[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 18482-18484]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                CONGRATULATING PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, fellow Senators, I think today we watched a 
piece of history made on the floor of the U.S. House in a joint meeting 
when Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern 
Ireland, spoke to us. Not only was it a brave and proud speech, but it 
was a speech of neighbor to neighbor, friend to friend, as truly Great 
Britain has become over the years and Tony Blair has become during this 
period of joint effort in Iraq.
  In that speech, he mentioned places out West: Idaho and Nevada. Prime 
Minister Blair, Idahoans invite you to come visit, to come and meet us. 
We are a great people, a part of this great country of which we are so 
proud. And, yes, there are Idahoans who question our outreach in 
foreign policy and scratch their heads and say: Why now? But there are 
many of us who recognize the leadership role that we play that you 
challenged us to today.
  So on behalf of all of Idaho--our Governor and the congressional 
delegation of our State--Prime Minister Blair, come see us, come visit 
us. You will find that we are a people who stand with you in your call 
to the world for leadership.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I understand why the Senator from Idaho 
said that, but I would encourage the Senator to read a little book 
called ``Coming into the Country'' by McPhee. That is a book about a 
place in Alaska where people live who the British leader says he thinks 
he wants to talk to--in the wilds of Alaska, in the great frontier of 
America.
  The British leader thought he was going to the wilderness when he 
talked about Idaho. If he wants to see the wilderness in this country, 
he has to go to Alaska today. That is where 77 percent of the federally 
declared wilderness exists.
  Mr. President, I yield to the Senator from Connecticut.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD. I thank the distinguished Senator.
  Mr. President, I join my colleagues in commending the distinguished 
Prime Minister for his eloquent remarks in which I think he captured 
the essence

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of what all of us would like to see in the coming weeks and months and 
years; that is, a joint coalition of peaceful, liberty-loving nations 
to address the scourge of terrorism. I think he properly described what 
needs to be done by leaders of this Nation and others around the globe 
if we are going to succeed in that effort.
  It was also wonderful to hear the English language spoken with such 
eloquence. It was refreshing not to see a teleprompter, I might add, 
and to hear a political leader with a sense of humor, a sense of 
commitment and passion, and a deep sense of understanding of the values 
that our two nations have shared--and, as he properly described, not 
Western values but human values of freedom-loving peoples everywhere.
  I join my colleague from Alaska, and others, in thanking the Prime 
Minister for his eloquence, for his commitment, for his friendship, and 
for his loyalty. I look forward to a continuing relationship with this 
remarkable leader.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I have never heard a speech that 
better charted the values of free peoples--not only of free peoples in 
our country but I think free peoples all over the world. I have never 
heard a speech that was as incredibly positive as this speech, that 
called on everyone to rise to their best value, to stand to their best 
commitment, and to perform as free-loving peoples should everywhere.
  On a scale of 1 to 10, Mr. President, that speech, in my book, was a 
10. I have never heard better. And I have never seen a course charted 
that is sounder, truer, or can redound in better benefits for freedom-
loving people.
  I salute Tony Blair, the distinguished Prime Minister of the United 
Kingdom.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, I join with my colleagues in commending the 
Prime Minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair, for his outstanding, 
articulate, and insightful remarks.
  While we worry sometimes on minutia, he brought back the 
international global perspective while we are in the midst of a war 
against terrorism.
  These were historic remarks that I think got us, as Americans, 
renovated, invigorated, and re-resolved in this war on terror. He also 
served, I think for us as Americans and the United States, as a bridge 
to our friends in Europe. While most of them were with us in this most 
recent conflict in Iraq, some were not. But there are so many of those 
shared values that bring us together. Indeed, Prime Minister Blair 
brought those forward. While in some areas the Germans and the French 
are helping, we want others to join in the United Nations and NATO.
  I would say the most important things the Prime Minister mentioned 
were not that we have shared interests in trade or shared interests in 
security but that we have a shared love of individual liberty.
  And if Thomas Jefferson--not a very well-loved person, I am sure, in 
Great Britain--were on that floor of the House just a moment ago, he 
would have said: Well done, Mr. Prime Minister. Those are good, sound 
Jeffersonian principles that he advocated.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I rise very briefly to state the obvious 
and what everyone else has stated. The Prime Minister made a remarkable 
speech today. We should listen to our friends. I took away much of what 
others did as well, but I took away one very important message we heard 
from a friend; that is, don't give up on Europe, that France and 
Germany are our friends.
  By reference, Mr. Kagan and those who believe Europe is an 
anachronism and is an ``Old Europe'' are dead wrong, and that if Europe 
and the United States stand together, the world will stand with us. If 
Europe and the United States are divided, the world will be divided. It 
is that basic.
  I hope everyone listened to not only the rhetoric but to the 
substance of his message. The substance of his message: The neo-
conservative notion that Europe is no longer an asset, that Europe no 
longer shares our values, will be the very thing that will undo this 
great country of ours. We are united. We are together. We have to work 
on it. And if we stand together, the world will stand with us.
  For that, I thank the Prime Minister for delivering his message and 
reminding us, his friends, of how valuable that alliance is. There is 
none more valuable.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I echo the comments of the senior Senator 
from Delaware and recognize his expertise as a former chairman of the 
Foreign Relations Committee and assure him that I took the same message 
he did, that Tony Blair is trying to remind us all of that which we 
instinctively know: the importance of friends.
  I took great pleasure in the fact that he cited America's history in 
establishing friends and, indeed, spoke a little bit against his own 
history when he talked about empires that sought for land or territory 
or power but that the Americans seek only to export liberty to those 
places where it has not yet taken hold. And that is the cause around 
which the entire world must repair.
  I would add one other thought to the thoughts that have been made. I 
agree with the Senator from California that was the best explanation 
she has ever heard in a speech. And I must add, not only is it the best 
one that I have ever heard, that includes speeches I have given, which, 
for a politician, is a tough thing to have to admit.
  I was struck by his comment that I think should resonate throughout 
the current debate, and that is the debate over Iraq, the motivations 
for going into Iraq, the prelude that built up to the decision in Iraq; 
that is, when he said, as best I can recall: If we were wrong, all we 
have done is free a people from a horrible tyrant and brought freedom 
to millions, and history will forgive us that error. But if we were 
right, history would not forgive us for hesitating, if we had done so.
  I think while he was not injecting himself into the debate here in 
America at the time, that summary is the best I have heard of the way 
we should be conducting our examination of the decision to go forward 
in Iraq. If, in fact, the decision was built on some flawed 
assumptions, the results of the decision are still worth it.
  But if the assumptions turn out not to have been flawed and we 
discover, in fact, that things were as we had anticipated, I agree with 
the Prime Minister that history would treat us very badly if we had 
walked away from that.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I associate myself with the remarks that 
have gone on before. It was a truly inspiring speech. I think there is 
a little bit of irony to the fact that we have a Brit inspire us on 
freedom and liberty. That was the most inspiring speech I have heard 
since Margaret Thatcher did the same thing. They somehow have the 
ability to look into our past and explain our present and move us on 
into the future. I appreciate the fact that he was here and spoke and 
shared those words with us. It was awe inspiring.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. STEVENS. Parliamentary inquiry: Has the time expired?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Five o'clock has arrived. The time for morning 
business has expired.
  Mr. STEVENS. Does the Senator seek to speak in morning business?
  Mr. ALEXANDER. I would like to speak for about 1 minute.
  Mr. STEVENS. I ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Tennessee 
may speak for 1 minute.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I believe Tony Blair taught us a lot 
about the world. I think he taught us more about ourselves. His speech 
was historic, but it will be remembered more because it reminded us of 
what it means to be an American. The assistant Democratic leader and I 
and other

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Senators have worked on legislation this year to put back into its 
rightful place in our schools the teaching of American history. I would 
suggest that in the first chapter of those textbooks we put Tony 
Blair's speech.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I know that euphoria is here, and Tony Blair 
rendered a great speech. I thought it was tremendous. But I have to 
recall the speeches President Clinton gave. I can remember during those 
speeches that there were times when I didn't realize I was listening to 
a speech. President Reagan was really good. And Tony Blair, of course, 
was extremely good. I was so impressed when he did it without a 
teleprompter; he did it from his written speech. He was very 
impressive. When I met him an hour or so ago, I introduced myself and 
said I was a Senator from Nevada, Las Vegas and Reno. He said at that 
time he had always wanted to go to Nevada. And so when he was searching 
for a State to identify in his speech, I am glad he mentioned Nevada. I 
say to my friend from Idaho, who has invited him to Idaho, I certainly 
have no objection to the Prime Minister of Great Britain going to 
Idaho, but I am confident he will stop in Nevada as well.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, someone told me they thought it was a 
nice thing to have conservatives applaud a liberal. Do you know, when I 
listened to Tony Blair, I didn't think about being conservative or 
liberal. I thought about the fact that here is a man who has had 
admitted difficulties in his own country but was willing to come on our 
stage and tell us he believes in American principles and he is willing 
to be a partner with us. That is a sign of a great man. I think he is a 
great leader for the world as well as for Great Britain. I hope that 
people don't think of it as a speech of a liberal or even of a 
conservative. He was speaking to us as Americans and bringing out the 
best in us. I really am delighted that we gave him the opportunity to 
speak to us.

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