[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21708]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       RESOLVE TO SEE IT THROUGH

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, hours before President Bush's speech Sunday 
night, the top U.S. commander in Iraq summed up in a single sentence 
the importance of creating a free and democratic Iraq. Lieutenant 
General Ricardo Sanchez said, ``The only way we will fail in this 
country is if we decide to walk away in Iraq and fight the next battle 
in the war on terrorism in the United States of America.'' That is a 
stark assessment.
  The President said the United Nations not only has an opportunity but 
a responsibility to assume a broader role in assuring that Iraq becomes 
a free and democratic nation. Nations that enjoy the richness of 
freedom have a moral obligation, when possible, to share their 
political and spiritual assets with countries that suffer from the 
poverty of totalitarianism.
  Mr. Speaker, that has been the creed of this country. The American 
people must have the resolve to see this through.

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