[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 22514-22515]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            WAR ON TERRORISM

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, of course we have an important bill before 
the Senate. However, one of the overriding activities, and it is 
unfortunate, is the discussion of our efforts in Iraq and probably the 
highest priority now, the fight over terrorism.
  It is a challenge, of course, to deal with terrorism, which is not 
only focused in one place but particularly in that part of the world. 
We have a commitment to win on our terms. We are highly committed.
  Our world changed September 11. The things attached to September 11 
went beyond Iraq, went beyond Afghanistan. We are dedicated to complete 
our work there. We are dedicated to completing the job we have begun. 
Everyone understands that. It is a difficult task.

[[Page 22515]]

Never before have our troops done such a wonderful job. We have ahead 
following up with stability in Iraq. It is a long-term, difficult job.
  We have heard stated our involvement in Iraq is based on fraud put 
forth in Texas. This is unreal and something that we do not need to put 
up with in the Senate.
  Our involvement with Iraq goes back a long time, to the gulf war. Our 
troops did a great job there. We worked with Iraq following that. They 
failed to agree with the United Nations agreement on the followup. So 
obviously, there were many reasons to do something with Saddam Hussein. 
I don't think there is any question about that.
  The key to Iraq is winning the war on terrorism. That is why we are 
there. The President has asked for a large amount of money to fund the 
war on terrorism. We knew that would be the case. Certainly of the $87 
billion, some is for our troops. No one argues with the notion we have 
to give our troops the support they need. The majority of the money 
will go to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan while we continue to give 
them the resources they need to continue to win.
  There are also other needs if we are going to finally get this 
country to be self-supportive, which is our goal, and to do away with 
terrorism so it is not a source of danger around the world. We have to 
be committed. The stakes are high. And our spending has been high.
  We have been, since September 11, in some unusual arrangements. I am 
serious about trying to control spending and to keep it within the 
budget, but when there are extraordinary circumstances, you have to 
take extraordinary steps. And certainly September 11 is extraordinary. 
Certainly the economy now, which we are trying to strengthen, is 
extraordinary. The terrorism that continues to take place is 
extraordinary.
  So if we are to be successful in this global war, we must be willing 
to pay that price, and we must do the job correctly. I think that is 
particularly important after we are there. I guess before we began, you 
could talk about all kinds of things. The fact is, we are there. The 
fact is, we are committed. The fact is, we have done a great deal. We 
need to continue to see it through and see our duty through.
  Where are we today? We are winning the war in Iraq. The situation 
remains dangerous, of course, and it is not settled, it is not steady. 
But great progress has been made.
  It is interesting how much of a different picture you receive from 
people who have been to Iraq and then come back and tell what they have 
seen and what they feel as compared to what you see on the news 
nightly. I understand that bad things are always news, and so that is 
not a new idea. But progress is being made. There is no food crisis, no 
refugee crisis, no public health crisis.
  The coalition is helping Iraq establish a representative basis for a 
democratic government of their own, something they, of course, have 
never had. And it is part of our goal for the future. The coalition 
authorities continue to help repair the vital infrastructure all across 
the country. We are seeing increasingly other countries becoming 
involved. I think soon we will see the U.N. be more involved than it is 
now. Coalition forces are aggressively hunting down members of the 
former regime.
  Unfortunately, some would rather ignore the achievements, I think, 
for political purposes. That is too bad. I understand there can be 
differences of view. That is perfectly legitimate. But when you get the 
sense that sort of thing is being designed toward an election in 2004, 
it is a little disturbing.
  The former regime in Iraq had ties to al-Qaida; there is no question. 
It harbored and supported terrorists; there is no question. It 
possessed weapons and used weapons of mass destruction. They had done 
that; there is no question. They were a threat to the region and the 
world. We know that was the case.
  When we decided to use military force, the President made the best 
decision he could make. To suggest this was dreamed up in Texas for 
political purposes is not realistic, nor is it fair. Using the best 
information available at the time, the President made his decision--a 
tough decision. Can you imagine having to make that kind of decision 
following September 11?
  So it is a very difficult issue. But I think, truly--and my only 
point is--we can disagree, but we ought to disagree taking into account 
the facts, letting people make their own judgments. I understand that. 
But I think to portray the President as deliberately misleading the 
public is not a reasonable approach and one that should not take place 
among our associates. The war on terrorism takes time and patience and 
dollars, and we must see it through.
  Mr. President, I feel very strongly about this issue, so I wanted to 
make those comments today.

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