[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19301-19302]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         THE GOOD NEWS IN IRAQ

  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, this morning we have been through a series 
of briefings with regard to Iraq. It amazes me, as we hear some of the 
rhetoric that is coming out of this town and, of course, across the 
waves, and I wish to bring to the attention of those who missed it, it 
was a very good briefing put on by Ambassador Bremer of what is 
happening in Iraq after the armed conflict is over, but which continues 
today on a guerrilla basis, and report to the American people that all 
the press we get is sort of on the negative side, but there are some 
very positive signs.
  I hasten back to the start of our country. The path to democracy is a 
very rocky path. Sometimes it is very slow and sometimes it is very 
dangerous, but there are things being done now, and the best 
ambassadors I have found on the ground in Iraq are our uniformed 
troops.
  If one can imagine a people who have been under the tyranny of Saddam 
Hussein for the last 25 years being told how evil this great army could 
be, that they would either cut out their tongues or they would kill 
them, and then have one of our soldiers or marines in combat gear and 
helmet, dirty, sandy, and grimy, walk up to a young Iraqi person with a 
smile and offer a hand of friendship in the form of water or some food, 
but mostly the hand of friendship, they are making great strides in 
winning the hearts of the Iraqi people and helping them to establish a 
free and open government for their own freedom and prosperity.
  Right now, we are not hearing these kinds of figures: 85 percent of 
the cities and towns in Iraq now have elected councils in place and 
working. There was a strategy after the conflict was over, but No. 1 
was security. We cannot do a thing in Iraq, and neither can the Iraqi 
people do for themselves, until it is secure so they will feel safe.
  The building of central services, electrical power, water, sewer, all 
of these amenities that make life easy for us, are not in place. Saddam 
Hussein never paid a lot of attention to that. He rationed electrical 
power, water, all the services we take for granted in America. He 
limited them in order to suppress, and he got to pick and choose who 
were afforded those kinds of amenities or those central services we 
find so necessary in our own towns, villages, counties, and States.
  We are making progress. We are now reconfiguring our military 
presence there. We are also doing something about the economy. How does 
one move state-owned enterprises into the private sector to provide 
some economic thrust for job and economic opportunity for the Iraqi 
people? That framework is in place, and it is being carried out.
  How do we train a militia or a police force for the Iraqi people, 
headed by Iraqi people, and an armed forces for Iraq who answer not to 
a military tyrant but to a civilian government patterned somewhat like 
our own? That, too, is being put in place, and they are being trained 
by our forces.
  We have around 30 to 40 coalition forces from different countries 
represented in Iraq right now. There are 12 top contributors, of which 
the U.S., the U.K., Spain, Norway, and others are all participating in 
this endeavor.
  I advise the American people to look at the positive side of 
establishing a civil and free government in Iraq. We are building a new 
irrigation system and repairing old systems because the infrastructure 
has dwindled away. It has almost been destroyed--not by war but by use 
and wear. These folks need to be able to feed themselves.
  We have agriculturists in the field, nongovernmental organizations in 
the field working in health care and agriculture and services vital to 
the Iraqi people to put this country back together and make it a 
democracy that will be the shining example of the Middle East.
  We cannot lose our resolve. The Founders of this country did not lose 
their resolve. They committed to an idea of freedom and self-
government. Our path to democracy was not easy either. We have had 200 
years of democracy. They have had less than 200 days to establish what 
they have dreamed of--freedom and the dignity of the individual. That 
is what this is all about. If they do not lose their resolve, we cannot 
lose our resolve.
  Our President has provided that leadership under heavy criticism. He 
has established a goal and idea that will change the Middle East and 
how they do business in the Middle East.
  Peace and freedom can be accomplished. The American people have made 
a commitment to do that goal. Now we have to maintain our resolve to 
the completion of that mission.
  I thank our military forces this morning. They are men and women of 
great courage who know what the mission is and know how to complete the 
mission. Congratulations to our leadership, our leadership in 
Washington, President Bush and his staff. They have provided the 
resolve it takes to complete the mission.
  There are many positive things. When the President said: We will hunt 
down these killers and deal with them--he meant it. The credibility 
around the world continues to be high

[[Page 19302]]

with our leader. When he says it, he means it, he does it. It has 
bolstered Americans and shows what it is like to be the champion of 
freedom and human dignity around the world.
  Is it costly? Yes, it is costly. Was it costly back in 1776 and the 
following years until 1800? Yes, it was costly. But we survived. We 
never lost our resolve. We cannot lose it now.
  I thank the Senator from Texas for allowing me this little time. 
There are a lot of facts and figures we could throw out, but the 
message today is stand fast. If we believe in the fire of freedom, it 
is our responsibility to maintain that resolve.
  I yield the floor.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Montana for 
that wonderful speech. He did remind us once again the stakes we have 
in the war on terrorism. What is happening in Iraq is a high-stakes 
game. We are committed. America is not going to walk away. We are not 
going to start a job that we do not finish. The job is to bring peace 
and stability to the people of Iraq and to the entire Middle East. I 
thank the Senator from Montana for coming forward with that message.
  How much time remains?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Murkowski). There are 4 minutes 45 seconds 
remaining.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I will continue on the same subject 
as the Senator from Montana and talk about what we are doing in Iraq. 
The meetings we had with Ambassador Bremer brought much more clarity to 
the progress being made in Iraq. Everyone is stunned and saddened by 
the loss of life of our soldiers that we see, unfortunately, on a daily 
basis. This gets worse every day because we are sick about losing these 
soldiers.
  Part of the reason we have not been able to capture these people who 
are doing these horrible acts to our soldiers--one and two and three at 
a time--is because Iraqi people do not yet believe we are there to stay 
until they have a democracy in place. There is widespread belief in 
Iraq that Saddam Hussein is coming back. When we were able to capture 
the sons of Saddam Hussein, and they are now dead, that sent a message 
to the people of Iraq that we are going to capture Saddam Hussein. We 
are not going to stop until we know he is captured or dead. Two of his 
sons are dead, the two who would have been heirs to his incredibly 
cruel regime. They are dead. They are gone.
  I applaud the President for saying he is going to show the dead 
bodies so the people of Iraq will be assured. In our culture, that 
would be horrifying. We would never show dead bodies in a newspaper in 
our country, particularly identified dead bodies. However, we have a 
different problem in Iraq. We have a problem that the people do not 
believe these people are really dead. Therefore, they fear coming 
forward and giving information about the people who are killing our 
soldiers. They fear coming forward and embracing Americans in many 
parts of Iraq. If that, in their culture, is what is necessary to show 
that these two sadistic tyrants are dead, that they can no longer cut 
off arms and legs, put children in shackles in jail, abuse children, 
abuse women, that they can no longer do these horrific acts, if that is 
the way we must show the Iraqis that these people are gone, I applaud 
the President for saying we will do it. I hope the President does.
  We must get the trust of the Iraqi people. I do not think we are 
going to have that trust until they know that Saddam Hussein is dead, 
they know the sons are dead, and they know we are going to keep our 
commitment; that we are going to try to make life better for the Iraqi 
people and put their own people in charge of their own fate. That is 
what they are looking for. We must show them we are not going to give 
up because times are tough. Times are tough over there right now.
  For people I talk to on the streets, it is incomprehensible they do 
not appreciate what we have done. We have to understand what they have 
lived through for the last 25 years in that country. They are used to 
being abused for no reason. If they look the wrong way, they may be 
shot at close range. That is what they have lived with. We cannot even 
imagine that in our country. We must try to win their trust in this 
slow and methodical way.
  Madam President, our administration is making great progress. We are 
showing we will have the resolve to see this through.
  If we can bring a quality of life and of freedom to the people of 
Iraq, then we do hope this will also stabilize the rest of the Middle 
East so we can bring a peace between the Palestinians and Israel, the 
two can live side by side in peace, and have at least the ability to 
live in peace if not trade together and work together.
  That will also send a signal to the people of Iran that they can have 
freedom once again. It will send a signal to the people of Syria and 
throughout the Middle East that they, too, do not have to live under 
dictatorial regimes that allow them no freedom and do not have good 
education systems. We want the people of the Middle East to know what 
freedom is, to know what having an education is, so people can have 
jobs and have an economy and be able to live a life that has a quality 
of life.
  We are bringing quality of life to Iraq through this administration. 
We are bringing health care services. Madam President, 90 percent of 
the people in the north have basic health care, 80 percent in the 
south, 75 percent in Baghdad. We are putting $210 million now into 
pharmaceuticals and basic health care services. This is an important 
quality-of-life issue for these people, and one of the first that we 
have addressed.
  We have brought in 1.2 million tons of food since we ceased the 
hostilities in Iraq on March 30. We now have the ability to purchase 
local harvests in Iraq, so food will be available from the Iraqi people 
and for the Iraqi people.
  I am very pleased with the progress. Is it enough? No. Is it going to 
take more time? Yes. Is it going to take patience? Absolutely. But 
America is not going to walk away when times get tough. We are going to 
see this through, and the world will be better when we do.
  I yield the floor.

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