[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 38 (Thursday, March 30, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2596-S2597]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        RELEASE OF JILL CARROLL

  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, today is a day of great celebration for 
Jill Carroll, and her friends and family. The Christian Science Monitor 
reporter and Ann Arbor native was set free today in Baghdad nearly 3 
months after being kidnapped in an ambush that killed her translator. 
The U.S. Embassy is now working hard to reunite Jill with her family as 
soon as possible.
  In Michigan, we all anxiously watched and prayed for the release of 
this young woman, and I want to express my gratitude to everyone who 
worked hard for her release. I want to thank the Arab-American and 
Muslim-American leaders in Michigan and across the country for their 
hard work.
  The Islamic Shura Council of Michigan which represents more than two 
dozen mosques and Islamic organizations in Southeast Michigan held a 
press conference publicly calling for her release. The Council on 
American-Islamic Relations sent a delegation to Baghdad to lobby for 
her release. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, The Arab 
American News and the Congress of Arab American Organizations also 
issued public statements calling for Jill Carroll's release.

[[Page S2597]]

  These groups spoke out not just because of Jill Carroll's ties to 
Michigan or because this was a humanitarian issue, but because 
kidnapping and killing are an affront to the principles and values of 
Islam and Arab-American culture.
  I want to wish Jill Carroll and her family the very best. She is 
safe, she is free, and very soon she will be home with her family.

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