[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          U.S. SUCCESS IN IRAQ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 7, 2003, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, 227 years ago 56 men put their lives, their 
families and fortunes on the line as they defied the most powerful 
country in the world, England. These men declared independence and our 
country was born by a swift stroke of a pen. This weekend we celebrated 
our country's 227th birthday. This country, of course, has survived 
many conflicts, both foreign and domestic, and we have survived due to 
the fact that American men and women always have answered the call 
should our rights and our freedoms come under attack. In the last 
couple of years, terror has taken on a new meaning to this country and 
its citizens. We have been threatened like never before. With an 
amazing outpouring of patriotism, we refused to allow the mantle of 
freedom to be taken from our shoulders.
  With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, with the end of Operation Sidewinder 
in Iraq, our Armed Forces have experienced tremendous success. Yet we 
remain confronted with the sad truth that this success has come at a 
cost of American lives. Over the weekend, a Florida National Guard 
soldier from my congressional district was killed. My thoughts and 
prayers are with his family and friends and I also mourn his loss. I 
had the opportunity to meet this young man at the community college he 
attended while serving in the National Guard. His presence, enthusiasm 
and dedication exemplifies the men and women of our Armed Forces that 
continue to serve in Iraq.
  From Afghanistan to Iraq and possibly Liberia, our troops face life-
threatening situations. But they fight for those who yearn for freedom, 
who cannot fight for themselves. All who wish for democracy know that 
America can be the source of the freedoms that have so long eluded 
them. Our troops liberated 24 million Iraqis and gave them the 
opportunity for freedom that had been denied them for so long. As such, 
rebuilding a country neglected for decades by a worthless tyrant takes 
time, it takes patience, it takes perseverance. Iraq is showing signs 
that the efforts of our troops are yielding large gains. We have over 
half of the Iraqis most wanted in custody. We are training Iraqis to 
police and govern themselves as a free nation. Iraqis have access to a 
growing number of publications, newspapers and magazines replacing the 
propaganda of the state-run news that previously existed. Electricity 
is running 24 hours a day in Basra and improvements are being made in 
Baghdad. According to reports now, Hussein would black out parts of 
Baghdad simply because there was not sufficient generation of power for 
the entire city. Our people are working to change that and they are 
working very, very hard.
  Mr. Speaker, many in some parts of the media seem not only content 
but resolute in reporting only those stories that portray bad news. 
Remember, some of these same people called our initial military 
strategy a failure after less than a week of combat. But I find it 
perplexing that all we hear from some reporters are stories describing 
an Iraq that is a viper's nest of Saddam loyalists and full of an angry 
civilian population who want us to leave. However, unlike some of our 
media reporting, I believe normal, everyday people in this country 
realize that it will take time to foster democracy and to quell 
attempts to destabilize fledgling new, free governments. Today's copy 
of The Hill magazine touched on this issue and quoted dozens of 
soldiers who seem to be baffled by the endless wave of negative press. 
One helicopter pilot is quoted as saying, ``The media has 
misrepresented Iraqi resistance. For the most part, people here are 
extremely friendly to us.'' He goes on to say that, quote, crime in 
Baghdad is one-tenth of what it is in Los Angeles. Finally, according 
to a poll taken by the Iraq Center for Research & Strategic Studies, it 
was found that 65 percent of Baghdadis want U.S. troops to stay for 
now. Only 17 percent wanted them to pull out immediately.
  Let us look at what the U.S. has accomplished. For that, of course, 
we need look no further than the words of General Tommy Franks in his 
recent retirement speech when he said, ``When we arrived, the Taliban 
and al Qaeda controlled Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq with 
an iron hand. What a difference 22 months makes. Twenty-two months ago, 
the United States of America and the free world looked into the face of 
evil and defeated it.'' Now we are moving closer to freedom in Iraq and 
Afghanistan.
  Yes, there is a tremendous amount of work to be done but the peace is 
not lost. With where we are today, the glass for continued democracy in 
these countries is over half full.

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