[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 89 (Wednesday, June 29, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7547-S7550]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  IRAQ

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I do want to start our morning 
business time to talk about the President's speech last night, when he 
was talking to those wonderful soldiers at Fort Bragg, NC, and laying 
out for the American people not only the victories and the successes we 
are having in Iraq but also talking about the hard pull that we are 
making, that those soldiers are making.
  I thought the President's candor was refreshing. He did not say: This 
is all hunky-dory. He said this is a long, hard road. He said: In the 
beginning, I said it would be. It has certainly proven to be. I think 
he was candid about exactly where we are, that we have had some great 
successes, and we have had some setbacks. Certainly, the vote of the 
Iraqi people was a huge success. That has set the stage for the next 
phase of trying to secure Iraq and making a difference in the Middle 
East.
  When people talk about what is happening in Iraq, I do not think we 
hear enough about how much better off the Iraqi people are today. Oh, 
yes, it is hard to see suicide bombers taking innocent lives. It is. 
But remember how many innocent lives were taken by Saddam Hussein.
  When Saddam Hussein was taking innocent lives, there was no hope for 
those people. There was no way out. Today innocent lives are being 
taken, but they are not being taken in vain. They are being taken in a 
cause for freedom that will end in democracy for Iraq. That is what the 
President laid out last night. The President has taken the Iraqi people 
from a despot who was torturing and killing innocent people--sometimes 
for sport--and is turning Iraq into a country that is trying to get its 
own feet on the ground and establish the roots of democracy.
  When I look at some of the improvements that are being made in Iraq 
that I hear about from our armed services personnel returning from 
Iraq--and I have been to Iraq, but I always like to talk to the people 
who have been there most recently--when I talk to the young men and 
women on their R&R leave in the middle of their term, then I see that 
there are roads being built. The oil industry is being repaired. The 
electricity grids are being restored and improved. Schools are being 
opened. The Iraqis see Americans teaching in the schools and providing 
medical care, rebuilding their infrastructure. Within

[[Page S7548]]

a year after the fall of Saddam Hussein, electricity generation was 
higher than prewar levels, and it has increased since then. Water 
supplies have been repaired and sewage systems have been fixed. It is 
incredible the progress that has been made.
  We have to look at the big picture. What the President was saying 
last night is that we are on the cusp of beginning to show people 
throughout the Middle East that self-governance is something all people 
can achieve. We are beginning to see the seeds of that self-governance 
today.
  Our distinguished assistant leader, Senator McConnell, is here. I 
want him to have his full 5 minutes, so I will close my remarks.
  I am proud that our President especially chose to go to Fort Bragg, 
NC, and give his report to the American people in front of those 
wonderful soldiers who are protecting freedom for America, just as 
those in World War I and World War II did. The people of America will 
stay the course. We will protect freedom for our children, and we are 
being led by our President to do so.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky is recognized.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise to discuss the situation in 
Iraq. President Bush, last night, reiterated America's commitment and 
resolve to finishing the job in Iraq. First, I think the President made 
it clear how high the stakes are in Iraq by demonstrating that Iraq is 
front and center in the global war on terror. Just listen to Osama bin 
Laden. Bin Laden is quoted as saying: ``The whole world is watching 
this war'' and that the Iraq war will result in either ``victory and 
glory or misery and humiliation.'' Al-Qaida certainly recognizes how 
high the stakes are. So do our European allies.
  German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said the other day that ``[t]here 
can be no question a stable and democratic Iraq is in the vested 
interest of not just Germany, but also Europe.'' That was Schroeder, 
who was not exactly a cheerleader for the Iraq war.
  Yet we continue to hear the refrain from some quarters that it is 
time to cut and run, that we should set arbitrary deadlines for 
withdrawal, to get out while we can. If September 11 taught us 
anything, it is that retreating in the face of terrorism and hoping for 
the best is not the way to protect American lives. Quite the opposite. 
It is a display of weakness, and it is an invitation to America's 
enemies. As the President forcefully conveyed last night, we must take 
the fight to the enemies, or they will take the fight to us on our 
shores and on their terms.
  Second, the President outlined a clear plan regarding the future of 
our engagement in Iraq. He explained his two-tier strategy there, 
involving both the democracy building side and the military side of the 
equation.

  On the democracy building side, the President rightly reminded the 
American people of the important progress that has been made in just 1 
year. The terrorists, for all of their heinous acts, simply could not 
interrupt the transfer of sovereignty, nor could the terrorists derail 
the January elections. The Iraqi people were too determined to move 
their country forward. The Iraqi people cast their ballots for freedom 
and democracy and against terrorism. In so doing, the Iraqi people set 
an example other democracy activists in the Middle East have begun to 
follow. The Iraqi people are also moving forward in the drafting of 
their constitution, which their political leaders have publicly 
declared will indeed be completed by the August 15 deadline.
  On the military side, President Bush discussed his new approaches to 
training the Iraqi security forces to fight the enemy and defend 
freedom. Some in this country belittled the Iraqi security forces. They 
have been running them down. Frankly, I find this reprehensible. More 
than 2,000 members of the Iraqi security forces have laid down their 
lives defending freedom in their country, fighting alongside our 
troops, and more Iraqis keep enlisting every single day. These 
volunteers are Iraqi patriots, and the President was right to 
acknowledge the supreme sacrifice made by these friends of freedom.
  Iraq has two ways it can go. We can leave the country to be preyed 
upon by murderers who want to turn the country into a Taliban-like 
nation, a haven for terrorist camps, and a factory of hatred, or we can 
stand and fight by defending liberty and democracy in Iraq and 
demonstrating an alternative to the ways of terror and of Saddam 
Hussein. We can help Iraqis help themselves and, in the process, help 
the United States by making the Middle East a more democratic and 
peaceful region. And when Iraq is strong enough to stand up on its own 
two feet and Iraqi security forces can fully defend their own country, 
our troops will stand down and come home.
  Third, the President rightly noted the progress that is being made on 
the ground. The elite media in our country, however, is always focusing 
on bad news. They teach them in journalism school that only bad news is 
news. You would never know, for example, that more than 600 Iraqi 
schools have been renovated to date, or that construction is underway 
at 144 new primary health care facilities across that country. You 
won't find that written about in the elite media.
  Finally, I was pleased to see the President pay tribute to our brave 
men and women in uniform. They are an inspiration to all of us, and I 
am confident that the American people throughout our great land will 
take up the President's invitation to honor them over the Independence 
Day holiday.
  Our work in Iraq is challenging, but it is a noble endeavor, an 
endeavor in which progress is being made every single day--a message 
President Bush delivered very clearly last night.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I yield 4 minutes to the Senator from 
Arizona.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
Senator from Arizona is recognized.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Texas.
  The President's remarks last night on the 1-year anniversary of 
handing power over to the Iraqi Government was a good opportunity to 
remind Americans why it is so critical that we stay the course in Iraq. 
Interestingly, just a year ago, there was one Iraqi battalion. Today 
there are 100 Iraqi battalions. That is a good metaphor for what we are 
doing there and how we are going to succeed. And it is a good answer to 
those who say we need a plan. We need an exit strategy.
  People who talk about that have not been listening to the President. 
His plan, as he outlined last night, is simple, and it is a plan that 
we have been following since over a year ago, when the transfer of 
power occurred. The plan is to enable the Iraqis to take over the 
security of their own country, and then we can leave. We are not going 
to leave before that job is done. No one knows exactly how long it will 
take, but the fact that we have increased a hundredfold the number of 
Iraqi units in the year since we turned over power is a good indication 
of what we intend to do and what we have been able to do.
  The President noted last night that not all of these units are 
trained to the same level that the U.S. units are. That is obvious. But 
as we are able to do so, those Iraqi units will be able to take over 
more and more of the operation.
  Eventually, as the President noted last night, the United States 
might be able to do more by simply embedding some of our officers in 
those units, thus reducing, again, the amount of American manpower 
actually on the ground.
  There is a way that the United States is approaching this that will 
result in the United States withdrawing and the Iraqis being able to 
take care of their own security. That is the plan, and it is a wise 
one.
  What is at stake if we were to either announce an early withdrawal or 
pull out early? The President made it clear last night that you don't 
announce to the enemy when you are going to leave. The enemy simply 
takes note of that and says, fine, waits until you leave, and then does 
all the bad stuff that it wants to do without any fear of retribution 
by the United States. That is not workable. Nor would it be workable 
for the United States to pull out too soon.
  Think about what would happen. If the terrorists were to take back 
over in

[[Page S7549]]

Iraq, even Saddam Hussein could be returned to power. That would become 
a hot bed of terrorism in the Middle East. The progress that has been 
made in surrounding countries such as Pakistan, the efforts that are 
being made toward democracy in places such as Lebanon and Egypt and 
Saudi Arabia, all of those would go up in smoke. The problems that a 
country such as Pakistan would have would be horrendous. Countries such 
as Syria and Iran would decide that to be on the winning side, they 
want to continue their support of the terrorists. Our credibility would 
be absolutely destroyed. An opportunity to create a democracy in that 
part of the Middle East would have evaporated.
  I can't think of anything worse than losing in Iraq. And since 
victory is within our grasp, we need to pursue that course.
  The President was on the right track last night. There will be some 
who will never respond favorably toward his message because they are 
simply in such disagreement with him politically that they can't force 
themselves to acknowledge anything that he does is correct or good. 
Those people are not going to be persuaded. But the vast majority of 
Americans who were listening will appreciate the fact that we do have a 
good strategy, that the President is not trying to engage in happy 
talk. He repeatedly said this was going to be difficult. But it is also 
important for him to point out the successes because the news media is 
not likely to do that as fully as it should.
  The President combined both a sober assessment of the realities, a 
pragmatic assessment, along with a good report of the progress that has 
been made, and we believe will continue to be made.
  In all of these things, I believe President Bush should be 
complimented and that we, as a nation, should join behind him, just as 
the soldiers and the families of the soldiers at Fort Bragg did last 
night. It was evident to me that they support the President. It is 
important that the American people and we support the President as 
well.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, how much time remains on the 
Republican side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Approximately 14 minutes remain.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I yield 5 minutes to Senator Stevens.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska is recognized.
  Mr. STEVENS. I thank the Senator from Texas.
  Mr. President, yesterday marked the 1-year anniversary of the 
transfer of sovereignty to the people of Iraq. We now stand at a 
crucial point in history. We can see how far we have come, but we know 
the final chapter has not been written. This is the time to take stock, 
both of our challenges and our achievements.
  Many ignore the good news in Iraq, but there is good news. And we 
can't prepare for the road ahead without a balanced picture of where we 
are today. In the past year, there have been many accomplishments which 
stand as milestones on the paths of progress. Since the transfer of 
sovereignty, thousands of Iraqis have answered the call to serve their 
country. The Iraqi security force now numbers over 168,000, and another 
50- to 70,000 Iraqis serve as site protection personnel.
  By October, the number of trained Iraqi security personnel will reach 
200,000.
  This time last year only one Iraqi battalion was capable of 
deploying. Today, more than 100 stand ready.
  In the past year, the Iraqi Government has taken shape. In January, 
more than 8 million Iraqis voted in free and fair elections for the 
first time in 50 years.
  Today, Iraq has an interim constitution with checks and balances, 
separation of powers, and protection for individual rights, and women 
are involved.
  The Iraqi National Assembly is drafting a new constitution, which is 
on schedule to be released on August 15. The Government is preparing 
for the October referendum on the constitution, and they are planning 
for a new set of elections which will be held in December.
  Freedom has begun to take root in Iraq. Political parties, civil 
society groups, and a free press have emerged. A government once 
shrouded in secrecy now answers directly to the people and communicates 
with them through Iraqi newspapers, television, and radio stations.
  In the past year, the reconstruction has moved forward. Many of these 
successful projects are part of the Commander's Emergency Response 
Program, a tool that enables our men and women on the ground to fund 
small-scale projects that have an immediate and visible impact on the 
lives of the Iraqi people.
  This month, for the first time since October 2004, the electricity 
supply exceeded 100,000 megawatt hours. On average, 12 hours of power 
are now available across the nation each day.
  More than 94 water treatment projects are underway. And we have 
broken ground on 144 new primary health care facilities across the 
country.
  In the past year, 628 schools have been renovated. Another 86 are now 
under construction.
  The international community has rallied around the new Iraqi 
Government. Just last week more than 80 nations and organizations from 
around the world attended the International Conference on Iraq in 
Brussels. The Iraqi Government shared their vision, and the 
international community reaffirmed their commitment to help Iraq secure 
its future.
  I list these accomplishments because we must remember the path to 
progress is slow and steady. With the televised reports of car bombings 
and other terrorist attacks, it is easy to lose sight of the goals we 
have already reached.
  Some of us have recently called upon President Bush to keep the 
American people informed so our constituents understand what we are 
doing and know how we plan to proceed. My concern has been that rising 
sentiments about the continued redeployment of Reserve and National 
Guard units could jeopardize the important work we are doing in Iraq 
and Afghanistan.
  Last night, President Bush answered our calls for more information. 
In a speech before the American people, he outlined his strategy for 
completing the mission. Now, it is time to rededicate ourselves to the 
challenges that remain.
  We still have work to do in Iraq. Today, the Iraqi Government has 
control of Najaf and Fallujah. The insurgents have lost their safe 
havens. Unable to expand their operations, they have resorted to acts 
of terrorism and targeted innocent Iraqi civilians. These are the facts 
of desperate men--men whose only comfort is the hope that we will lose 
our will and weaken our resolve.
  The only way we can lose in Iraq is if we defeat ourselves--if we 
fail to stay the course. The American people--and those of us who have 
been chosen to represent them--cannot let that happen.
  Americans do not abandon friends in hard times. We do not run from 
the duty and responsibility of history. Our will does not waver. Our 
resolve does not break.
  More than 2 years ago, I joined many of you and supported the 
President's bipartisan resolution to commence this action in Iraq. When 
the Senate debated the resolution, I urged my colleagues to support it. 
I came to the floor of this Chamber and said: ``A new history of 
international courage can be written now.''
  I repeat this call today--our Nation must have the courage to help 
the Iraqi people write the next chapter of their proud history in which 
the seeds of democracy--which have been sown by the Iraqi people and 
nurtured by the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform--will grow 
into a strong, free Iraq.
  I urge the Senate not to divide over Iraq. Some continue to compare 
this situation to the one we faced in Vietnam. Iraq is not Vietnam. 
Those who make this comparison ignore the history.
  I outlined the differences between these two conflicts in April and 
will not reiterate each of those differences today. The simple fact is 
we are in Iraq for reasons entirely different from the reasons we went 
into Vietnam. We can and will successfully conclude our operations in 
Iraq.
  We must succeed. The stakes are high. Iraq is the central front in 
the war on terror. By their own admission, what terrorists fear most is 
a free, stable and democratic Iraq.

[[Page S7550]]

  Over a year ago, we intercepted a message Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a 
terrorist in Iraq, sent to Osama bin Laden. In the message, al-Zarqawi 
said, ``The future has become frightening'' for terrorists because 
democracy has gained a foothold in Iraq. He told Osama bin Laden, 
``Democracy is coming and there will be no excuse thereafter for the 
attacks.''
  Iraq has become the proving ground of our commitment to the war on 
terror. If we waver, our enemies will read our hesitation as victory. 
If we do not fight the terrorists abroad, we will be forced to fight 
them on our shores.
  We must remain united behind our troops and committed to this 
mission. I urge the Senate to continue to support the strategy 
President Bush outlined last night.
  I yield the floor.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Alaska. He 
has been such a strong leader as chairman of the Appropriations 
Committee and chairman of the Defense Appropriations Committee as well. 
No one knows better how the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are 
performing their duties and how this administration has stepped up to 
the plate to make sure they have what they need to do the job. He has 
been to Iraq and Afghanistan. He has visited the troops, as have I, and 
his words were very helpful in talking to the American people about 
this subject.
  Mr. President, as we begin this day, we are also going to have a very 
important amendment that will help our veterans be able to have the 
service they need as they are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan, as 
well as many of the veterans of previous wars who are now in the 
Veterans' Administration system.
  Secretary Jim Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, came to the 
Congress just this past week and said that there has been a surge in 
the use of veterans facilities that has caused the ability to determine 
what will be needed in the future to be skewed. All of the patterns of 
the past are now not in place for use today because we have more 
veterans coming into the system. That is not a bad thing.
  We owe the veterans the care they thought they would receive when 
they entered the military service and which they so richly deserve. 
Whether they fought in a war or not, they were there to serve, and many 
of them did fight in wars--brutal wars. The one we are in now is a 
brutal war. There are actually more injuries and fewer deaths in the 
kind of war that we are fighting. That means that many people are 
coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan injured.
  Our President has said unequivocally that we are going to take care 
of those people who have served, and we are going to treat their 
injuries because they deserve to have that treatment. So Secretary 
Nicholson has come to us and asked for an emergency appropriation. We 
are going to give Secretary Nicholson, of course, an emergency 
appropriation.
  Senator Murray and Senator Byrd are working on an amendment. I have a 
second-degree amendment with Senators Santorum, Kyl, and Craig. It is a 
leadership amendment because we put it together with the White House, 
the OMB, and the Veterans Affairs Department, to try to get the 
numbers. We wanted to know what we will need for this year, going into 
next year.
  I am chairman of the Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee. I 
have worked with Senator Craig, who is the chairman of the Veterans' 
Affairs Committee, which authorizes the policies that affect veterans. 
We have put together a second-degree amendment to Senator Murray's and 
Senator Byrd's amendment that will put $1.5 billion into the system 
immediately, and it will be there until it is spent. It will take us 
into the next fiscal year, because we are not going to scrimp on 
serving our veterans. We need more prostheses; we need improved ability 
to help people who have lost arms or legs, or who have been burned. We 
are going to provide that help, Mr. President, and our amendment is 
going to be a consensus that will come together with everybody at the 
table.
  We are going to do the right thing by our veterans with an emergency 
appropriation that will come to the Senate floor this afternoon. It 
will be put on the Interior appropriations bill. We worked with Senator 
Burns and his staff to put this emergency in at the first possible 
vehicle, and the first vehicle is on the Senate floor today. We just 
got the numbers this week. That is why we are going to immediately put 
in force an emergency appropriation that will assure that our Veterans' 
Administration has the funds it needs to treat these veterans. It also 
is going to assure that we don't take from the building funds because 
we know there are many veterans facilities in the process of being 
built or promised to be built. We need more veterans facilities, not 
fewer. So taking from maintenance accounts or capital accounts didn't 
seem like the right thing to do.
  We worked together with the Veterans' Administration, with the 
leadership of our President, with Democrats and Republicans, to come up 
with the right numbers to put it on the first bill that will go through 
the Senate this week. We hope the House will work with us to fund this 
appropriation and that nothing will be, in any way, delayed or denied 
to a veteran, either one coming back from Iraq or one coming back from 
Afghanistan or from anywhere in the world, or a veteran who has served 
previously.
  Mr. President, I so appreciate the President's speech last night. I 
appreciate that he gave his speech at Fort Bragg, NC, in front of those 
men and women serving our country in the most noble way. I appreciate 
that the President said we hope more people will volunteer for the 
Army. We need more volunteers right now. We are ramping up the end 
strength of the Army by 30,000. This is part of our ongoing effort to 
revamp the Army. The Army is doing a fabulous job in Iraq. So are the 
Marines. The Navy and the Air Force are helping. But we need to have 
America come together.
  I was so pleased that the President asked Americans to do something 
next week, on July 4, Independence Day. He asked every American to 
reach out to a family of someone serving today in Iraq or Afghanistan. 
I know the people of America will respond. I know they will go to that 
Web site and start the process of finding out how they can do more to 
give those young men and women with boots on the ground overseas 
fighting terror the opportunity to talk to their folks back home, to 
talk to their families.
  The President is taking the lead, and the Senate--Republicans and 
Democrats--must come together to lead our country to do the right thing 
in the war on terror.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we may proceed 
with a unanimous-consent request.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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