[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14296]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     IRAQ'S TRANSITION: WHO ARE OUR ENEMIES AND WHY DO THEY HATE US

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Iraq's transition 
to democracy and what it holds for our future.
  Mr. Speaker, like all Americans, I was pleasantly surprised on June 
28 when the Coalition Provisional Authority transferred power to the 
Iraqi interim government 2 days ahead of schedule. This was an 
important first step toward demonstrating that America fulfills its 
promises. Iraq is again a self-governing sovereign state.
  However, with that said, we face many challenges in the days ahead. 
The anti-democratic insurgency in Iraq is still a reality that we and 
the sovereign and legitimate government of Iraq must confront every 
day.
  Mr. Speaker, in dealing with this insurgency, we must first ask 
ourselves the questions that opponents of the war in Iraq often fail to 
raise: Who are the insurgents? And why do they hate us and the new 
government in Iraq?
  It is clear from studying this situation in Iraq, the insurgency is 
not made up of one group of people united around a common message. 
Rather, it is an insurgency based upon disparate groups with differing 
and conflicting agendas.
  It is clear that we face an unholy alliance of four different, but 
overlapping, groups: Baathists, radical theocrats, transnational 
terrorists, and common criminals.
  Each of these groups has differing objectives. The Baathists yearn 
for the day that they once again can control Iraq. This Fascist party 
formed the basis of the Hussein regime; and at its core it is corrupt, 
brutal, and anti-democratic.
  The radical theocrats and fundamentalists, like Moqtada al Sadr, 
desire the installation of a revolutionary theocratic government like 
that of Iran. Such a government will most certainly be anti-democratic 
and inherently repressive. Those who desire such a government do not 
have the support of the majority of Iraqis.
  The foreign fighters and transnational terrorists can be divided into 
two categories: the first is al Qaeda. The second is made up of 
disparate radicalized Islamic groups. We know what the objectives of al 
Qaeda are, as September 11 so clearly demonstrated. It wishes to drag 
the Muslim world into a war against the West. The other foreign 
fighters are recruited by radicalized clerics and have a similar vision 
of international jihad.
  The criminal elements in Iraq are undeniably part of the insurgency. 
While many thousands were unjustly persecuted in prisons under the 
Hussein regime, many prisoners were also legitimately criminals. Before 
the war began, Saddam Hussein saw fit to release a large number of 
these criminals to prey upon his own people. They form part of those 
opposing the legitimate government and the coalition forces.
  Mr. Speaker, the follow-up question that many opponents of the war 
fail to ask is, Why do these insurgents hate us?
  Mr. Speaker, the answer to that question is clear and 
straightforward. Our opponents hate us, the coalition, not because of 
what we do, but because of who we are. We represent individual liberty 
and democracy, two values that our terrorist opponents neither 
understand nor accept.
  If we take the time to examine each of these four insurgent groups, 
we will find their opposition to the coalition is built upon a 
rejection of individual liberty and democratic pluralism. The 
Baathists, of course, have never supported freedom or true democracy. 
Thirty years of their regime amply demonstrated they believe in an Iraq 
ruled by a strongman like Saddam Hussein and plundered by his Fascist 
followers.
  The radical fundamentalists for their part certainly do not believe 
in either freedom or democracy, unlike their mainstream Muslim 
brethren. They clearly support a regime ruled by a religiously radical 
minority. In this regime there will be no place for freedom or 
democracy.
  Al Qaeda, of course, will never stop hating us and despises the 
principles which we believe are essential to Iraq's future. The other 
foreign fighters also aim to create a state that will pursue a 
permanent jihad against the West. This jihad is antithetical to values 
like freedom and democracy.
  Finally, the criminal element of the Iraqi opposition is also opposed 
to the principles of freedom and democracy precisely because these 
principles do not empower them.
  The great weakness of all these opposition groups, Saddamists, 
transnational terrorists, theocrats, and common criminals, is that none 
of them offer an attractive future for the Iraqi people. None of these 
groups could compete in open elections or attain power in a genuine 
democracy. That is why they so fiercely oppose our efforts to create a 
free Iraq based on individual liberty, tolerance, and democratic 
elections.
  Mr. Speaker, our President is right: the key to victory in the war 
against terror is the spread of freedom and democracy throughout the 
Middle East. Our own security is intimately linked to the success of 
democracy in this troubled part of the world. The success of democracy 
and self-government in Iraq is the crucial first step to transforming 
and liberating the Middle East. That is why we must succeed in this 
critical battle of the forces of oppression and terror in Iraq, and 
that is why the opponents of the war in Iraq are so badly mistaken in 
their criticism of our current efforts. Success in Iraq will make 
America safer.
  Mr. Speaker, despite the claims of critics, we have made real and 
genuine advances in Iraq. No one can deny the significance of 16 new 
governing councils, 90 new district councils, 194 city or sub-district 
councils, and 445 neighborhood councils. Together these institutions 
allow millions of Iraqis to engage in local policy discussions for the 
first time in history. These are clear advances which will empower 
Iraqis to control their own destiny. Through building democratic and 
free institutions, Iraq will be free; and America will be safe.

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