[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 8, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H2061-H2066]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[[Page H2061]]
CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. GINGREY. Madam Speaker, I thank you. And it's indeed an honor to
be here tonight to talk with my colleagues about something that's going
on in the world today that is of huge import. And no, I'm not talking
about who was the victor in the NCAA Final Four Basketball Tournament.
I'm not here to talk to my colleagues about who might be the winner
this year of the American Idol contest, as we get closer and closer and
that draws the interest of so many of television viewers throughout the
country.
What I'm talking about tonight, Madam Speaker, is probably the most
important thing that this country has on its plate in a long, long
time, and that is the situation in the Middle East and what's going on
in Iraq and Afghanistan and how important that conflict is, not just to
this country and its citizens, but the region in the Middle East and,
indeed, the entire world, Madam Speaker, as we continue to wage, as we
have for the last 5\1/2\ years, this battle, this war against global
terrorism. And ground zero, Madam Speaker, make no mistake about it,
ground zero is in Iraq.
Today our commander there, of the multinational force Iraq, General
David Petraeus, and the United States Ambassador, Ambassador to Iraq,
Ambassador Ryan Crocker, are here in Washington, D.C. to testify before
both the United States Senate and in this chamber, the United States
House of Representatives, to the Armed Services Committee of both the
House and the Senate, and to the Foreign Affairs Committee of both
bodies. General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker spoke to the Senate
today in a full, long day of testimony, and they will be speaking
tomorrow to the House committees that I just mentioned.
Madam Speaker, along with yourself and many other very fortunate
Members of this House of Representatives, I do serve on the Armed
Services Committee, and I certainly look forward to hearing from these
two great men who have served so well and for so long in a difficult
part of the world, and also to have the opportunity to ask some
questions, and I'm sure some of them will be tough questions, hard
questions for Members of both political bodies, both the majority and
the minority.
So, as I say, this opportunity tonight, on behalf of my party, the
Republican minority, to take this hour and talk about this and try to
explain to my colleagues that this is really, we are at a critical
point in this war in the Middle East. And we have an opportunity, as
I've felt for a long time, as I felt last September when General
Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker first came before the committees and
explained that the surge that we enacted in January of 2007 is, indeed,
working. And what they said last September is that we need to give it a
chance.
Indeed, if you made an analogy to a sporting event, you might say
that we're in the fourth quarter of a tough game, and at times, indeed,
January of 2007 and several months before that, it did appear that we
were losing. Members of this body and the other body in leadership
positions made some pretty drastic statements, even to the extent of
saying the war's lost, it's hopeless, it's a hopeless situation; we
need to just pack up and come home.
But General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker, last September told us,
no, that is not the case because we did change courses. We listened to
the recommendations of the Iraqi Study Group, co-chaired by a very
prominent Democrat and Republican, and we listened very carefully to
their recommendations in regard to what needed to be done. And this
surge of about 30,000 additional troops has certainly given us the
opportunity to regain control and get the upper hand against these
Islamic extremists and thugs that could, and would, and are determined
not only to destroy Iraq, but to make that country the base of their
support. And, yes, of course I'm talking about al Qaeda.
Anyone who thinks, Madam Speaker, that Iraq is not ground zero now
for al Qaeda simply is ignoring the words of Osama bin Laden.
So we are, as General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker said, we are at
a very critical point. And today, the evidence will show, and during
this next 45 to 60 minutes of time that me and some of my colleagues on
our side of the aisle will have to discuss this, we are going to
present the evidence that we are succeeding. We have not won yet, but
we're ahead in the fourth quarter, and this is certainly not the time
to pull our team off the field and say, well, you know, they're tired,
they're stressed; the ranks are thin. It's cost us too much money. And
hey, you know, we may have some conflict break out somewhere else in
the world, and we have to be ready for that. Maybe 6 months from now,
maybe a year from now, maybe 10 years from now.
So this approach, strategy of giving up something that we have almost
won, after sacrificing 4,000 killed in action, and closer to 20,000 of
our brave men and women severely wounded, and an untold number, maybe
as many as 100,000 Iraqi civilians who have also given their lives for
the cause, it makes no sense to this Member, Madam Speaker, that you
would give up at such a critical, crucial time.
So what we're going to talk about tonight is really four things. I
want to concentrate on four things. And as I say, hopefully, a number
of my colleagues will be able to finish up their previous engagements
and be here with me on the floor, because these Members are members of
the Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Foreign Relations of
the United States House of Representatives. And they, Madam Speaker,
know of what they speak.
And what we're going to do is break it down, as I say, into four
areas of discussion. The first area would be to talk about where are we
today? What difference has a year made? Actually, it's a little more
than a year. January of 2007. But it took until October, just this past
fall, to get all of the additional troops and their support, logistical
support into the theater. And you really couldn't expect a lot of
change in the battle until we got the full force of those 30,000
additional troops. And you, ladies and gentlemen, my colleagues, we all
refer to that as the surge. And this was what was recommended by
General Petraeus.
And so we're going to talk about it, what a difference a year makes,
and talk about some of the statistics about overall violence and
progress. And the statistics don't lie. You can't put spin on numbers.
Numbers are what they are. And I think the numbers, when we finish this
special order hour, Madam Speaker, I think my colleagues will agree
that by any standard, any parameter, any metric that I talk about,
you'd have to say that the surge that was essentially envisioned,
planned by General Petraeus, is, indeed, working, maybe even far better
than he expected.
And the second thing that I'll talk about is, what would victory look
like? You know, we're on track. We're not there yet. I think it would
be presumptuous, maybe even naive of me to say that we have victory in
our grasp, or to suggest that the mission is over, we won. No, we're
not there yet.
And I think the violence that broke out recently in Basra, the second
largest city in Iraq, after Baghdad, the port city where every drop of
oil that's taken out of the ground, those 2\1/2\ to 3 million barrels a
day from the reserves in the country of Iraq, they flow out of that
port at Basra. And there's been a lot of violence there. And, you know,
that's some disappointing news after we have had a string of several
months of good news and great statistics.
But we know from that little wake-up call that there's still a lot of
work to be done. Unfortunately, as has been the case in so many
conflicts throughout the course of the history of our country, we have
had to take the lead so many times. And we have had strong allies,
certainly, the Brits have been a great ally of ours throughout history,
and continue to be. But the fact is that they're citizens are, they're
not as supportive, maybe, from time to time, as we would like for them
to be.
{time} 2100
And it's very difficult for their parliament to keep troops as part
of our multinational force. There are some in Basra, but something like
a thousand British troops were removed from that
[[Page H2062]]
critical area, which they have had responsibility for since day one of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. A lot of those troops were brought home for
political reasons in September of 2007, and it weakened our situation
in Basra. We are paying the price today, I think, because of that, but
we will talk about these statistics, and we will certainly talk about
what victory would look like.
The third point that I am going to ask my colleagues to discuss, and
I will discuss as well, is the fact that despite these overwhelming
statistics and the progress that we've made, there are Members in this
body, in this town, the media, voices, that say and continue to say, it
is not worth it. It is not worth it. It is not worth the lives that we
have sacrificed. It is not worth the money that we've spent. Even
achieving victory is not worth it. We need to bring the troops home and
spend that money on social welfare programs, on health care for
everybody, and maybe a $5,000 tax rebate for every man, woman, and
child in the country. There are other things that we could do to spend
that $10 billion a month that this war is costing us. Now, I want to
talk about that, and we will get into it.
And then lastly, and maybe most important tonight, we will talk about
the consequences of failure, the consequences of withdrawal, which I am
absolutely convinced, if done prematurely, will lead, inevitably, to
failure.
So we will conclude by talking about the consequences of that. And I
think, as my colleagues listen, it will be quite sobering to them as
they think in their mind and understand, and this is an intelligent
body of 435 great Americans, of people who have served this country
well and representing their districts well, but sometimes we need a
wake-up call. Sometimes we really, Mr. Speaker, need a wake-up call.
And that's why we do these Special Orders on both sides of the aisle.
But tonight, I don't think there really is anything more important to
talk about than the situation in the Middle East, and I'm proud to have
this opportunity, and it's a great honor and a privilege.
I see my colleague from Tennessee, one of my classmates who joined
with me in the 110th Congress. We were both elected in 2002. We both
had served, me in the State of Georgia, she in the State of Tennessee,
in the General Assembly; and we are part of a proud group of, I think
there were 53 freshman back in 2003 as we got here. And we all, I'm
sure, felt like we had the answers to all problems and that we were
going to solve all of the country's problems and the world's problems.
And I can tell you that we haven't, but we haven't given up, and we
will continue to work hard.
So it's an honor to be joined now by the gentlewoman from Tennessee,
my good friend and outstanding Member, Marsha Blackburn.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentleman from Georgia, and Mr. Speaker,
he just touched on something I think is so very important.
Every once in a while, we need a wake-up call, and I think that is
indeed true. And today has been a very serious day. This week is a very
serious week here on Capitol Hill. And as I entered the Capitol again
this evening to participate in our Special Order hour, I was struck by
this stillness of the surroundings, the serene feelings of the Capitol
as you walk in and as you look at the paintings and at the statues,
making my way over to the chamber, reminded of those who have loved
this Nation and loved the freedoms that we all enjoy and that allow us
to stand in this chamber and participate in debate and to bring forward
ideas and talk about what is a good idea and what is a bad idea.
And indeed, as the gentleman from Georgia said, every once in a while
we need a wake-up call and a reminder that freedom is an idea that
definitely has served this Nation well. It, Mr. Speaker, is an idea
that serves all of the nations of the world very well. It is something
that people all over the globe seek to have.
We have had discussion on this floor tonight about Tibet and the
desire there to live in freedom, to worship freely. Many of us have
watched the Iraqi people move forward with elections freely and
willingly. Some of us travel to other nations to participate as we
watch people seek to go in large numbers to the ballot box in their
nation to freely vote.
I was struck a little bit earlier today, and I think it was more or
less a wake-up call for me, Mr. Speaker. I stood in the shadow of the
Capitol on the Senate side with a group called Vets for Freedom. I have
had the opportunity to spend some time with them as they have told
their stories about the success, the success stories, if you will, of
what is happening on the ground in Iraq. And today they were joined by
Senator McCain, Senator Lieberman, and other Members of the Senate,
several of us from the House, including one of our most distinguished
Members and a former prisoner of war, Sam Johnson, the honorable
gentlemen from the great State of Texas.
And it was amazing to stand there and look into the faces of these
veterans who have been willing to put it all on the line for freedom,
to put it all on the line to protect this great Nation. And then to
give actions to, again, to the actions they've carried out, to the
words and the stories they're telling, and again, to take an action of
coming here and coming to the Capitol and meeting with the Members of
this body and to stand and support General Petraeus and Ambassador
Crocker as they reported to our Nation, to say we've been there, we've
carried out the heavy lift, and indeed, freedom is worth the fight.
They've also made it very clear that America now has the opportunity
to achieve our fundamental objectives in Iraq through the establishment
of a peaceful, stable, secular, democratic State which will be a
reliable ally in the struggle against both Sunni and Shiite terrorism.
Establishing this ally would allow America to reorient our position in
the Middle East away from a position that relies on anti-democratic
States to a position based on a strong democratic partner whose
citizens have explicitly rejected al Qaeda and terrorism in general and
have chosen freedom.
Today, General Petraeus reported to the Senate on his progress.
Tomorrow, the House will hear from the general.
What we've learned so far is that levels of violence and civilian
deaths have been reduced substantially. Al Qaeda Iraq, and other
extremist elements, have been dealt serious and damaging blows. The
capabilities of the Iraqi security forces have grown. Indeed, the
involvement of local Iraqis and local security has been noteworthy. The
forces are growing, and indeed, the Iraqis have carried out their own
surge, Mr. Speaker.
Americans are well aware the additional U.S. forces that deployed to
Iraq as part of the surge and our great Nation's part there. What is
less understood well is that Iraqi forces surged, adding over 100,000
additional soldiers and police to their very own security forces in
2007.
There has been a shift in attitude among certain elements of the
Iraqi population. The Sunni communities in Iraq increasingly have
rejected al Qaeda's indiscriminate violence and extremist ideology.
They recognize that they cannot share in the new Iraq if they don't
participate in the political arena. That, Mr. Speaker, is a major step
forward.
Over time, these awakenings have prompted tens of thousands of
Iraqis, some former insurgents, to contribute to local security as sons
of Iraq. There are 91,000 sons of Iraq Shia, as well as Sunni, under
contract to help coalition and Iraqi forces protect their own
neighborhoods. Again, they are taking the lead.
Al Qaeda's leadership, who still see Iraq as the central front in a
global strategy, send funding, instructions, and foreign fighters to
Iraq. Iraq's ethno-sectarian conflict in many areas is taking place
through debate rather than through violence. That is another turn that
we have seen. Security incidents are at a level not seen since early
2005, and civilian deaths have decreased to a level not seen before the
mosque bombings in 2006.
Mr. Speaker, these are all items that are being reported to us of
successes, military successes, that are taking place; and indeed, the
gentleman from Georgia has mentioned some of these, has touched on some
of the trends that we are seeing; and I know he's going to spend a
little bit of time this evening going back and looking at these steps
that tell the story of what is happening on the ground.
[[Page H2063]]
And as we see this take place, we see a population that is, indeed,
beginning to feel safe to leave their homes. And once you're safe to
leave your home, then you can start to work to make certain that your
neighborhood is safe and then you make certain that your province is
safe. All of this leads to a safer and free Iraq.
We know that the Iraqi parliament is making some progress, and as the
gentleman from Georgia detailed some of the stats tonight, these are
going to be items that will be included as we look.
Mr. GINGREY. The gentlewoman remembers, I think we all remember,
hopefully, that last year the Congress asked for the Iraqi government
to meet certain benchmarks. And this is exactly what Representative
Blackburn is talking about now in regard to certain laws that their
parliament would need to pass. It was sort of like a, you know, we'll
only continue to help you if you promise by a date certain that you
will have provincial elections, that you will pass a de-Ba'athification
law, which essentially meant that those Sunnis, those brave soldiers
that we are calling now and referring to as sons of Iraq, and as I say,
mostly Sunnis, that they would have an opportunity to be included,
maybe to be officially a part of the Iraqi security force.
So the government had to get over the fact that there was this
rivalry, if you will, between the Shias in the majority and the Sunnis
in the minority and the Sunnis led by the brutal dictator. Saddam
Hussein had suppressed, oppressed, murdered so many of the Shias for so
many years of his reign of terror that it's difficult to all of a
sudden reach out an olive branch, but that's what we asked them to do
in regard to de-Ba'athification, and I think it's important. And also
asking them to share the oil revenue with all parts of the country, not
just where the oil is found in the oil-rich Kurdish region but also in
the west where there's very little oil and in the south as you have
sharing.
{time} 2115
So that's what the gentlewoman is talking about, and I yield back to
her.
I just wanted to say that, and I'll make this one last point before I
yield back, if the gentlewoman will bear with me just a second. It was
said that those benchmarks needed to be met before we would provide
additional troops and security and help stabilize things on the ground.
But you couldn't have an effective parliament, an effective government
until the people on the ground, in the towns, in the villages felt that
their new government that they voted for could protect them, that had
the ability, had the military strength, had the training that they felt
secure and that they could go forward with this government. So the
provision of security on the ground was first and foremost, and that's
what the surge was all about.
I yield back to the gentlewoman from Tennessee.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentleman for yielding. And he's exactly
right. Security on the ground, a secure and stable environment. And
that is what the counterinsurgency strategy has been about, and the
results that it has yielded.
As we have just discussed, indeed, and as Americans know well, we had
a surge from our troops. The Iraqis also carried out their surge, and
what it has yielded is an environment where not only we saw the
military progress, but also where political progress can take place.
And there are some wonderful lessons learned here.
I think that one of those, when we are in Iraq visiting with our
troops and working with some of the Iraqis and helping to mentor some
of the women that we have mentored over there, one of the things they
will tell you is, we are so glad that you have not left us. Thank you
for not leaving us. We know people are frustrated. We know there are no
guarantees. But we also know that it is important that we keep at it.
It's not going to happen overnight. And thank you, thank you for not
leaving. We fear what would happen if you left.
And they are, as the gentleman from Georgia was saying, Mr. Speaker,
they are seeing progress. The Iraq parliament is seeing progress. And
as the gentleman just listed some things, and let me touch on them
again, a pension law for regime officials, that has happened. De-
Ba'athification reform, that has been carried out. An amnesty law,
provincial election laws. And as he said, the sharing, the national
government now sharing oil revenues with the provinces, something that
a year ago many people said, it will never happen. But, here we are,
and yes, indeed, it all is beginning to take place.
I yield back to the gentleman from Georgia.
Mr. GINGREY. Well, again, I thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee. And
I would like to reemphasize the statistics that she was talking about
that we said at the outset, Mr. Speaker, of this hour that we're going
to talk about what a difference that a year makes and present those
statistics, how particularly violence has decreased. And Representative
Blackburn has already talked about that.
But I would ask my colleagues to reference this first slide in regard
to its title. This is a little difficult to see in the back of the
Chamber, but ``Civilian Deaths.'' And it is amazing, if you look at
this top line going back to January of 2006 and then coming forward
almost to present day, March of 2008, and you see that about the time
of the surge, that peaked the civilian deaths. We're talking about on
an almost monthly basis, 4,000 civilian deaths. I think if you follow
the line down, that would be about January or February of 2007. And in
March of 2008, at the far side of the chart, you're looking at a number
just slightly over 600. So to go from almost 4,000 deaths to 600. And I
have some additional charts to basically show the same thing, again,
the statistics that we promised to present at the outset of the hour,
to show you what a difference a year makes.
And this slide, my colleagues, says ``High Profile Attacks,''
basically explosions. And the blue line is the total. The next, I guess
you would call that the brown graph, is car bombs. The red is suicide
car bombs. And then on the bottom is suicide deaths. But this is a
total. And that's where the rubber meets the road in these statistics.
And again, about a year ago, you were talking about attacks occurring
in the range of 125 a day. And until this recent outbreak in Basra,
they were down to about 40 a day. So, again, as I said at the outset,
by any measure, by any parameter, any metric you want to take, the
success of the surge is obvious.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. If the gentleman will yield.
Mr. GINGREY. I will be glad to yield. I will make one further point,
and then I will yield to the gentlewoman from Tennessee.
These success stories you don't see on the nightly news. I think it
was Ann Murray that sang a very famous hit a number of years ago, and I
think the title of that was ``A Little Good News Today.'' You don't
hear about good news because, by definition, it's not news. It's only
mayhem and violence and killings and rapes and people putting their
children in the trunk of a car and leaving them there for a day as a
disciplinary action for some minor infraction. These are the kind of
things that are on the front pages of our newspapers and on the 24-hour
news service. They only talk about it when there's violence.
Unfortunately, there's not much credit given to a little good news, in
fact, a lot of good news.
I yield to the gentlewoman from Tennessee.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
And he has shown us some great charts, civilian deaths, the coalition
data, the high profile attacks with the suicide car bombings, the car
bombs, the suicide attacks, the weapons caches that are found and
cleared. And when you look at the fact that we are finding many more
weapons caches than we were and when you look at the fact that the
attacks are down and the deaths are down, you have to ask, how did this
happen? And the way it has happened is our men and women in uniform,
and God bless them all, and I think about my constituents from Fort
Campbell who are deployed right now, who are in both Iraq and
Afghanistan, but the men and women in uniform who are taking the lead
and who are gaining the trust of the Iraqi people and of the Iraqi
forces and of the Sons of Iraq. And it is our men and women in uniform,
as they gain this trust, and as the Iraqis know we're not going to
quit, they are telling them, this is what I know, this is where you go
to root out this evil person, this is where
[[Page H2064]]
you go to root out this weapons cache, this is where you go to get this
information. Because they know that we are their partner in success and
we are their partner in freedom.
And it really begs the question, and as I visited with some of the
veterans that have come to spend some time with us today, this really
begs the question, when you look at the data and when you have this
discussion, can we afford to give up on a war where we are winning,
that our military men and women tell us that they are seeing some
successes every single day? Can you afford to give up? And how would
history remember it if you did give up?
I yield back to the gentleman.
Mr. GINGREY. And I thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee for those
very intelligent remarks and understanding of what is going on. She has
added so much to this hour.
We're getting into the final third of our time. And I'm very pleased
that one of my colleagues, a freshman, it's hard to believe, Mr.
Speaker, indeed, that he is a freshman because his wisdom is far beyond
that. He serves with me on the Armed Services Committee. He will be
there tomorrow when General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker testify to
us, to the House Armed Services Committee.
At this point, I would be happy to yield to the gentleman from
Colorado, Representative Doug Lamborn.
Mr. LAMBORN. I thank the gentleman from Georgia for his kind
introduction and for his leadership in bringing this issue before the
American people tonight. I also thank the gentlelady from Tennessee for
her intelligent remarks as well.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support and recognize the tremendous efforts
of the men, women and leaders of our Armed Forces. The progress made in
Iraq is undeniable. The surge is working. And as General Petraeus said
today before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the men and women of
Iraq and Iraqi Security Forces have themselves surged, determined to
make Iraq a safe, secure and self-determined nation.
The surge in Iraq is working, but America's job is not complete. We
must continue our mission until true freedom and stability are obtained
in Iraq. To stop or pull back now would be irresponsible and reckless,
risking American and Iraqi lives and the national security of both
nations.
Reducing our presence in Iraq at this point would quickly undo the
valuable progress that has taken years to achieve. As General Petraeus
said before the Senators, it is a fragile situation, and it is easily
reversible. To pull back now would communicate to terrorists that
America has given up and does not have the stamina or commitment to
persevere in the global war on jihadist terror.
The decision on when to reduce the presence of our troops must be
based on winning the peace for the people of Iraq, not political whim
that overlooks the successes of our military. But it must not be based
on artificial timelines proposed by politicians in Washington as
opposed to the considered judgment of the commanders in the field.
History will not forgive us if we choose to lose a war we can win.
Precipitous withdrawal now means future generations of Americans and
Iraqis will be forced to pay for our giving up victory at a time when
we are not only achieving success, but when the people of Iraq
themselves are rising up against the influence of terrorists and
sectarian ideals in order to create an Iraqi state based on self-
determination and freedom.
The right thing to do is to support our service men and women and
General Petraeus in their mission in Iraq. I, too, would like to bring
our troops home, but not at the price of providing a safe haven for
terrorists and allowing terrorists to claim victory.
To quit now would be a disservice to those who have sacrificed in so
many ways, but especially to America's sons and daughters who have
given so much, and in some cases paid the ultimate price for our
security and the freedom of the people in Iraq as well.
So I join with my colleague from Georgia. I, too, look forward to
listening to the two gentlemen tomorrow, General Petraeus and
Ambassador Crocker, as they describe what has been going on. And I look
forward to the opportunity to ask questions and get to the bottom of
things that are going on. But I know that I can say what I've just said
now with full confidence because I've been watching what's happening in
the news and I've been getting the reports up until now, just as my
colleague from Georgia has.
I yield back to the gentleman from Georgia.
Mr. GINGREY. Well, I thank the gentleman from Colorado for being with
us. And I hope that if time permits, he can remain with us for some of
the additional time. I would be happy to yield to him if you'll just
let me know. But, again, he is a member of the House Armed Services
Committee, and indeed, he knows of what he speaks.
Mr. Speaker, and my colleagues, the testimony today that went on with
the Senate Armed Services Committee was very telling. We are all busy
on this side of the Capitol with committee meetings and other
responsibilities, so you don't have the time to sit there glued to the
television set and watch every single member ask questions of General
Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. But I was able, on occasion, to hear
some of the dialogue and the exchange. And I want to share just a
little bit of that, Mr. Speaker, with my colleagues at this time. And
this poster, this slide that I have, you can reference what I'm talking
about.
Senator Lindsey Graham, the senior Senator from the great State of
South Carolina where I spent most of my youth, I live and represent
Georgia proudly now, but Senator Graham, formerly a Member of this
body, the House of Representatives, and now serving so well in the
United States Senate, asked this question of General Petraeus: ``Is it
fair to say that when Muslims will stand by us and fight against bin
Laden, his agents and sympathizers, that we're safer? Is it fair to say
that?''
{time} 2130
And General Petraeus's response: ``Absolutely.'' It only took one
word, my colleagues, ``absolutely,'' we are safer.
And Ambassador Crocker responded this morning in a similar manner,
and let me give his quote: ``In the little over a year that I have been
in Iraq, we have seen a significant degradation of al Qaeda's presence
and its abilities. Al Qaeda is our mortal and strategic enemy. So to
the extent that al Qaeda's capacities have been lessened in Iraq, and
they have been significantly lessened, I do believe that makes America
safer.'' And this is the direct quote from Ambassador Crocker's
testimony this morning before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
We will get into now the third point that I said, Mr. Speaker, at the
outset of the hour that I wanted to emphasize, and that's the question
of is it worth it? Despite the progress that we have talked about
tonight that General Petraeus told the Senate this morning, there are
those who would ignore that progress and still as they did last
September. Maybe it was a more credible argument then. Of course, they
were making it before the surge had even gotten there, not really
giving it much of a chance. But today to argue for immediate withdrawal
and to give up, to snatch defeat literally from the jaws of victory,
that's basically what they're saying: It's not worth it. It's not worth
it. It's time to quit. And this is what General Petraeus said this
morning, another quote, and I share it with my colleagues:
``I do believe it's worth it. I took on the task,'' and just like
General Petraeus he would say this, ``the privilege of command of
Multi-National Force Iraq because I do believe that it's worth it and I
do believe the interests there are of enormous importance, again, to
our country, not just the people of Iraq and the people of that region,
and the world.'' That's a quote taken from General Petraeus's testimony
this morning.
I am pleased at this time, Mr. Speaker, to yield to another one of my
classmates, the gentleman from Iowa, Representative Steve King.
Representative King is not only on the Armed Services Committee, but I
do believe he's on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. And he is
extremely knowledgeable about foreign affairs, about national defense,
about so many critical issues. So it's indeed a pleasure to welcome
this evening another of my classmates, the distinguished gentleman from
Iowa, Representative King.
[[Page H2065]]
Mr. KING of Iowa. I thank the gentleman from Georgia and appreciate
your yielding, Mr. Gingrey.
Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor tonight to join with my colleagues
to raise our voices in unison in support of our Commander in Chief and
the Commander of the Iraqi forces, General Petraeus, with whom I have
had a significantly long working relationship for quite some time, and
for all the troops that have fallen in line behind the Commander in
Chief and behind General Petraeus all the way out across the board.
I have personally made five trips to Iraq. I've been to Afghanistan.
Each time that I go over there, I stop in at Landstuhl. I visit the
wounded. I see the price that's being paid. I see the dedication in
their eyes. And I believe it's a little stronger in the eyes of those
at Landstuhl than it is in those who are standing at attention in Iraq
or those that are on duty in Iraq. But all them, all of them, have put
their lives on the line. They are all volunteers.
And I think back to a time at a Thanksgiving dinner in Baghdad
actually, and the command sergeant major gave me that look that was
like I'd like to talk to you off on the side. And I walked over to the
side, and he said, I know war is expensive, but we're all volunteers
here. We are not just volunteers for this mission. We have volunteered
for the military. We've all re-upped since the beginning of this war,
and we all knew that we had a very high likelihood of being deployed
here. We want to come here. And I volunteered for this because I want
to take this fight from my children and my grandchildren. I want it
done in my time. I know war is expensive, but you can't say ``no'' to
us. You cannot pull us out now, not after this sacrifice, not this
time. We have got to finish this fight that's before us.
And that's a conversation I will never forget, and I will never
forget the look in his eye as he delivered that to me. That's some of
the best that we have, our command sergeant majors. And this one fried
that into my memory. And I think he has expressed for the fighting men
and women over there what they want us all to hear on the floor of
Congress and what they want the American people to know. If they're
willing to take the risk, if they're willing to provide the sacrifice,
how are we to say ``no''?
Mr. GINGREY. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Speaker, I will yield right back
to the gentleman, but I think his point is just so well taken.
This morning, I started the day at 8 o'clock in the morning with a
rally in the park on the Senate side, and it was organized by a group
called Veterans For Freedom, Vets For Freedom. And 400 of them, 400,
were there to give us that very message that Representative King is
talking about, that it is worth it, it is worth it, and to beg us,
literally to beg us. And I am sure, my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, you
will be hearing from them. We will all be hearing from them. I did
today. The members from Georgia that are part of the Veterans For
Freedom are here, and they're going to make sure that we hear that
message loud and clear.
And I yield back to my friend.
Mr. KING of Iowa. I thank the gentleman from Georgia. And I just left
a table of marines that are all on multiple tours of duty in Iraq or
Afghanistan, and a couple of them were decorated with Purple Hearts and
serving in places like Fallujah. And you look them in the eye, and you
see what they're asking us to do: Just back us. Just stand behind us.
Don't undermine us. Stand behind us.
I take us back to the Vietnam war. I picked up the book written by
General Giap, who was credited with what they call their victory for
the Vietnamese, for North Vietnam. In that book on page 8, as I recall
the page, page 8, there's a little phrase in there where he says they
got our first inkling that we could defeat the United States when we
saw that they didn't press for a total victory in Korea. A negotiated
settlement in Korea gave Vietnam the inspiration to fight the war
against us not only on the ground in Vietnam, where they paid multiple
prices in lives beyond ours, but to do it in the public airwaves across
the country. The protests that went on in the streets here and across
in Europe were all part of their war strategy. The liberal media
undermining the effort was all part of their war strategy. That doesn't
mean they called the shots for the media, but they were complicit in
this. And as the will of the American people was broken down by biased
information and sometimes misinformation, they understood this: The
bottom line in the book Principles of War by von Clausewitz, a summary
of his analysis is the object of war is to defeat the will of the
enemy.
So the voices that come out from this side of the aisle, Mr. Speaker,
are the voices of defeat, not the voices of victory. They are
undermining the will of the American people. The press is playing into
that. We should be standing with our troops.
And I walked down the steps in the Cannon building, and I presume he
was a veteran. He reached up and he said, ``Support our troops,'' and
shook my hand. And I said, ``I will and I will continue to be there.''
But I missed a beat or I would have said ``and their mission'' because
you can't support the troops without supporting their mission. You
can't ask people to go off and put their lives on the line for
something you don't believe in.
I believe in this. The Iraqi people believe in this. And today they
know something they didn't know a year ago or 4 years ago, two big
points that they understand, that's part of their national
understanding: One is the Americans and the coalition forces are not
there to occupy. We don't want to be there to occupy. We want them to
have their freedom. The second thing is we're not there for the oil, or
we would have taken it by now. We want the Iraqi people to live and
breathe free.
Yesterday I had a lunch with an individual who was instrumental in
bringing Benazir Bhutto to Iowa as she gave a keynote address shortly
after September 11. I sat down with her on a couch afterwards one on
one, and I asked her, How do we get to the point of victory? How do we
defeat al Qaeda and our enemy?
And her answer was, You've got to give them freedom. You've got to
give them a chance at democracy. If you do that, they'll change their
focus from hatred towards taking care of their families, their
communities, their neighborhoods, their jobs, and their mosques.
And I look back on that conversation. Sadly, we have lost her, her
voice for freedom, but there is a piece of wisdom in that that the
American people need to understand. Iraqi people are now breathing
free. They weren't free before. The Afghani people are breathing free.
They weren't free there ever. Today there are 50 million people that
are free because of the sacrifice of U.S. and coalition troops and
because of the inspiration that we provide for the world, and that is a
very big thing to hand on to the next generations.
And as we watch the Bush administration move towards that last month
in office, and we have many months to go yet, but when it gets to that
point, I'm going to say this: I believe history will treat President
Bush a lot more kindly than the media has treated him in this time when
they write objectively what it means to have the strong leadership in
the Commander in Chief, to have an all-volunteer military that's doing
a better job than we could have ever asked anybody to do, and they say
let us finish our task. The Iraqis say let us finish our task. They're
paying their price. We need to hold up our end of this bargain, and we
need to support General Petraeus.
And I yield back to the gentleman from Georgia, and I thank him.
Mr. GINGREY. I thank the gentleman from Iowa so much for being with
us.
As we rapidly approach the conclusion of this hour, I wanted to make
a few other points. The gentleman from Iowa spoke of it when he said we
are not there for their oil. We are not there for their land. We're not
there for anything except to try to bring a democracy to the Middle
East. And you think about the history of this country in other battles
that we have been in, in World War I in Belleau Wood, in World War II
on the beaches of Normandy, or in the Argonne Forest, in the Korean
war, in the rice paddies of Vietnam or the sands of Iwo Jima, whom were
we fighting for, and what did we ask for in return? We were fighting
for other people as much as we were fighting for ourselves, and the
only thing that this country asked for in return was a little
[[Page H2066]]
bit of dirt to bury our dead. We don't bury our fallen soldiers anymore
on foreign soil, but that's really all we ever asked for.
The 4,000 that we have lost in this battle, how can we possibly turn
our back on them? How can we turn our back on the Veterans For Freedom
that I talked about that we met this morning?
And, Mr. Speaker, I have sufficient time, and I hope you will allow
me to read these 25 names from my district, the 11th of Georgia, who
have paid the ultimate sacrifice in this conflict to bring a little bit
of democracy to the Middle East. And let me read quickly, Mr. Speaker:
Sergeant Michael Hardegree from Villa Rica; Lance Corporal Samuel
Large, Jr., also from Villa Rica; Specialist Joshua Dingler from Hiram,
Georgia; Sergeant Paul Saylor from Bremen; Captain Hayes Clayton from
Marietta, my home; Private First Class Jesus Fonseca, Marietta; Lance
Corporal Stephenen Johnson, Marietta; Airman First Class Antoine Holt,
Georgia; Sergeant Brian Ardron, Acworth; Private First Class Marquis
Whitaker from Columbus; Staff Sergeant John McGee, Columbus; Sergeant
First Class David Salie from Columbus; Corporal Tyler Dickens,
Columbus.
{time} 2145
Staff Sergeant Rickey Scott, Columbus, Georgia; Corporal John Tanner,
Columbus, Georgia; Sergeant Thomas Strickland, Douglasville, Georgia;
Spec. Marvin Camposiles, Austell; Spec. Benjamin Bartlett, Jr.,
Manchester, Georgia; Lance Corporal Juan Lopez, Whitfield; Private John
M. Henderson, Jr., from Columbus; First Lieutenant Michael Fasnacht,
from Columbus; Lance Corporal Kristopher C. Warren, from Resaca;
Specialist Justin Johnson, from Rome, Georgia; First Lieutenant Tyler
Brown, president of the student body at Georgia Tech, died in Iraq,
from Atlanta, Georgia; Jack Hensley, a civilian contractor from
Marietta, Georgia was beheaded by the brutality known as al Qaeda.
Mr. Speaker, as I conclude my time, again, I thank you for allowing
me to read those names.
And my colleagues, I hope that some of those families are listening
because I pledge to you we will not turn our back on them. They have
paid the ultimate sacrifice. You are continuing to pay the sacrifice,
but God bless you for the support of this commander in chief and with
your patience and our determination here in Congress, we will give
victory a chance, and we will achieve victory.
And with that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back.
____________________