[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 157 (Thursday, December 8, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H11268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IRAQ: COMMITMENT TO THE CAUSE

  (Ms. HARRIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to voice my support for 
our mission in Iraq and the global war on terror.
  We stand at a critical juncture in the history of Iraq and in our own 
history. Do we ignore the steady progress toward democracy in Iraq? Do 
we hand victory to the terrorist insurgency on the eve of the historic 
December 15 elections? Or do we remain committed to the cause of 
freedom at home and abroad?
  Our Nation already knows of the price of victory and how great it is, 
but the cost of failure would be far greater.
  As Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean was engaging in 
the politics of partisans and the demagoguery of doubters, I was 
visiting with our amputees in the Walter Reed Medical Hospital. These 
brave men and women know why we are fighting and why we must continue 
to fight. They know better than any of us why their brothers in arms 
have died fighting. Their sacrifices have been made in the name of 
freedom and in the pursuit of victory.
  Not only is victory in Iraq possible, but it is within reach. Faced 
with long painful recoveries, these soldiers focus on the positive and 
what can be done and what will be done. We owe them the same.
  It is not the time for retreat. It is the time for our Nation's 
civilian leadership to stand with them. Their sacrifice obligates us to 
demonstrate the same level of commitment and dedication to this cause 
of freedom. And each day as a Nation, we are more indebted to these 
extraordinary men and women with whom I visited.

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