Congressional Record, Volume 153 Issue 98 (Monday, June 18, 2007)

[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 98 (Monday, June 18, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H6635-H6641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

{time} 2015
GENERAL PETER PACE

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. This evening, we have heard some talk about
the war that we're engaged in, the fighting in Iraq, the fighting in
Afghanistan, this long war against Islamist extremists that we're
engaged in. And tonight I am very pleased I am joined by a number of my
colleagues here this evening to talk a little bit about that military
action, to talk about that war and to talk about the military leaders
that we are so blessed to have in this country.
I think sometimes we sort of forget that there are people who have
devoted their entire lives to serving this country and to providing
exemplary leadership to our young men and women as they fight for us in
Iraq and Afghanistan and around the world. We have some new officers in
the lineup, and we will talk very briefly about those tonight, I
suppose. We have a new commander of Central Command, Admiral William
Fallon. We have, of course, General David Petraeus, named by the
President to be the senior U.S. commander of the multinational forces
in Iraq and confirmed unanimously, I might add, by the Members of the
Senate. Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, and other fine officers
that are leading our young men and women.
I know some of my colleagues would like to talk about one of the
officers who is going to be leaving that chain of command, the very
fine Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first Marine Corps
officer ever to hold that position, my good friend and a great
American, General Peter Pace.
I would like to afford a few minutes to my friend and colleague from
South Carolina who I know has some words he wants to say about my
friend, Pete, and give us a little idea of what his biography is.
I yield to the gentleman.
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Congressman Kline, thank you for your
leadership tonight. And particularly I want to thank you for your
family service, your service in the Marine Corps, your son's service,
who is in the central front himself, having served in Iraq. We are very
grateful for your family's service.
I am here tonight really indeed to point out the extraordinary
service, 40 years of service, of General Peter Pace. I think it's
extraordinary, and I hope the American people indeed look at this
record of service.
The perspective that I am here is that I served 31 years myself in
the Army National Guard, the Army Reserves. Really, the reason I served
so long is because I have such great appreciation for the confidence
and capabilities and the patriotism of the military of our country.
Additionally, I have the perspective of being a parent. I have four
sons who are currently serving in the military of the United States. In
particular, I am very grateful my oldest son served for 1 year in Iraq.
I know firsthand of the bravery of our troops, the success of our
troops in protecting America by keeping the terrorists and stopping
them overseas. I am also grateful, I have a son who is a doctor in the
Navy. We are very proud of his service, and his wife, and what they
mean to our country.
Additionally, I've got a third son who is a signal officer who has
served in Egypt with the Army National Guard, and a fourth son who has
just joined the Army ROTC. He will be participating in the simultaneous
drill program of the National Guard.
I give all my credit to my wife, Roxanne, for training these four
guys. But I will point out that a reason that we have such faith in
their service is because I have such faith in people like General Pace.
I have entrusted my four sons to the leadership of the American
military, which by every poll, every time it is done, I am afraid
lawyers don't come out too well, politicians don't come out too well by
standards, even the media suffers when it comes time to judge the level
of perception of a profession, even ahead of the clergy is the military
of the United States, and I believe they deserve it.
The final perspective I have as a Member of Congress. I have been
here 5 years. I serve on the Armed Services Committee. The communities
I represent, Fort Jackson, Paris Island, the Marine Air Station in
Beaufort, the Beaufort Naval Hospital, but the greatest highlight that
I've had is to visit with our troops overseas.
I have been to Iraq seven times. I have been to Afghanistan three
times. I've visited probably 30 different countries. When we visit, we
visit with the generals; we visit with the diplomats; we visit with the
top American and foreign officials. But one of the real highlights is
that we have the opportunity to go into a dining facility. And of
course, they make it pretty simple for Members of Congress; they have a
little flag identifying our home State. And we will go and we will find
junior officers and enlisted personnel. And that's where you find out
the extraordinary quality of the young people serving our country.
Indeed, I believe it is the new Greatest Generation, people who don't
whine, who understand that our Nation has been attacked. On 9/11, it
was attacked. Beginning back in 1979, with the seizure of our embassy
in Tehran,

[[Page H6636]]

we have had multiple attacks until we came to 9/11/01. And we've
learned a lesson. And these young people are protecting our country.
Indeed, it was just three weeks ago today that I was in Baghdad and
had the great opportunity to meet again with General David Petraeus. I
have great faith in his leadership and what he's doing, protecting
American families by creating a level of stability in Iraq.
Additionally, I had the privilege of visiting with the 218th
Mechanized Infantry Brigade in Kabul, Afghanistan. This is the Army
National Guard of South Carolina being very ably led by General Bob
Livingston.
I was in that unit, Congressman, for 25 years, so I know firsthand of
the capabilities of the person serving that unit as they are training
the Afghan police and training the Afghan Army. A sad reminder today
with the heinous homicide attack on the Afghan police; 35 policemen
were killed yesterday. It is a chilling but a sad reminder that,
indeed, the police that are being trained in Afghanistan and being
trained in Iraq, the armies being trained in both of those countries,
they have been the primary focus of attack of the terrorists because we
are making progress in training people to provide stability in their
own country.
Now, when I think of General Pace, it's really incredible that he has
had a 40-year record of service. He graduated from the Naval Academy in
1967. He was sworn in as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on
September 30, 2005. And what is particularly meaningful is that he is
the first Marine to serve in this position and also the first Marine to
serve as Vice Chairman----
Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Will the gentleman yield? Could you say that
again?
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. And I knew this would get your
interest, being the Marine, Congressman Kline, that you are, and
indeed, I want to commend you. If anyone ever doubts, I want to point
out that you wear a U.S. and Marine flag everywhere you go, without
fail, with your congressional pin. And if anyone mistakes the pin as
the People's Republic of China, I want them to know that indeed it is
the Marine Corps of the United States of America.
Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. I thank the gentleman.
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. General Pace was born in Brooklyn, New
York. He grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey. He holds masters degrees in
business administration from George Washington University, attended
Harvard University for the Senior Executives Course in International
Security. He also is a graduate of the Infantry Officer's Advanced
Course at Fort Benning, Georgia; the Marine Corps Command and General
Staff College at Quantico, Virginia; and the National War College at
Fort McNair in Washington.
In 1968, upon completion of The Basic School at Quantico, General
Pace was assigned to the Second Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine
Division in the Republic of Vietnam, serving first as a rifle platoon
leader, and subsequently as assistant operations officer. He was later
assigned to the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C., where he served a
number of billets, to include Security Detachment Commander at Camp
David, White House Aide, platoon leader and Special Ceremonial Platoon.
General Pace has held command at virtually every level and served in
overseas billets in Nam Phong, Thailand; Seoul, Korea; and Yokota,
Japan.
While serving as president of the Marine Corps University, then
Brigadier General Pace also served as Deputy Commander of Marine
Forces, Somalia, from December 1992 to February 1993, and as the Deputy
Commander, Joint Task Force, Somalia, from October 1993 to March 1994.
After his assignment as the Director of Operations, (J-3) Joint
Staff, Washington, D.C., then Lieutenant General Pace served as the
Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Atlantic/Europe/South. He was
promoted to General and assumed duties as the Commander in Chief,
United States Southern Command in September 2000.
As the Vice Chairman from October 2001 to August 2005, General Pace
served as the Chairman of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council,
Vice Chairman of the Defense Acquisition Board, and as a member of the
National Security Council Deputies Committee and the Nuclear Weapons
Council.
General Pace's personal decorations include: Defense Distinguished
Service Medal, with two oak leaf clusters, Defense Superior Service
Medal, the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with Combat V, the
Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with gold
star, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V, Navy Achievement Medal
with gold star, and the Combat Action Ribbon.
General Pace and his wife, Lynne, have a son, Peter; a daughter,
Tiffany Marie; and a daughter-in-law, Lynsey Olczak Pace.
Colonel Congressman Kline, again, I want to thank you for bringing
many of us together tonight to pay tribute to a great hero, an American
hero who has served our country for 40 years, who has served the last 2
years as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, a
person that I know and respect; I know that the military respects. I
just want to thank you again for your efforts this evening.
I yield the balance of my time.
Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. I thank the gentleman. I thank him for his
comments, and certainly for his service and for the service of our
sons. I know that the South Carolina National Guard is held up by the
Wilson family, and we are grateful. I know that all the people of South
Carolina are grateful to their service to the National Guard, and for
your service in the Guard and here in Congress. And I know that General
Pace appreciates your kind remarks.
Pete and Lynne Pace were next-door neighbors for Vicky and I when I
retired from active duty in the Marines in 1994. He is not only a fine
man and a fine officer, but a good neighbor.
I understand that we are joined now by my colleague from Missouri,
who had some words that he wanted to share with us concerning General
Pace's forthrightness; is that right? I yield to the gentleman.
Mr. AKIN. Thank you, Congressman Kline. And thank you for providing
this opportunity for a number of us to make several points.
The first that I would make would be to show a respect for General
Pace for his 40 years of service. I have two sons who are graduates of
the Naval Academy, one who is returning from his second visit to the
Middle East as an officer and as a Marine, and another who is just
going off to his basic school this July. And I have a third son at the
Naval Academy who hopefully will be graduating in another couple of
years, and he might also choose the Marines as well. So I have a
respect for the Marines just from what I have learned from my own sons,
and particularly as a Congressman, having watched and had a chance to
observe General Pace's leadership.
We are here partly this evening, in talking on this subject, because
General Pace is not being renominated by Secretary Gates and the
President. And he is not being renominated primarily because of
concerns about his political correctness. In fact, a certain prominent
Democrat in the other body has criticized Pace because he is ``not in
touch.'' Now, that is a significant concern to me.
My own personal background, while I was in the Army some, has been
more in the business world. But any organization can atrophy if the
organization makes an effort to fill the organization with yes-men,
with people who don't have the courage to speak up and to speak their
opinions.
Now, throughout America's history, we have had generals, some who
don't even speak up very delicately, but do express their opinion and
have had to pay a political price. And I think that history in many
cases has shown that while what these men may have said may not have
been popular in their day, yet it was accurate. I think particularly of
people like General Patton, who, when he had finished his business of
crushing Naziism, said, Let me after the communists and the Russians
and the Soviets because they are no different than the Nazis. Well,
looking back historically, we realize what he said was absolutely
right, but he was not politically correct. He wasn't a yes-man.
But it's my opinion that the reason the First Amendment is the first
amendment is because Americans appreciate somebody who will speak in a
forthright, straightforward manner and

[[Page H6637]]

can give their opinion respectfully, but still with some level of
force.

{time} 2030

I think that General Pace has done that and is now going to pay the
price politically for not being a ``yes'' man or lining up with
somebody's preconceived political notions. I think it is a sad day in
America's history where we don't have more respect for the first
amendment and have way too much respect for political correctness and
trying to go along and get along and just be a ``yes'' man and keep
everybody happy.
I think that one of the great things about our generals is that they
do take a look at the details, they analyze the situation, and they say
what is right, what is wrong, and what their opinion is. I think it is
a shame that this general should be penalized for that particular
situation.
I would be happy to yield back to my good friend, Congressman Kline.
I appreciate your giving me a chance to say that I think that our
organizations need to have room for people who don't always necessarily
agree. I think we are better Americans, we are stronger Americans, when
we can look each other in the eye and say, I love you, brother, but
this is my opinion on this subject.
Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Again, I thank the gentleman for his service
and his son's service and obviously the good parenting job that you
have done, having your sons go into the Marine Corps. My son went into
the Army. I have got to tell you, I am so proud of him sometimes I just
bust out, but occasionally I wonder where I may have gone wrong in that
upbringing thing. But I know you are proud of your sons and I of mine
and Joe of his and all of our sons and daughters who are serving so
well and so bravely in this war and in wars past.
I want to just remind my colleagues and those who may be following
this discussion tonight what is at the core of the fine men and women
who are leading our men and women into combat, and I go back to the
very, very famous words of General Douglas MacArthur after he retired
and he went back to West Point, his alma mater, and gave a speech. In
that speech, I am just going to read a paragraph of it here, he said
some words that strike to the core of these men and women that we are
talking about tonight. This was back on May 12, 1962.
General MacArthur said, ``For all eyes and for all time, it is an
expression of the ethics of the American soldier. That I should be
integrated in this way with so noble an ideal arouses a sense of pride
and yet of humility which will be with me always.
`` `Duty,' 'Honor,' `Country,' those three hallowed words reverently
dictate what you want to be, what you can be, what you will be. They
are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to
regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create
hope when hope becomes forlorn.''
I think it is important for us to understand, and a little bit later
this evening I am going to talk about some of those values and some of
the fine young men and women who go to these service academies and
provide the outstanding leadership that we have.
Of course, tonight we are talking about that leadership and quite a
bit about General Peter Pace, the first Marine Corps Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff and the man who is going to be retiring here in
the coming months after he has served us so well in so many years.
I am joined now by my friend and colleague and classmate, I guess, we
came to Congress together in the 108th Congress, Dr. Phil Gingrey.
I yield to the gentleman.
Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, my
friend from Minnesota, not just Representative John Kline, but Colonel
John Kline of the United States Marine Corps. Representative Kline, you
mentioned a number of great leaders. I consider you among them.
It is fitting that we do this during this hour tonight to pay a
special tribute to General Peter Pace and General Petraeus, Admiral
Fallon and General Odierno, all of those you have mentioned. This is
our chain of command. These are the brave men and women that we talk
about, as you just referenced, when we go to those service academy days
and we look at those youngsters in the 10th or 11th grade and they are
with their parents and thinking about a service academy. And I am
saying to them, as I am sure my colleagues tonight in this colloquy
have done, you say, ``You know, young man, young lady, you could be the
next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or you can be the Central
Commander.''
It is just when you look and you say that, you want to feel that they
know that they are going to be respected, and that Members of Congress
are not going to denigrate them in a public way.
I think that is a very, very disappointing thing that has been
occurring, Mr. Speaker. In fact, a Member recently was quoted as saying
that this Member felt that General Pace was guilty of dereliction of
duty because of his support for the Bush's Iraq policy.
Now, President Bush, like him or not, is the Commander in Chief, and
if General Pace did not support the Commander in Chief, then that, I
think, Colonel Kline, you can explain it better than I can, you talk
about a dereliction of duty, but I am proud to be here tonight.
I thank the gentleman for giving me a little bit of time. I know we
have other Members who are colleagues on the Armed Services Committee.
We have already heard from a couple of them who are veterans and who
have sons that are serving. I wish I could say that I was a veteran.
So I am very proud of my colleagues. I am proud of these leaders of
our military. Especially I want to say to General Pace, Mr. Speaker,
you know, one of my favorite country songs by Garth Brooks is ``Some of
God's Greatest Gifts Are Unanswered Prayers.'' If the General was
praying to get reconfirmed as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
maybe this will be God's answer to him: ``General, you have served 40
years. You are a four-star general. You have done a great job for this
country, and we salute you.'' Tonight I want to salute General Peter
Pace.

I yield back to the gentleman from Minnesota.
Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his
kind remarks and for his service here. You have been a great colleague
and a great champion for our men and women who are serving so bravely
and so well all around the globe. It is not just Iraq, as my friend
knows, and here shortly I will be recognizing another colleague to talk
about this threat that we face. But first, I want to recognize my
friend and colleague on the Armed Services Committee and a great
American himself, the gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Hayes.
Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the colonel for yielding. I
appreciate Congressman Kline for his diligence in bringing this
important matter to the floor. You and I have been friends for years. I
have been here a little longer, but I say without reservation that
probably the main motivation that you and I serve, aside from our
specific constituents in our own districts, is our love for the
military and our desire to do anything and everything we can to support
them at all levels of service.
I represent Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Joint Special Operations
Command, U.S. Army Special Operations Command at the epicenter of the
universe in Fayetteville, North Carolina. And as I have spent time with
these young men and women in all parts of the world, I am continuously
astounded, amazed, and incredibly appreciative for what they do every
day and every night of the year to keep us free. I say that simply as a
little bit of a background to pick up on what Colonel Wilson and Dr.
Gingrey have said in tribute to General Peter Pace.
For 40 years, Pete Pace has absolutely signified, has identified, has
personified, the greatest qualities of the American citizen-soldier-
marine that anybody could absolutely personify. He served in virtually
every theater for 40 years. He has exemplified Semper Fi. He has been
faithful beyond belief to our country. He would still be serving, were
it not for political correctness and cheap-shot politics, that has
unfortunately become a part of what we do.
I think General Pace said it better than anyone. When given the
opportunity to resign, he said, ``Why would I

[[Page H6638]]

leave my men on the battlefield? If you tell me my job is done, then my
job is done.''
General Pace, your job has never been done. It will never be over,
because the memory of your service will be extremely strong in all of
our minds.
Colonel, I would like to add a few more remarks. I feel it is highly
inappropriate that the Senate majority leader would make disparaging
remarks about General Pace and General Petraeus, the commander of our
troops in Iraq and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Mr. Speaker, General Petraeus and General Pace have had a tough job,
and now they should not be fodder for political gain with a group of
left-wing liberal activists, or anyone else for that matter. Gentlemen,
scholars and warriors, they have devoted their lives to serving our
Nation, and have done it well.
What is most puzzling is that the Senate majority leader put his
endorsement behind General Petraeus and trusted him to carry out our
objectives in Iraq when he was confirmed on January 26 of this year.
Obviously he felt General Petraeus was more than competent when he
voted to confirm him.
Mr. Speaker, I don't think anyone is content with the existing
situation in Iraq, neither General Petraeus nor General Pace. General
Petraeus, the commanding general, has cautioned it is too early to
judge the success of Baghdad's security and stability. He informs us
that the new security effort is just beginning to reach the full number
on the ground, because they still have an additional brigade just
coming into Iraq, General Petraeus is now in his third tour of duty in
Iraq.
Mr. Speaker, the majority leader and others have visited troops
serving as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I have been there. I think
it is good that lawmakers see the situation firsthand. But there is
real arrogance in saying that someone with a commander's-level
experience and General Pace's experience is out of touch with the
situation in Iraq.
As I said, I have visited Iraq many times and recognize General
Petraeus as a military commander and as the expert he is on this issue.
As he makes determinations regarding the security situation in Iraq, I
will ask tough questions. If you are going to declare that he is out of
touch or incompetent, then you have already made up your mind. You have
already determined the outcome is going to be labeled a failure.
Mr. Speaker, what message are we sending our troops when the
leadership of the other body has already declared that their effort in
this new security strategy is a failure before they have really begun?
The 82nd Airborne from Fort Bragg in my home district is currently
deployed to Iraq as part of the troop surge. These servicemembers and
others are there at the tip of the spear. It is time for everyone to
put partisan politics aside and stand together in solid support of our
men and women in uniform.
General Pace has had an incredible, distinguished career, serving in
every capacity, and he deserves much better. His record merits thanks
and a second term as chairman. Instead, he becomes another victim of
the campaign of personal destruction.
General Pace, thank you for Semper Fi. You have always been faithful.
Nobody wants their troops to return home sooner or more safely than I
do. They should not stay in Iraq one day longer than necessary. While
we have soldiers on the ground fighting the war on terror for us over
there, we should have no patience for cheap-shot political gamesmanship
on this critical national security issue here at home.
Colonel Kline, again, thank you. General Pace, thank you, and Lynn,
and your family. We are ever grateful for your service.
Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his
words and for his strong support of our men and women in uniform. I
know the people down in North Carolina are very proud to have you
serve. There is no greater champion for our Special Operations Forces
than you are and for all those fine soldiers down there, and I know
that General Pace appreciates your support. So I thank the gentleman
for joining us this evening.
Mr. Speaker, I was thinking about the kind words that have been said
tonight about General Pace. I certainly add to those.
I mentioned earlier that I thought that General Pace was a fine man
and a fine marine and a fine commander and a great neighbor when he and
Lynn lived next door to Vicky and I down at the Marine Base at
Quantico. I just have to share another story with my colleagues
standing here.
There was another time when General Pace and I were neighbors, and it
was not such a nice location as the Marine Base at Quantico and the
fine quarters there up on the hill.
We were serving together in Mogadishu in 1992 and 1993 in the rubble
of that country, in some pretty tough times and bad weather and bad
conditions and starving people. We had some folks who were intent on
shooting each other and shooting us.

{time} 2045

I remember going into the building one time and General Pace was
sitting there, sort of an old, bombed-out room of the Embassy.
I said, ``General, how is it going?''
He said, ``We are here, we are serving our country and we are in the
Marines.''
He was a fine friend and fine neighbor, whether he was in the idyllic
hillside down in Prince William County or bombed-out rubble in
Mogadishu. You couldn't have a finer man with you. I am very proud to
have known him and served with him, and I am very grateful for his many
years of distinguished service, living by those ideals we discussed
earlier.
There are some more commanders that we want to refer to later
tonight, but we want to put this in the context of this terrible war we
are fighting. We are fighting an evil and adaptive enemy, and I yield
to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp).
Mr. WAMP. Colonel, it is an honor to join you tonight and my
colleagues on the floor. Anytime I have the privilege to stand and
honor our men and women in uniform, I try to begin with what John
Stuart Mill said about war. He said, ``War is an ugly thing, but not
the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and
patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.
The person who has nothing for which they are willing to fight, nothing
which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable
creature and who has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by
the exertions of better men than himself.''
Those better persons that Stuart Mill referred to are the people we
rise tonight to honor, the men and women in uniform of our Armed
Forces.
They understand from time to time it is necessary for people to put
themselves between a threat and our civilian population, and they know
that freedom, every time it has been extended from one generation to
the next, it has been by those people who have been willing to put
themselves and their lives, everything they have, their whole measure,
between the threat and our civilian population.
Tonight, Colonel, I come to the floor to talk briefly about this
threat because, unfortunately, the conversation revolves around one
theater in this war and that is Iraq. We know mistakes have been made.
We know it has not gone as well as we would have liked. Wars are that
way. Stuart Mill said it is an ugly thing.
I don't know of a war that has been perfectly executed. I know that
the march to Baghdad was perfectly executed, but I know that
intentionally the insurgents have wreaked havoc wherever they could,
from bombing the Samarra mosque which initiated the last 16 months of
internal strife within Iraq, by design, knowing that that would test
our will to see if we were a ``paper tiger'' or if we were the strong
and determined United States of America.
I think a lot of people forget who it is that threatens freedom-
loving people all around the world. They are called the jihadists, the
Islamists, the radicals within Islam. The problem here is this is not
just a religious issue, it is a political agenda. The call is for a
Shariah, global Islamic rule. That's the truth. Read. I would encourage
people to read ``Hatred's Kingdom.'' Read ``America Alone.'' Read
``Looming Towers.'' Read ``While Europe Slept.''

[[Page H6639]]

Read ``Londonistan.'' Read ``Epicenter.'' Read ``Knowing the Enemy.''
You will understand the history of how we got where we are.
One slice, the Wahhabi movement, the most radical out of the Saudi
Arabia Sunni sect. A man named Sayyid Qutb came to the United States
about the time I was born in the late 1950s, was educated at Northern
Colorado State University, and went back and began to indoctrinate the
Wahhabi sect that western liberalism, self-determination, freedom,
would create apostasy and ungodliness and it must be stopped.
One of his lieutenants was Osama bin Laden. One of the people that he
taught at university was Osama bin Laden. These things didn't happen by
accident. For years this has been brewing. It is a real threat.
Unfortunately, the left has a propaganda campaign in this country to
cause people to believe this is all just Iraq, if we would just leave
Iraq, if we had never gone we wouldn't have a problem, or that life
would just return to normal or that everything would just be okay. It
is just simply not the case. We were not in Iraq before September 11.
We weren't in Iraq before 1993. They hit us over 40 times since 1979.
You have to study the history of it all.
When the Wahhabis took Mecca in the late seventies, the Saudi Arabia
Kingdom made a deal with them that they would start spending money in
this country.
Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. I couldn't agree with you more in your
explanation of what we are up against; but it strikes me the
differences we hear on the floor of this House. This evening some of
our colleagues were saying we have to get out of Iraq now. We have to
end the war. If we bring our troops tomorrow, say they, we will end
this war. And presumably, then, everything will be fine. And that
simply doesn't track with the history that the gentleman is describing.
It does not describe the enemy that was willing to hijack planes and
fly them into buildings and kill women and children. Every day we see
the stories in Baghdad of people blowing up women and children. Our
just bringing our troops home doesn't, wouldn't, couldn't, signal the
end of this war and of the determination of that enemy. It strikes me
the difference that we see in this body.
Mr. WAMP. The words we hear in Washington run almost in denial of the
words of our enemy, of Zarqawi when he was still alive, of Zawahiri
about expanding the caliphate, reestablishing the caliphate, from
Morocco to Indonesia, this huge part of the world, to come back with
Islamic rule. And this is dangerous because they don't believe in a
theocracy as we do. They don't believe in pluralism. They don't believe
in the freedom of religion. We believe everyone should have the right
to worship as they please. This is a Shariah. This is Islamic law they
are calling for. This is Islamic rule they are calling for, and this is
where politics, the military and religion all come together. And we
didn't do that, they are doing it. That's the truth.
Frankly, the left has misled and twisted and distorted and run a PR
campaign that is driven by politics, denying even the weapons of mass
destruction realities. Hans Blitz said, Where did the 8,500 liters of
anthrax that we knew were in Iraq go? Two tractor-trailer loads.
Probably Syria.
I have news for you, those are weapons of mass destruction. For
people to say over and over again there weren't weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq is one of the greatest lies ever told in this
country.
He gassed his own people. They came running out with their eyes
bleeding out of their face. Weapons of mass destruction were in Iraq.
The threats were real. Over half the Democrats of the United States
Senate voted to remove Saddam Hussein by force, almost half the
Democrats in the House voted, and now it is convenient to say we should
retreat, we never should have gone. This was a misguided war.
These men and women in uniform, they know that these threats are real
and we have to stand up and face these threats. I pay tribute tonight
to the Guard and Reserve from my State, the 181st where my nephew is at
Fort Bliss training to go to Iraq right now. And the 278th that just
came back, the might battery of the Marine Corps Reserve; Colonel Brett
Hale who just commanded the Dragonslayers in Iraq for a year, my
constituent, my patriot, my hero, who says in the public square in
Chattanooga, Tennessee: I have been there and I have seen what we are
doing. I know that it is important.
These are the people who have been. These are not the people at home
saying things about the ones who have gone.
Eight brave men from my district have given their life in defense of
our freedom; and when some people say they have died in vain, it makes
me angry because they didn't die in vain, nor has any patriot who has
ever given their life in defense of freedom for this country died in
vain. Freedom comes with a huge price, and these men and women are
willing to put their life on the line for us, and we come to the floor
tonight to honor them so they know we stand behind them.
And there is widespread bipartisan support for our troops. But our
troops are in harm's way on our behalf. You can't say they shouldn't be
there, we are not for them; and then say, oh, we are for them. It is a
paradox. It is just wrong-headed sometimes for the leader of the United
States Senate to say the war is lost while they are in harm's way
fighting for what they believe in. They know these threats are real.
We can leave Iraq tomorrow and this threat is not going away. This
threat is a greater threat to freedom in the world than Nazi Germany
ever was. It is growing all over the world. Read these books. If you
haven't read to understand the threat, there is no way you could be
there to know what is happening in Europe and all across the country.
The radical elements of Islam have infiltrated through the mosque and
trained people up all over the world. That is the truth. And they are
in this country. Nobody wants to hear it because it is not politically
correct, but that is the truth. I hope, I hope that God showers us with
his grace so we don't get hit hard again like we did on September 11,
but the threats are real.
I come to the floor tonight and say ``thank you'' to the men and
women in uniform on our behalf. All of them. We came to honor General
Pace tonight, but every one of those Guardsmen and Reservists whose
families didn't know that they were going to have one or two or even
three deployments, thank you families for allowing your son or daughter
or husband to go, or wife to go, on our behalf.
Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. I thank the gentleman very much for his
insight and certainly his passion on this issue. I, too, want to thank
all of the men and women in uniform. And certainly we are here tonight
talking some about the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Peter
Pace, who will be retiring this fall, but we are also here to talk
about the other leaders and the values that are at their core.
Minnesota is like other States in the Union. We have members of our
National Guard who have deployed, and deployed again in some cases. We
have 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard serving in Iraq now
as members of the Red Bulls, and we are so proud of them and looking
forward to them coming back this summer. The sooner the better.
That is an issue that has been mentioned by Members on both sides of
the aisle that there have been mistakes made, and there certainly have.
One of the early mistakes was not building up the size of the active
forces and relying so heavily on these men and women in the reserve
component, the reserves that the gentleman from Tennessee mentioned,
and the members of the National Guard from all over having to go,
having to leave their civilian jobs and leave their families and go and
serve, and they do so willingly and bravely and well. And then they
come back and have to resume their civilian lives, and we have to do a
better job of reintegrating them in this body. We need to not let up.
But I want to thank you, Mr. Wamp, for coming down here and helping
us understand what it is that we are fighting. You put it so well.
I know the gentleman remembers way back when the 9/11 Commission came
out, and in that report they said we are fighting Islamist extremists.
They didn't say we were just fighting al Qaeda. Certainly we are
fighting al Qaeda. And it seems so long ago now,

[[Page H6640]]

and as you pointed out, it is even clearer now that this enemy that we
are fighting is very, very determined. It is the jihadists in that
moment that are at the core of this, and they are not going to quit.

{time} 2100

America's a great country, greatest in the world with great people.
But we're an impatient people, and it's difficult; no, it is impossible
for us to understand what's in the minds of people who are not only
willing but apparently eager to strap bombs to children and blow them
up and kill innocent, innocent men, women, and children in the name of
their cause and reestablishing that sharia law and that caliphate and
then moving on to the world.
And so like you, I am just grateful for the men and women in uniform
and for all they have done and for their leaders. And before we wrap up
here this evening, I want to mention briefly some of the other leaders
that we don't sometimes talk so much about, but they are part of this
fight, and they're an integral part.
We just got a new commander of Central Command, Admiral William
Fallon, a new leader, will bring new ideas and a new face. We've been
ably led in the past, but it's important sometimes that we get a change
of face and a new idea, get a new team sometimes. And Admiral Fallon is
bringing some new insights into this fight.
He was a naval aviator, a graduate of Villanova University in 1967,
came through the Naval ROTC program, as I did. I have a lot of good
things to say about the service academies. I think they do a terrific
job, but there is no question that we get fine officers, men and women,
who come through our other commissioning programs like the Naval ROTC
program.
Admiral Fallon served as an aviator in Vietnam, has had a very
distinguished career. He is going on now to take overall command of
everything in Central Command which, of course, includes all of Iraq
and the surrounding countries, and we're glad to have him.
General David Petraeus has been mentioned this evening, a really fine
officer, graduate of the West Point Military Academy, has a Ph.D., very
distinguished career. I've had the pleasure of sitting and talking with
General Petraeus on two previous trips to Iraq. He was the commander of
the 101st Airborne Division and Operation Iraqi Freedom One, and when I
went over there, my first trip to Iraq, he was the commanding general
up in Mosul. I had a chance to go and talk to him, and I was impressed
then with his intelligence and his determination and his leadership.
What a fine job the 101st did, not only in winning the initial combat
but in starting to establish some local government and progress amongst
the people of Mosul. And I thought at the time, what a fine officer,
and all my colleagues who traveled over there, Republicans and
Democrats, came back with glowing reports of General David Petraeus.
It was later my son became a member of the 101st under a different
commander and has gone to Iraq and served for a year and come back and
served well, and General Petraeus left that division in good shape.
General Petraeus went back to Iraq and served as the man in charge of
training the Iraqi security forces, and so he was able to see firsthand
what the difficulties were and what we needed to do there. And then he
went on to become probably the Nation's foremost authority in
unconventional warfare, ideally suited to his job. And so when the
President nominated him to be the senior American commander in Iraq, he
was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate.
And under him is Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, another fine
officer with previous service in Iraq and a graduate of the United
States Military Academy. All of these officers, too many awards and
decorations to name.
My point this evening is that we are ably led by fine men who hew to
an ethic of, as General Douglas MacArthur said, ``Duty, Honor,
Country,'' but the core values seen at the Naval Academy and the United
States Marine Corps of honor, courage, commitment, all of these men
exemplify those core values, and they provide firm, steady, well-
informed leadership to the men and women who serve us so well in all
the corners of the world. And they're doing a good job.
I just want to share with you a couple of quotes that I've got here
about things that are going on in Iraq. Goodness knows we see plenty of
bad news, and there is certainly some to share. And every time there's
an explosion and our soldiers are killed or wounded, it pains us
deeply. And when civilians are killed, it's a tragedy. But we're
fighting against an enemy that is fierce and determined, as my
colleague Mr. Wamp from Tennessee outlined so well.
This is a tough enemy and we need tough soldiers to fight them, and
all of us recognize that you cannot win this only militarily, that you
need economics and you need politics and you need diplomacy. And I
would say that these leaders that we've talked about tonight, Admiral
Fallon, General Petraeus, General Odierno and certainly the Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, understand that very
well. But they're attending to the first order of business first. They
want to make sure that our men and women are well-led. They're fighting
to win. We in this body, my colleagues, need to make sure that we're
giving them every chance to win.
And I just notice some quotes that have just been in the news in the
last couple of days. U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker says, ``It is
noteworthy that violence is down in the two areas where the surge is
focused, Anbar and Baghdad.''
And our friend from the other side of the Capitol, Senator Joe
Lieberman says, ``Our troops have succeeded in improving security
conditions in precisely those parts of Iraq where the surge has
focused.''
We can't win it all in a day. It's going to be a long fight. The men
and women serving and fighting understand this. We need to understand
this and make sure that we are, in fact, being true to ourselves and
true to them.
I want to share just a brief story about the fine leadership that we
have, not just these men that we've talked about tonight, but the fine
young men and women who are stepping up to lead our Armed Forces today.
One of the great things we get to do as Members of Congress is
nominate these fine young students to go forward to the academy. We're
always thrilled when one is selected to go, and the joy that they have
and the pride that their families feel is certainly moving.
In my first year here as a Member of this body, my niece graduated
from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Vicky and I went up for
several days of ceremonies and to share with my sister and brother-in-
law and nieces their joy and pride in my niece's accomplishment.
She, by the way, now Captain Stroecker, is serving in the United
States Army. She served a year over in Kuwait. She served in Germany,
and she's the kind of officer that makes us proud.
But while we were there at West Point, we were surrounded by these
young cadets, some of them just getting ready to be commissioned. And
we were there when the second lieutenants' bars were pinned on, but I
remember sitting with Vicky in the audience and witnessing a ceremony
that I found to be very moving. It was a very impressive thing to
watch.
This is a ceremony where the graduating class turns over command,
turns over command to the brigade, to the rising seniors, the juniors
rising to be seniors, and you see the long gray line march out in that
ceremony. Movies are made about the long gray line, stories written,
and it's moving to watch it, and they march out, and they pass command
from one class to the next.

And I remember thinking as that ceremony was going on and looking at
those fine, fine young men and women, I remember thinking, no wonder,
no wonder that the United States has the finest Armed Forces in the
world and no wonder that we're the best we've ever been, with all
apologies to the Greatest Generation, my father's generation, an Army
World War II veteran, but today's Army and today's Marine Corps and
Navy and Air Force and Coast Guard are the best they have ever been,
all volunteer, all eager, all determined. They understand that enemy
that my colleague, the gentleman from Tennessee, was describing. They
know that what they're doing is

[[Page H6641]]

important, that without their success we are in great danger.
But as you look at those fine young men and women and when you are
there, when they move on to become second lieutenants, you just can't
help but notice that that's the reason why our men and women in uniform
today are led by very, very fine leaders.
Well, I see that we're nearing the end of the time for this Special
Order. I'm sure there is more to be said about the fine men and women
who are leading our military, and that's what we were about this
evening, to talk a little bit about the conflict we're involved in, the
importance of that leadership and the people who are leading and
certainly to talk about General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff.
Pete, I think it was my colleague, Robin Hayes, who said, we love
you, and we thank you, and we wish you all the best. And I know that
sometimes you thought about these words, I certainly have over the
years, President Ronald Reagan said way back in 1985; he said, some
people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in
the world, but the Marines don't have that problem. And Pete Pace has
never had that problem. He has been a great leader. He is a great
leader. We're looking forward to his leadership in the closing months
of his tour as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We thank him
for everything that he has done, that he is doing and that he is going
to do.

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