, whose resolve must 
remain strong as we continue to fight this great scourge on humanity.
  Under President Bush's leadership, despite the naysayers who claim 
this task could not be done, we have confronted this evil for what it 
is. We have employed the very best weapon America has to offer: the 
power of our ideals and the power of liberty. Even as we battle them 
around the world, the terrorists have flocked to specific points to 
battle us. As coalition forces liberated Iraq and Afghanistan, they 
have been attracted to Iraq and Afghanistan like moths to the flame. 
Why? Because they realize that their dark ideology of hate will not--
cannot--survive the spreading light of freedom.
  The spread of democracy, the new foundation of the rule of law, and 
the creation of fledgling representative governments that honor and 
respect human rights--together these actions spell out the increasing 
marginalization of the terrorists, as they have fewer and fewer places 
to run and hide. Ultimately, they herald the end of terrorism as we 
know it.
  Of course, none of us asked for this task. We cannot erase 9/11, as 
much as our hearts desire it. We cannot change the past. But we must 
acknowledge that this responsibility has fallen to us--in this time, in 
this generation--and we must and we will win by fighting this enemy 
where they plot and plan, so we do not have to fight them on American 
soil.
  I want to reiterate: We must always remain conscious in this body as 
elected officials, as representatives of our States and of this great 
Nation--we must always be conscious of the fact that the words we say, 
particularly during an election season, can have a broad and negative 
effect on the morale of our soldiers in the field. We must continue to 
give our forces all the support they need and stay focused on our goal. 
And while our enemies began this fight on their terms, we will finish 
it on ours.
  We will widen the span of the democratic peace into places where the 
enemy trains and recruits. We will liberate the people held under the 
yoke of darkness and despotism for generations. And around the world we 
will hear the rumble of millions of people waking to discover that yes, 
at long last, they are free.
  Madam President, the terrorists have heard a great noise in Iraq--and 
it is the sound of their doom.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.

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