[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 95 (Tuesday, June 23, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H7118]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HER NAME WAS NEDA: A GENERATIONAL CHANCE FOR FREEDOM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. McCotter) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McCOTTER. Her name was Neda. In Farsi, it means ``the voice.'' 
True to her name, she loved music, sought freedom, and she's dead, shot 
down in the streets by the Iranian regime's state-sanctioned murderers. 
She must not have died in vain.
  Today, Iranians and Americans face a generational chance for 
freedom--one that ensures a rogue regime's implosion prevents a nuclear 
confrontation.
  Regrettably, our President's ``post-American'' foreign policy 
presumes talk can thaw the murderous mullahs' hearts and attain a 
``grand bargain'' for peace in our time; consequently, while Iranians 
demanded their freedom from a barbarous regime, the President vapidly 
opined: ``It is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran's 
leaders will be. We respect Iranian sovereignty.''
  Then, as the crisis escalated, the President optimistically noted, 
``You've seen in Iran some initial reaction from the supreme leader 
that indicates he understands the Iranian people have deep concerns 
about the election. And my hope is that the Iranian people will make 
the right steps in order for them to be able to express their voices, 
to express their aspirations.''
  Tragically, the supreme leader's deep concern drove him to step on 
the throats of pro-democracy protestors, like Neda.
  Next, on June 20, the President stated, ``The universal rights to 
assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States 
stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.'' It was painfully 
evident just how far behind them he stood. ``The last thing that I want 
to do is to have the United States be a foil for those forces inside 
Iran who would love nothing better than make this an argument about the 
United States.''
  With these contradictory statements of support and appeasement, the 
President returned to square one. ``The Iranian people will ultimately 
judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian Government 
seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the 
dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.''
  In truth, the Iranian people have already judged the regime and found 
it wanting. The supreme leader, his cleric cronies and their puppet 
government have never respected the dignity of the Iranian people or 
governed through consent. This is why the regime stole the election and 
shoots peaceful, pro-democracy demonstrators. Implying otherwise mocks 
the Iranians risking and losing their lives for liberty.
  As for the claim that American ``meddling'' in support of the 
demonstrators plays into the mullahs' hands, the Iranian regime will 
claim this regardless, for as our President noted, ``That's what they 
do.''
  Yet, what matters is not what the regime says about America, but what 
the demonstrators think about America. Presently, brave Iranians watch 
as our President still holds an open hand to the regime that opened 
fire on them, that opened fire on Neda.
  This is the passive, disastrous policy of Jimmy Carter that led to 
the rise of this rogue regime, not the courageous policy of Ronald 
Reagan that led to the demise of an evil empire.

                              {time}  2015

  The surest, safest termination of Iran's nuclear weapons program and 
support of terrorism is to hasten this fanatical tyranny's collapse by 
supporting its people's liberty. Taking its rightful place amongst the 
community of free nations, a democratic Iran will necessarily realize 
and reverse the insanity of this terrorist regime's homicidal obsession 
with nuclear weapons. Thus, for their and our security, the United 
States and the world must do everything in our power to further the 
Iranian demonstrators' sacred claim to freedom. We know Neda did.
  Further, in the grand strategy of our war for freedom over terrorism, 
how we aid pro-democracy Iranians will remind the world of who we are. 
We are Americans, the revolutionary children of freedom who have lived 
and died defending our liberty and extending it to the enslaved and 
oppressed. We will do no less today in support of our Iranian brothers 
and sisters.
  Today Neda's voice calls to our consciences and warns that the fate 
of Iranians' liberty is entwined with the fate of America's security. 
We must not miss this generational chance for freedom; again, one that 
ensures a rogue regime's implosion, prevents a nuclear confrontation, 
and ensures that Neda and all of liberty's martyrs shall not have died 
in vain. As Americans, we must seize this moment and help Iranians 
seize their freedom. That's what we do.

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