[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 8, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1110-S1111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         IRAQ VOTES FOR FREEDOM

  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. President, I rise to speak about the recent historic 
elections in Iraq--elections that had been anticipated by an anxious 
global community for some time.
  This election is the story of true patriots who knew the odds and 
decided to beat them. This is the story of the millions of Iraqis who 
defied the threats and the intimidation of `` terrorists to cast their 
votes for a brighter future in Iraq.
  News reports are flush with first-hand accounts from observers. The 
reports paint a picture of a people acting on their innate desire to be 
free.
  One such account details the determination of Samir Hassan, who at 32 
lost his leg in a car bomb blast last October. Hassan said, ``I would 
have crawled here if I had to. I don't want terrorists to kill other 
Iraqis like they tried to kill me. Today I am voting for peace.''
  The act of voting by ordinary Iraqis in the face of extreme danger 
confirms President Bush's belief that people around the globe, when 
given a chance, will choose liberty and democracy over enslavement and 
tyranny. Human beings crave freedom at their core.
  Early estimates by Iraq's Independent Electoral Commission show that 
about 8 million of the nearly 14 million registered voters cast their 
ballot on Sunday--a turnout almost equal to the number of Americans who 
voted last November without the threat of snipers or suicide bombers.
  In the words of Arkan Mahmoud Jawad, who came to vote with his mother 
and younger brother, ``This is the salvation for the Iraqis. I hate the 
terrorists, and now, I am fighting them by my vote.''
  These are people who were beaten down by the brutal regime of Saddam 
Hussein. That is exactly why they want to reclaim their country through 
these elections. They know what the cost of failure would be.
  And they know all too well that tyranny breeds isolation. Any dissent 
from Saddam Hussein's regime could result in torture or death. 
Neighbors couldn't trust neighbors. Families were torn apart. All this 
leaves scars on a nation that may take generations to heal.
  I believe that voting is the first act of building a community as 
well as building a country. With the election we saw a peaceful 
majority reclaiming their birthright. We saw people gaining courage 
from realizing that they were not alone--that their friends and 
neighbors and relatives were going to vote--and that they could vote 
too. Together they are building their future.

  Here is one description of how voting progressed:

       The first Iraqis on the streets seemed tense as well, not 
     smiling and not waving back. But as the day unfolded, and 
     more and more voters took to the streets, a momentum seemed 
     to gather, and by mid-morning Karada's main street was jammed 
     with people who had voted and people on their way to vote. 
     Some Iraqis, walking out of the polling places, used their 
     cellphones to call friends and urge them to come. Some banged 
     on their neighbors' doors and dragged them out of bed. Old 
     men rolled up in wheelchairs. Women came in groups, lining up 
     in their long, black, head-to-toe abayas. The outpouring, 
     which filled Karada's streets with Shiites, Christians and 
     even some Sunnis, surprised the Iraqis themselves. When Ehab 
     Al Bahir, a captain in the Iraqi Army, arrived at Marjayoon 
     Primary School, he braced himself for insurgent attacks. The 
     mortar shells arrived, as he anticipated, but so did the 
     Iraqi voters, which he did not.

  Voting was an act of defiance against the terrorists and an 
affirmation that Iraqis control their own destiny through self-
government. The people of Iraq realize that a stable, successful,

[[Page S1111]]

democratic Iraq can only come about if average Iraqis are willing to 
sacrifice to build it.
  On Sunday, they rose to the occasion. Some lost their lives, but 
their lives were not lost in vain. I am convinced that a country by the 
Iraqi people and for the Iraqi people will be built on the foundation 
laid down by the voters on Sunday. And having sacrificed to gain a 
democratic Iraq, they won't let it go easily.
  Baghdad's mayor was overwhelmed by the turnout of voters at city hall 
where thousands were celebrating and holding up their purple ink-
stained fingers with pride. The mayor said, ``I cannot describe what I 
am seeing. It is incredible. This is a vote for the future, for the 
children, for the rule of law, for humanity, for love.'' It is truly a 
new beginning for Iraq.
  The election in Iraq clearly demonstrates that Iraqi people are like 
people everywhere. They desire to create a future in an environment 
that is safe and allows them to reach their full potential as human 
beings, whatever that potential may be. The election did not occur in a 
vacuum. It is the latest and most dramatic example of Iraqis taking 
control of their country's destiny.
  In less than a year, the Iraqi Regular Army and Intervention Forces 
have grown from one operational battalion to 21 battalions, with six 
more scheduled to become operational over the next month.
  Last month, the Iraqi National Guard was incorporated into the Army, 
making a total of 68 Iraqi battalions conducting operations.
  Today, the Iraqi Police Service has over 55,000 trained and equipped 
police officers, more than double the amount of just 6 months ago. More 
than 38,000 additional police are on duty and scheduled for training.

  As of last month, more than 108,000 local Iraqis had been hired to 
work on U.S.-funded reconstruction projects, using as many local 
subcontractors as possible.
  Yes, things are, indeed looking up for Iraq and the Iraqi people. But 
there is still hard work ahead. It is a difficult process to transform 
a society that has never known democracy. One hopeful sign occurred 
earlier this week when influential figures from the Sunni community 
signaled their willingness to engage the new Iraqi government and play 
a role in drafting the constitution. Thirteen parties, including a 
representative of the powerful Association of Muslim Scholars and other 
parties that boycotted the vote, agreed Thursday to take part in the 
drafting of the constitution, which will be the transitional 
parliament's main task. The leading Shiite candidate to be Iraq's new 
Prime Minister welcomed these overtures and said he was willing to 
``offer the maximum'' to involve Sunni Arabs in the new government.
  Yes, change takes time, and only time will tell if the Iraqi election 
will go down as one of the most important dates in modern history. I'm 
inclined to believe it will. But between now and when the history books 
are written it was enough, for me, to stand in awe of the courage of a 
free people half a world away.

                          ____________________