[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 72 (Thursday, June 8, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H3500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            WORLD A SAFER PLACE WITH THE DEATH OF AL-ZARQAWI

  (Mr. KELLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, the killing of al-Zarqawi is the most 
important victory in Iraq since capturing Saddam Hussein. Al-Zarqawi 
was the Osama bin Laden of Iraq. He was al Qaeda's leader in Iraq. He 
personally beheaded American hostages on national TV. He bombed U.N. 
headquarters in Iraq and hotels Jordan.
  I was with President Bush yesterday at the White House at the very 
moment he got the message that al-Zarqawi was killed. At exactly 3:57 
p.m., National Security Advisor Steven Hadley told President Bush and 
also handed a note to Vice President Cheney and Condi Rice that he had 
been killed. President Bush looked at the note, smiled and winked at 
Condi Rice. I knew something big had just happened.
  I have just returned from Iraq, where I personally met with the 
people who tracked down al-Zarqawi. I met with General Stan McChrystal 
and his Special Operations team at their command center. All over the 
walls of the command center were posters of al-Zarqawi. They told us 
they were close to getting him and they would get him.
  Well, they did get al-Zarqawi, and today the world is a safer place. 
Thank God for our troops.

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