[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 14301-14308]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




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  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 7, 2003, the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thought we would talk tonight about 
several things, about our recent several CODELs to Iraq, to the 
theater, and also about the defense bill, and lastly, about the 
resources, the great American asset that ties all of our defense issues 
together, and that is the men and women who wear the uniform of the 
United States.
  I thought, Mr. Speaker, maybe I would just start off with my great 
colleagues, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes) and the 
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson), in just talking about a 
couple of those great men and women in uniform.
  I wanted to read a citation, Mr. Speaker, because we have had a lot 
of talk, lots of discussion and enormous publicity about the prison 
mess over the last several months. And one way we have countered that 
image that I think has wrongfully been splashed against lots of folks 
in uniform is by talking about the great heroism of a number of those 
people. And I remind my colleagues that we had some 16,000 Bronze Stars 
awarded in Iraq, some 127 Silver Stars, and I thought that tonight just 
to start off I would talk about a couple of the commendations that have 
been given to heroes in that very difficult theater in Iraq.
  This is a Silver Star that was presented by order of the Secretary of 
the Navy to Staff Sergeant Adam R. Sikes, United States Marine Corps. I 
wanted to read this, Mr. Speaker.
  ``For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the 
enemy while serving as Platoon Sergeant, 1st Platoon, Company G, 2nd 
Battalion, 5th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 5, 1st Marine Division, 
I Marine Expeditionary Force on 12 April 2003. During the Battle of At 
Tarmiyah, Staff Sergeant Sikes' platoon was pinned down by heavy small 
arms and rocket propelled grenade fire in the opening moments of the 
fight. Without orders, Staff Sergeant Sikes quickly rallied two of his 
squads and set them into position to suppress the enemy and prepare 
them to counter attack. With the squads in position, Staff Sergeant 
Sikes charged alone across the 70 meters of fire swept ground to close 
on the first enemy strongpoint, which he cleared with a grenade and 
rifle fire.

[[Page 14302]]

Moving to the roof of a three-story building that was exposed to enemy 
fire, Staff Sergeant Sikes skillfully adjusted 60-millimeter mortar 
rounds onto nearby enemy positions. The rounds isolated the town from 
enemy reinforcement and decimated an enemy position in the nearby tree 
line. Upon learning that the other squad had taken causalities, Staff 
Sergeant Sikes moved to their position. With wounded Marines in a small 
compound, cut off by the enemy, Staff Sergeant Sikes signaled an 
amphibian vehicle and directed their evacuation while under a hail of 
small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire. By his bold leadership, 
wise judgment, and complete dedication to duty, Staff Sergeant Sikes 
reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions 
of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.''
  That is one of many, many commendations, Mr. Speaker, that have come 
out of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Here is another citation that I thought 
I would read tonight. This is a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation 
Medal to Staff Sergeant Brian Porter, United States Marine Corps for 
heroic achievement while serving as tank commander, 3D Platoon, Company 
B, 1st Tank Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 7, 1st Marine Division in 
support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. ``Staff Sergeant Porter's actions 
against the enemy were quick and deadly. Upon initial contact with the 
enemy near Imam Anas with two of four tanks in the platoon temporarily 
unable to fire, he guided his tank to the right of the platoon and 
destroyed an Iraqi T-55 tank with main gun fire. He personally engaged 
and destroyed numerous armored personnel carriers and tanks to ensure 
the safety of the company. During a reconnaissance operation in Ad 
Diwaniyah, he secured the southern flank of the company. During the 
ensuing firefight involving mortar fire, machine gun fire, and rocket-
propelled grenade fire, he destroyed a technical vehicle that was 
firing upon the platoon at close range. Staff sergeant Porter's 
initiative, perseverance, and total dedication to duty reflected credit 
upon him and were in keeping with the highest tradition of the Marine 
Corps and the United States Naval Service.''
  Mr. Speaker, these are obviously just a few out of thousands of 
citations that have been given to our soldiers and airmen and Naval 
personnel and United States Marines in theater in both Operation Iraqi 
Freedom and in Operation Enduring Freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, if we have time at the end of our special order, I would 
like to read a few more of those. But right now I would just like to 
introduce two of my great colleagues who also have been really working 
the issues that arise from this operation in Iraq and the operation in 
Afghanistan. I would like to yield first to the gentleman from North 
Carolina (Mr. Hayes).
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, first let me thank my good friend and 
chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Hunter), who spends every waking hour and then some 
doing everything he can to make sure our fine men and women in uniform 
have the support, the equipment, and the backing they need. So we are 
all owing a debt of gratitude to our chairman and to our good friend, 
the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson). He and I have a lot of 
common friends in this fight. The gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. 
Wilson) represents Ft. Jackson, a fine training facility, Parris 
Island, Marine Beaufort Air Station.
  Every time I visit my troops at Ft. Bragg or Pope Air Force Base in 
North Carolina, I am constantly, continuously and consistently amazed 
at the attitude, the ability, the commitment, and the performance of 
these men and women who ask but little in return except the support of 
this Congress and the American people.
  I have been to Iraq on a number of occasions. I was with the first 
group that went in. What our soldiers, sailors, Air Force, Marine and 
Coast Guardsmen put up with in terms of conditions, the things that 
they did not have but still came through, and won the fight in a 
remarkably short period of time with virtually no collateral damage to 
civilians and to other property is an incredible tribute to the 
servicemen and women that serve this country.
  President Bush said something in Istanbul, Turkey just a week ago, 
and that was, In order to have justice, you had to have democracy. What 
our men and women in uniform are doing is providing for the Iraqi 
people and other surrounding nations the opportunity to see, to taste 
and to experience the democracy that equals freedom and ultimately 
justice. That is what we want for people all around the world, the 
privileges that we enjoy and, unfortunately, take for granted.
  As I have been to Iraq and as I have visited our soldiers in training 
facilities, the amount of time and energy and effort that they put into 
making America safe, secure, and ultimately free is something that we 
can never repay. But I think for us to stand up and to stand tall and 
talk about the things that they are doing, whether it be in Fallujah, 
Baghdad, Najaf, Nasiriyah, and Afghanistan, these men and women 24 
hours a day, 7 days a week, are out there doing the things that we call 
on them to do, tirelessly, without any idea of selfishness.
  I cannot help but remember Daniel Metzdorf. I was in Iraq just a 
couple of months ago and was there with our good friend, the gentleman 
from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) from the other side of the aisle and the 
minority leader, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), and they 
too share our respect for what they saw these men and women doing.
  As we were headed back we stopped in Germany and visited our hospital 
at Landstuhl. We saw a number of folks, but the one I particularly 
remember because he looked like my son, Bob, as I walked in the door 
was Daniel Metzdorf of the 82nd Airborne. He had lost his leg. His 
concern was for the rest of his team. As he came back and has 
recovered, been at Walter Reed, he is a native of Florida but is back 
at Ft. Bragg now, his biggest concern was that his squad leader was not 
given sufficient recognition for the heroism that he exhibited in 
saving other members of his team when they were under attack by the 
enemy and the terrorists.
  So as I think of him and the countless other men and women, a couple 
of whom the gentleman has referred to in those citations, I think we 
must continue to remind ourselves of how important these sacrifices 
are. And these are not sacrifices made at the whim of an individual or 
a Congress or a group of people. If we look at the record, the record 
is very clear from the past administration, from news media who now 
seem to have an extremely difficult time getting the facts right, 
reporting the actual conduct and the progress and wonderful things that 
our troops are doing for the people in Iraq, but as we look at that it 
is very clear and consistent, we have no choice. If we were to live up 
to the responsibilities of being a free and freer Nation, then we had 
to step in and stop these terrorists abroad before they could come to 
us.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to bringing a few more of these facts to 
light as we move on, but without dwelling too long at this time, I 
would like to turn over to a dear friend, the gentleman from South 
Carolina (Mr. Wilson). And we have supplied the gentleman with Abe 
Turner from Ft. Bragg to look after Ft. Jackson. So we are definitely a 
team and we work well together.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to say before the gentleman yields, 
I know he has been to Iraq and we really appreciate that great tour, 
and also the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson) has spent a lot 
of time in Iraq. And I want to thank also the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Calvert), a great member of the committee, and the gentleman from 
El Paso, Texas (Mr. Reyes) who was there with me over the last couple 
of weeks. So we have had great members of the Committee on Armed 
Services going over. I think that gives us some insight of what the 
troops need when we are putting together our bill to get the tools so 
they can get the job done.
  I thank the gentleman for his remarks, and I yield to the gentleman 
from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

[[Page 14303]]


  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the 
chairman's leadership so much. We can all be proud of the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Hunter), as the chairman of the Committee on Armed 
Services. With his perspective as a veteran and with his devotion to 
the military, having a son serving in Iraq now, by his extraordinary 
leadership, I appreciate his coming and visiting Ft. Jackson last 
December. That was a highlight of my brief career here in Congress, to 
see the gentleman firsthand meeting with troops getting ready to deploy 
overseas. They were so honored to have the gentleman come and show his 
interest.
  Mr. HUNTER. I want to thank the gentleman. I just want to remind the 
gentleman that my job here is lots of inside work and no heavy lifting.
  It is interesting, we do a lot of things here that have some import 
and affect the ways our troops operate. But seeing those guys and 
ladies in 120 degree heat in Iraq and cheerful is an extraordinary 
experience.
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. They can be cheerful because they know 
they have a chairman of the Committee on Armed Services who is 
personally interested in their safety and security and in promoting 
democracy and protecting the American people.
  Additionally, I am very grateful to be here with my colleague from 
the north, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes).
  I had an opportunity to visit with the gentleman at Ft. Bragg and 
visit with the Special Forces. It is so reassuring to see this new 
generation, to see how dedicated they are. Many of us had somewhat 
dismissed them as the Nintendo generation. Well, that is actually very 
positive because the equipment that they use is so high tech, it is 
crucial that they be able to operate equipment that is almost 
inconceivable in terms of advances in just a few years, and 
particularly even over the first Persian Gulf War, and the success of 
our troops and dedication is so heart warming.
  Additionally, I was happy to hear the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Hayes) reference Pope Air Force Base. I have a nephew who is 
currently still in the Air Force, and I am really proud that he served 
at Pope. But the perspective I would like to make tonight is indeed as 
a veteran, I retired after 31 years of service, it was last July, with 
my service with the Army National Guard, and I saw again firsthand the 
capable people who are protecting our country, because my job was as 
pre-mobilization legal counselor and additionally mobilization 
counseling. People did not whine. They knew, men and women, that they 
would be serving to protect the American people.

                              {time}  2015

  Additionally, I am happy to be the parent of three sons who are 
serving in the military. My oldest son is a young attorney from 
Lexington, South Carolina. He has been mobilized. He is serving in 
Iraq. I am in touch with him virtually every day by BlackBerry, by 
satellite phone. It is very reassuring.
  My second son is a graduate of the naval academy, an ensign in the 
Navy. I am very proud of him being in medical school.
  My third son was just commissioned a month and a half ago at Clemson 
University, in the Army ROTC; and he will have a career in the signal 
corps with the Army National Guard.
  I am just so proud that they have on their own seen that one of the 
best ways to promote our country is to serve in the military; and then, 
finally, as a Member of Congress, it has already been referenced by the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes), I am very grateful to 
represent Fort Jackson, ably commanded by General Abe Turner.
  General Turner is so well known here in Congress because he was Army 
liaison to Congress and did a masterful job. I then ran into him, of 
all things, in Kuwait where he was one of the leaders there and helping 
us protect and promote our troops.
  Additionally, I represent the Marine air station at Beaufort. We are 
very proud of their service. It is a joint Navy and Marine facility 
with squadrons of both; and I also represent Parris Island, where the 
training takes place of our troops on the east coast, and I have been 
there in 3 days of parallel training; and it was an extraordinary 
opportunity again to see the dedication of these young people.
  I also represent the Beaufort Naval Hospital adjacent to McEntire Air 
National Guard Base, Shaw Air Force Base. I, again, over and over 
again, had the opportunity to meet young people, to meet people who are 
so dedicated in protecting our country.
  Indeed, it was 2 weeks ago today that I had the opportunity to go on 
a delegation with the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Hoekstra) with the 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and we had the opportunity 
to meet with the incoming Iraqi police being trained. We had the 
opportunity to meet with the new government officials, the Prime 
Minister, Ayad Allawi, and also President Ghazi al-Yawer. It was very 
encouraging.
  The Prime Minister is a real hero. He himself was a victim of Saddam 
Hussein's attempted assassination a number of years ago. I have heard 
it described he was virtually cut in half, but he recovered. His wife, 
though, did not. She had a permanent nervous breakdown. And so we have 
a very brave person serving as Prime Minister in Ayad Allawi promoting 
the people of Iraq to build a civil society.
  Many of us had the opportunity, thanks to the gentleman from Missouri 
(Mr. Blunt), to meet with President Ghazi al-Yawer. He is a graduate of 
George Washington University; and he announced to us that he is an 
optimist, that he believes a civil society can be established in Iraq, 
and I believe that we have seen in the past 10 days, since he took 
power and since the Prime Minister took power on the 28th, that, 
indeed, they are working to rebuild a civil society in Iraq.
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield, the gentleman 
from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson) and I were in on the same meeting, and 
that was a wonderful opportunity. What he and I heard in terms of the 
appreciation of the Iraqi people, the desire of their people and their 
government to be free, the incredible gratitude that they feel towards 
our soldiers. Does the gentleman read anything like that in our 
national media? Does the gentleman hear that on the news at night?
  What my colleague and I heard both there and in Iraq, we do not hear 
it. That is what the people of America need to hear and see, because 
that is true. That is what is happening in Iraq. That is the 
contribution. That is how the people who are receiving this help, 
particularly from men and women in uniform, that is the true response.
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. It really is, and particularly with 
President al-Yawer. He was so outspoken in his appreciation for the 
dedication of our young people, of families who have lost heroes, who 
are protecting American people; and it was just heartfelt. It was the 
same heartfelt feeling that we actually did see, thank goodness, with 
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, who was here about 3 weeks ago 
to express the appreciation of the people of Afghanistan for their 
liberation and their ability now for probably the first time in history 
to establish a civil society.
  When I say ``civil society,'' I am talking about one that looks out 
for the people and the country, and one of the highlights was to meet 
with the minister of health in Iraq. He had previously been the 
minister of education, and he was telling us one by one of the progress 
being made in regard to education.
  Thousands of schools have been renovated. These are not elegant 
schools with gymnasiums. These are largely one-room schoolhouses that 
have been repainted, many of them by the American military, with desks 
and with blackboards. In fact, 1\1/4\ million book bags were 
distributed to the young people of Iraq from the United States Agency 
For International Development.
  Additionally, he told us that there are 293,000 teachers in Iraq. 
What we hear when we read the paper is that people are unemployed. That 
is all we hear; but there are 293,000 teachers, and it was incredible 
to me.

[[Page 14304]]

  I asked the minister what is the percentage of young people who are 
school age going to school; and he told us it was around 90 percent, 
maybe exceeding 90 percent, and that, in fact, in April when there was 
an upsurge in violence, the young people still came to school, and they 
were brought by their parents.
  I find this encouraging because we know another fact is that there 
were 60 million new textbooks distributed in the last year. This is 
incredibly important. The textbooks previously had been idolatrous of 
the dictator Saddam Hussein. They had virtually identified him as a 
reincarnated Nebuchadnezer. That was an insult to their intelligence; 
but if that is all they read, that is all they read, that is all they 
heard.
  Now, of course, we have all seen, as we have visited, the satellite 
dishes. Those were illegal under the Hussein dictatorship. Those of us 
who have visited, everywhere we look we see satellite dishes where it 
may not be all we want them to see, but they do have choices that they 
did not have before. So a civil society, I think, is being established.
  Then the bravery that is exhibited. The gentleman from Nevada (Mr. 
Porter) was very interested that we visit a hospital; and we visited a 
hospital, and we visited with the American troops, and we visited with 
Iraqi patriots. In particular, there was a city councilman who was 
there who had been severely injured and his young son was there, and he 
was telling us that his brother had been killed in the same attack a 
week ago prior to us meeting with him and that another son, somebody 
had left a package at their home and when he picked it up, it was a 
small bomb that blew his right hand off. How brave that he persisted in 
trying to build a civil society.
  It just brings to mind, particularly here in the week of the 4th of 
July, of the sacrifices of the persons who signed the Declaration of 
Independence. They were not greeted with riches and with a warm 
response by the ruling elite at that time. They lost so much, and now 
we have got people who are indeed promoting the establishment of a 
democracy.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I know both the gentlemen mentioned going 
through the air base in Germany, Ramstein Air Base, and going to the 
medical facility in Germany where our wounded troops are taken before 
they are brought back to Walter Reed or Bethesda; and in doing that 
this time, just this last week, I was reminded very strongly about what 
we displaced in Iraq when we got rid of Saddam Hussein, because one of 
the lead surgeons there had a videotape that was done by Saddam 
Hussein's agents as they amputated the hands of businessmen who they 
brought to the prison and decided, because Saddam Hussein had figured 
that they had not done enough for business lately and they had not 
brought the economy up sufficiently in Iraq in a certain period of 
time, he had their hands surgically amputated to give a little 
motivation to the other members of the business community. I imagine it 
did motivate them. It probably motivated them to get out of there as 
quickly as they could.
  When I see the discussion about Iraq peel off into some type of a 
debating society over whether or not we have found weapons of mass 
destruction lately, I pull that picture out of my top drawer that has 
all those Kurdish mothers spread out across the hillside dead, where 
they were killed in mid-stride holding their children, holding their 
little babies, where that chemical hit them and appeared to kill them 
just where they stood, and those pictures were as poignant and dramatic 
as any photos I saw of any of the death camps in Germany.
  I was reminded once again of what we displaced when we displaced 
Saddam Hussein; and certainly, we are going to have, as the years go by 
and more mass graves are discovered and more people come forth with 
their stories, it is going to become very evident that the United 
States of America acted when others were afraid to act, when they were 
intimidated or when they were incentivized not to act because of 
economic situations, like the French who thought they were going to get 
all the contracts for the big oil fields, and perhaps others who 
thought that they somehow would have a good political or economic 
relationship with Iraq.
  The United States acted, and we acted on behalf of humanity because 
it is humanity which rejects cutting people's hands off because they 
have not raised the economic standard; or shooting thousands of Shiites 
in the back of the head and bulldozing them into open trenches because 
they would resist Saddam Hussein's regime; or gassing Kurdish citizens 
in their little villages in northern Iraq. That is resisted by 
humanity, and the only nation which really took action along with our 
great British allies and Australia allies and several others brought 
something to the battle but not a lot, was the United States of 
America, and I think we can all be proud of that leadership.
  It is going to be a rocky, tough road. They live in a tough 
neighborhood, and there is lots of danger for that new government to 
face. In fact, I think the biggest challenge for their armed forces is, 
number one, just keep their government alive, because there are lots of 
predators out there that want to take them down. I think we are going 
to make it and we are going to have an Iraq which is benign with 
respect to its relationship with respect to the United States, and that 
is going to accrue to the benefit of lots of Americans in generations 
to come.
  I would be happy to yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Hayes).
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, just a couple of quick points.
  Again, the gentleman referred to the Iraqi businessmen whose hands 
were cut off. They came here to the Capitol of the United States of 
America and had a press conference. I did not see anything about that 
anywhere near the front page, simply to make the point.
  Mr. HUNTER. No. In fact, you know what I saw, The Washington Post had 
a front page article about the prison mess, and what they devoted the 
front and center to their front page on one day was that some prisoners 
in Guantanamo had asked for sugar in their tea, and they were told it 
was going to be a while before they got sugar for their tea. So they 
thought that was quite an abuse, and so instead of putting in an 
article about people who had their hands amputated by Saddam Hussein, 
they wanted to devote that very important space to prisoners who did 
not get sugar in their tea.
  Mr. HAYES. The issue of weapons of mass destruction, let me for just 
a moment quote what the administration said about weapons of mass 
destruction.
  The New York Times reported November 14, 1997, in a meeting that the 
White House was deciding to prepare the country for war. According to 
the Times, the decision was made to begin a public campaign to do 
interviews on the Sunday morning television news programs to inform the 
American people of the dangers of biological warfare and Saddam 
Hussein.
  During this time, The Washington Post reported that President Clinton 
specifically directed Secretary of Defense Cohen to raise the profile 
of biological and chemical threat.
  Again, I point out, this was the former administration, not because 
of partisan politics but because of the unanimous consensus that 
existed about the weapons of mass destruction.
  On November 16, Cohen made a widely reported appearance on ABC's 
``This Week'' in which he placed a 5-pound bag of sugar on the table 
and stated that that amount of anthrax would destroy at least half the 
population in Washington, D.C.
  Cohen began his November 25 briefing on the ``Pentagon Report'' by 
showing a picture of a Kurdish mother and child that had been gassed by 
Saddam's Army. A bit later, standing beside the gruesome image, he 
described death on a mass scale: one drop of vx nerve agent on your 
finger will produce death in a matter of just a few moments.
  Now, the U.N. believes that Saddam may have produced as much as 200 
tons of vx; and this would, of course, be theoretically enough to kill 
every man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth.

[[Page 14305]]

  He then sketched a massive chemical attack on an American city, on 
and on and on.

                              {time}  2030

  Steven Hayes has written, by the way, no kin of mine. So I am not 
promoting my relative's book. Not a relative. I want to make that clear 
for the record.
  Mr. HUNTER. He may make that point to you when you try to get a part 
of the royalty.
  Mr. HAYES. That is probably true.
  The book is very accurate, very concise, and there is also a 
condensed 7- or 8-page article on where the connection between 
terrorists around the world was so clearly made and tied into Saddam 
Hussein, his government, and their effort to promote, to build, and to 
harbor terrorists. So clear. So if anybody has any doubt in their mind, 
simply read that article, which is in the Weekly Standard, or read the 
book. The evidence is clear. It cannot be denied.
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Chairman, it should be pointed out 
that, indeed, a sarin gas projectile was discovered, that is a chemical 
weapon, and, additionally, mustard gas has been discovered, projectiles 
in the country of Iraq, which had previously been in the jurisdiction, 
obviously, of Saddam Hussein. It was clearly indicated that, of course, 
chemical weapons were being used against the Kurdish population by 
Saddam Hussein.
  It is equally significant that the anthrax that was never explained 
as to what happened to it or where it may be, could fit in the back of 
a medium-sized U-haul, but yet it would be sufficient to have a 
horrible impact. More than the known population on the East Coast could 
have been killed by such an attack if it were widely dispersed, which 
would be difficult, but we would not want to find out. That is why we 
took this action. And this war in Afghanistan, the conflict in theater 
in Iraq, this is to protect the American people.
  My colleague from California brought up our allies, but this needs to 
be brought out. We have 32 nations that have sent troops to Iraq. I am 
particularly grateful that 2 weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet a 
soldier from Latvia. Not in our lifetime would we ever dream that we 
would be meeting with a soldier from the Independent Republic of 
Latvia, which is now a free republic. Not any longer is it a forced 
member of the U.S.S.R., the Soviet Union. Now Latvia itself is a member 
of NATO.
  It should also be noted, and it is just amazing how this is not 
picked up, when we express concern about NATO's involvement, we should 
be pointing out that 16 of the 26 members in NATO have troops serving 
in Iraq today. I want to particularly congratulate, because I have 
worked very closely as the co-chair of the Congressional Bulgaria 
Caucus, I want to thank the Republic of Bulgaria. I had the opportunity 
in Kabul, Afghanistan, to meet with the Bulgarian ambassador and 
commander of Bulgarian troops serving in Afghanistan.
  I am very pleased there is a battalion of 495 Bulgarians serving in 
Iraq today. That is the largest foreign placement of troops in the 
nearly 1,300-year history of Bulgaria. For the first time, Bulgaria has 
invited a foreign country, the United States, to establish a base in 
their country, an air base at Burgas. This is incredible, because every 
other base that has been established in Bulgaria has been done 
involuntarily, not at the request of the national assembly.
  So this is an historic time where, because of the veterans who have 
made this possible, I believe there is a greater spread of democracy 
today than in the history of the world. The way I phrased it, too, I 
have had the opportunity to visit with our troops, and Dutch troops and 
Australian and Polish troops at Bishkek, Kyrgystan; at Kharshi-
Khanabad, Uzbekistan; and Bagram, Afghanistan, and all of these are 
former Soviet air bases that had been built to fight the United States, 
which are now American and coalition air bases fighting the terrorists 
and winning the war on terrorism.
  I think it is a remarkable time for us to celebrate the successes of 
the American military that are unparalleled in history, and I am very 
proud of what is being done. I am very proud of the successes, and I am 
confident the young people who are today on the front lines are going 
to persist and, with the resolve of the American people and around the 
world, succeed.
  Mr. HUNTER. The gentleman is absolutely right. And this Cold War was 
won by American service personnel. I look at Korea and Vietnam as two 
of the important battles in that war and battles which helped to bring 
that war to a successful conclusion.
  The gentleman makes a great point about people who used to be behind 
the Iron Curtain now serving side-by-side with Americans. And I am 
reminded also that troops from Nicaragua and El Salvador, which were 
the centers of the so-called Contra wars during the 1980s, when 
America's liberals said Ronald Reagan should stay out of Central 
America; that if the Soviets want to have an influence in Central 
America, which they were having with the Communist Sandinista and the 
FMLN in Salvador, let them have it, said the liberals, and let us stay 
out of Central America; we cannot possibly win that war. And of course 
they brought back the old Vietnam thing, they said you are going to get 
bogged down in another Vietnam. Today, we have fragile democracies in 
each of those countries, and they have sent troops to stand side-by-
side with Americans in Iraq to try to bring freedom to yet another 
country.
  I was told, incidentally, that the Salvadorans in particular have 
fought fiercely in the Iraq theater; that they are excellent fighters 
and they very much support the coalition, and that they have brought a 
measure of strong support to our operation there. So I thank the 
gentleman for bringing that up because I think that is an important 
one.
  When Ronald Reagan was bringing down the Wall, and when he met that 
first move of force by the Russians during his administration, when the 
Soviet Union started to ring Western Europe with SS-20 missiles and 
Ronald Reagan started to push in ground launch cruise missiles and 
Pershing missiles into Europe, the liberal commentators across the 
world said, essentially, now you have gone and done it; we will never 
have peace with the Soviet Union, and we have to get this Ronald Reagan 
out of there.
  Yet, by meeting the strength of the Soviet Union with American 
strength, the President produced a situation where at one point the 
Russians picked up the phone and said, can we talk? And when they 
started talking, they talked not about a negotiated settlement but they 
talked really about the disassembly of the Soviet empire brought about 
by American strength.
  I think this operation in Iraq, while it is tough and hard and very 
dangerous, is going to produce a good result in that very difficult 
part of the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina.
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Chairman, as we sit here and call attention to our 
incredible allies, I think that we may have forgotten momentarily the 
Italians, who have been incredibly courageous, along with the 
Hungarians, the South Koreans, and the list, as the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Wilson) pointed out, is 32-plus members.
  My colleague was talking about these agents, biological weapons, 
chemicals, but what I mentioned was the previous administration in the 
1990s. What has happened in June 24, of 2004? Charles Duelfer, head of 
the Iraq weapons inspection team, announced his group had uncovered at 
least 10 more artillery shells filled with banned chemical weapons from 
the regime of Saddam Hussein. I have not read that prominently in any 
paper or heard it on the nightly news.
  Duelfer announced that his team is finding new WMD evidence almost 
every day, and I quote. ``A roadside bomb, discovered May 15, contained 
chemicals that when combined formed sarin gas. All such weapons were 
supposed to have been destroyed. Chemical munitions were probably 
stored with

[[Page 14306]]

conventional arms at some of the thousands of weapon depots located 
throughout Iraq. Military officials have uncovered some 8,700 weapon 
depots and continue to find new ones, and estimate the weapon depots in 
Iraq contain between 650,000 and 1 million tons of arms.''
  How do you kill 400,000 people and not refer to weapons of mass 
destruction? It defies common sense.
  Mr. HUNTER. Well, I thank the gentleman for pointing that out, and I 
think that the American service personnel who are serving in Iraq, 
because of what the gentleman has mentioned, are undergoing enormous 
hardship because they always have to be on guard for the possibilities 
that other shells, for example, that have nerve agents like the one 
that was picked up as an IED in Baghdad and was partly exploded to the 
point where the people who were the team that were neutralizing the 
shell got sick, there is always a possibility that more shells are 
going to be taken out of that particular load or cache of weapons. And 
that will be a danger to American troops. So I thank the gentleman for 
bringing that point up.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if my chairman would kindly 
yield to me for 30 seconds.
  Mr. HUNTER. I would be happy to yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Chairman, I notice that you have about 20 
minutes more left in this hour, and I believe that the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Inslee), myself, and the gentleman from Massachusetts 
(Mr. Delahunt), as well as a couple of other Members have an hour 
coming up. I found it very interesting, the conversation. Obviously, we 
may have some differing views on this, but I wonder if the chairman 
might consider that perhaps next week or the balance of the week at 
some time, that we could, those of us interested in this issue and have 
the articulate views, as my colleague and the other Members do, might 
consider combining our hour sometime and having a discussion?
  Mr. HUNTER. I would be happy to. I would say to my friend that I 
would be happy to.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Maybe we could discuss that off the floor and 
perhaps we might benefit the whole American public by the kind of 
discussion that could take place.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to do that with my friend. 
I cannot guarantee the American public is going to make a sell-out 
crowd for us, but I would be happy to do that. Sure.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. I am sure with this trio that is here this evening 
and those we could bring to the discussion, particularly those of my 
esteemed colleagues on the Committee on Armed Services, I think we 
might get an audience that might not necessarily be able to follow the 
hearings that the chairman has put together so far.
  In any event, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy and 
we will talk about it and perhaps something good in terms of dialogue 
could result.
  Mr. HUNTER. I look forward to it.
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman from Hawaii will yield.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Well, the time belongs to the Chairman.
  Mr. HUNTER. I would be happy to yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to call attention to our 
friends here, and anyone watching, that my first real experience with 
the Committee on Armed Services was with the gentleman from Hawaii. We 
were dealing with an issue in Bosnia which demanded bipartisan 
attention, and when it comes to supporting the men and women in 
uniform, the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie) is there. He will 
be there with you.
  So I thought it was appropriate to call attention to a very fine 
memory, of many that I have, of the gentleman from Hawaii.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I am very grateful, Mr. Chairman. I 
will yield any time to take that kind of compliment.
  Mr. HUNTER. You better leave on that one. That is a good one.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Can I leave now?
  Mr. HUNTER. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I want to also join in 
thanking the gentleman from Hawaii for his constructive suggestion.
  But I want to reiterate again too that the war we are into, this 
global war on terrorism, is not something the United States sought. It 
is my humble opinion that the first attack was really in 1979, with the 
attack on our embassy in Tehran. We can all remember the signs that 
were carried at that time were ``death to America.'' It does not need a 
discussion. That is what the intent is. And the reason for this feeling 
is because the United States represents freedom of association, of 
speech, as we just saw, freedom of women to participate in society, and 
freedom of media. All of this is being opposed by people who want to 
construct a 14th century life-style.
  This is not a religious war. To me, it is a group of extremists who, 
as we saw last week, there was a heinous suicide bomber who attacked a 
Shiite mosque in Pakistan. Imagine just going straight into a mosque 
and killing 20 people. This is just something that has to be faced, and 
we either face the enemy overseas or we will again see them here in the 
United States, as we did on September 11.
  September 11 was the culmination of a direct attack on the United 
States in 1993 on the World Trade Center, a direct attack on our 
embassies in 1998, at embassies all throughout Africa, and then, of 
course, the infamous attack on U.S.S. Cole in Yemen in the year 2000, 
and finally the attack of September 11, 2001. America is responding.
  And I am very grateful that just as after World War II we helped 
rebuild Germany so it would not be a breeding ground for communism, we 
are helping to rebuild Iraq. I am sorry that it does not get the 
attention it should. It is probably just dull to hear that there is 
freedom of the press and media in Iraq. It is dull to hear the schools 
have been reopened. It is dull to hear the hospitals have all been 
reopened and the health clinics are available. But it is not dull. It 
is creating a civil society that protects the American people. We were 
able to protect the American people and defeat communism, and I am 
confident we can do the same thing in defeating terrorism.
  I am so happy the gentleman brought up Ronald Reagan. It was 20 years 
ago virtually this minute that he was attempting to win the Cold War by 
putting Pershing missiles in Western Europe. Millions of people 
demonstrated against that in the United States and Western Europe. It 
ultimately led, again, to our victory.
  I had the extraordinarily opportunity Sunday to meet with people at 
our church who are from Russia, and I was telling them how incredible 
it was for me to be there with them, because 15 years ago we were told 
that they like living under communism; that due to their serf 
background, they liked being slaves; that they really did not want to 
have to make decisions of who to elect and how to elect, what jobs to 
take, how much money to earn, whether they could buy a car or not; that 
they really enjoyed living in oppression.

                              {time}  2045

  We know that is not true. The dear Russians that I met with on Sunday 
said how much they appreciated what President Reagan and the American 
people have done to provide for their liberation. The same analogy 
applies to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. It is such a positive 
time to see what our troops are doing.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Gingrey), also a great member of the Committee on Armed Services
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the distinguished chairman of 
the Committee on Armed Services. I know if the troops who are so 
bravely defending us, our liberty in Iraq and Afghanistan, if they have 
any opportunity to read a newspaper or listen to a radio or watch 
television, I know they know that if there is any greater friend than 
the chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services, the gentleman 
from California (Mr.

[[Page 14307]]

Hunter), it is possibly the Commander in Chief, George W. Bush. I thank 
the gentleman for giving me an opportunity to say a few words tonight 
during this important hour.
  Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, the 108th Congress appropriated some 
$187 billion to Operation Iraqi Freedom. $18.5 billion was to restore 
the infrastructure of this Middle Eastern country long neglected by 
their dictator, Saddam Hussein. While Saddam Hussein was incurring huge 
debts, some say as much as $100 billion to build up his own personal 
military and to construct numerous palaces, compounds to his own glory 
and edification, those of us on both sides of the aisle of the 
committee, we were there and saw these palaces. While at the same time 
the typical Iraqi citizen, especially the Shiite majority and the 
Kurds, was not only suffering from a lack of the basic necessities of 
life, but they were also being killed and tortured with reckless 
abandonment.
  Mr. Speaker, I could talk more time than I am allotted about how we 
are expending this $18.5 billion appropriation to restore the 
infrastructure, the needs, basic needs such as water and sewer plants, 
electricity, and schools; but let me use the time that I have got to 
discuss something that I know a little bit about and that is called 
health care.
  I am a physician member of the House of Representatives; and along 
with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I care deeply about the 
health care, most basic health care needs of the impoverished Iraqi 
people.
  Mr. Speaker, let us do a little before and after comparison on health 
care expenditures in Iraq. Saddam Hussein's regime provided only $16 
million for the ministry of health in 2002. That was less than $1 per 
person. This is a 23 to 24 million population country. The Iraqi 
medical system severely lacked medical equipment and capabilities. 
Doctors' salaries were about $20 a month.
  Today, Iraq's 2004 budget for health care is $950 million, a $934 
million increase over 2002. All 240 hospitals and more than 1,200 
health clinics are now open. The minister of health assumed full 
independent authority on March 28, 2004, and the minister of health is 
addressing drug shortages by making emergency drug purchases. Health 
care spending in Iraq has increased 30 times over its prewar levels, 
and children are receiving crucial vaccinations for the first time. 
Over 5 million children have been immunized for measles, mumps, and 
rubella. Every child in our country gets that basic right. It is 
estimated that 85 percent of Iraqi children now have been immunized.
  Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I was listening to some discussion on 
this floor of the House earlier and a member on the other side of the 
aisle spoke about fairness. He used that little cute way of saying the 
F word, and the F word being fairness, and said it was not fair for us 
to be spending money on the health of the Iraqi people when it is 
estimated 40 million Americans do not have health insurance. But, Mr. 
Speaker, they have health care. They may not have health insurance, but 
they have basic health care; and I would remind my colleagues on 
September 11, 2001, 3,000 of our citizens, citizens of other countries, 
had good jobs with health care and health insurance, but they were 
killed. They are not with us today. Their families no longer have their 
presence, and yet they had great health care. So it is hugely important 
that we provide this infrastructure, this basic health care need to the 
Iraqi people.
  It would be unconscionable to free them from the dictatorship of 
Saddam Hussein and leave them in poverty and squalor without having 
these basic health care needs met, because we would just be creating 
yet another dictator to take Saddam Hussein's place. I think it is 
entirely appropriate that we spend this money to restore the 
infrastructure, including the health care, the basic health care needs, 
of the Iraqi people. With that I yield back to my chairman.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Gingrey) for the point he has made. It is a very important point. That 
is the message that I think has gone out to people around the world. 
They really understand the goodness of this country. Interestingly, 
they might not understand by watching our own television, but they have 
enough experiences with their own families and with their own view of 
the world to know that the United States is a good country.
  I am reminded of a couple of years ago when my parents were in Manila 
in the Philippines, and the Philippines were undertaking demonstrations 
against the United States. The demonstration leadership would walk over 
to the line of Filipinos waiting to get visas to come into the United 
States, and they would hire people to take hold of signs that said 
``Down with the United States,'' or ``The United States out of the 
Philippines.'' They would hire them to demonstrate against the United 
States and after they demonstrated awhile, the demonstrators would then 
give back their signs to the organizers, and they would retake their 
position in line waiting for their visa to the United States that they 
just demonstrated against.
  I think it is clear to the Iraqi people that we are the good guys. I 
think they are reflecting on this now as we have turned this government 
over. They have been ruled by a government for so long that was very 
self-serving. Its own survival and its own enrichment were the major 
goals that it undertook. Here is the United States, which has expended 
an enormous amount of human capital and our economic capital in this 
part of the world, and yet what we are asking them to do is be free; be 
free, grow your economy, become prosperous, become a member of the 
world community, which does not oppress its people; and it is our hope 
if you have a free government, you are not going to oppress other 
people.
  The Iraqis are going to have to be tough to maintain this government. 
There are going to be bombs and explosions going off in Iraq for a long 
time to come. If the pouring in of resources could stop explosions from 
going off, we would not have explosions in Israel right now, but that 
is a fact of life in that part of the world. It is going to have to be 
a tough government with some grit. They are going to have to develop a 
military that has the capability of protecting that government and 
protecting this running chance at freedom that we have given the Iraqi 
people.
  Maybe it will not work; but from the beginning of time to the end of 
time, the only time when the Iraqi people will have had a real chance 
at freedom is when the Americans were there, and that is something we 
can all be proud of.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. 
Wilson).
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I would like to reiterate 
some other heroes who are serving our families, and that is the 
families and employers. The families are so dedicated to our 
servicemembers who are serving overseas, men and women. We all know 
first hand of circumstances where families are making sacrifices. 
Additionally, we have got family support groups that we have community 
support for. Anyone who wants to help members of our Guard and Reserve, 
in any phone book will be the listing of an armory. They can contact 
the unit clerk or the AST and offer to assist in some way.
  Also, employers. We were very fortunate 2 weeks ago to have a hearing 
put together by the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline), himself a 
retired Marine colonel. It was brought to our attention how employers 
are coming to bat for the people who have been mobilized and deployed. 
There are some indications of obvious problems; but I was told, and 
during the hearing it came out, for every one problem, there are nine 
good stories of where businesses have come forward to assist their 
employees who have been deployed.
  They know the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act, now the 
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, will protect our servicemembers. 
Additionally, there are reemployment rights that will accrue to the 
people in the Guard and Reserve. We are all here to

[[Page 14308]]

help make sure that they have the jobs that they had when they left, 
they have their seniority, that they have the ability to blend back in 
and assimilate right away into American society. But it is the 
employers who are doing this voluntarily.
  Again, families and employers deserve a great deal of credit in 
helping us win the war on terror.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman has described something very 
important to our country and that is all of us pulling together. That 
means we are pulling together whether you are part of the family and 
you know your husband or loved one is going to have to take off and 
spend some time overseas and you are going to try to pull through those 
difficult times, or if your neighbors are going to help out or 
relatives are going to help out. Or as the gentleman has said, 
employers are going to help out. This country has got to pull together. 
We have done a lot of that.
  One thing that the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes) has 
worked on so much is American businesses pulling together. That means 
if you are a business, you are a prime contractor in this country and 
you can buy a piece of material or a machine tool from another country 
but you have the opportunity to buy one from Americans, and employ 
Americans by your purchases, create jobs in America by your purchases, 
take a look at that and that is something that the gentleman from North 
Carolina (Mr. Hayes) has been encouraging our American businesses to 
do. That is part of pulling together.
  We are going to have to all do that with the same spirit that we used 
to win the Cold War and World War II.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Hayes).
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the effort that the chairman has 
put into that because a strong industrial defense base is the key to 
our future. With economic security and good jobs in this country, then 
we are able financially to support our wonderful military.
  A couple of quick things. President Bush has stood tall for freedom 
in America and freedom around the world. He said, ``Democracy is the 
surest way to build a society of justice. If justice is the goal, them 
democracy is the answer.'' President Bush has stood tall for our troops 
in Iraq. What do the Iraqis say about what is happening? Well, 68 
percent has confidence in the interim Iraqi Government, and 79 percent 
think the interim government will make things better for the Iraqis.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, mentioning the President reminded me of 
something Saddam Hussein said, because the other day when he got to 
have his say in court, which is something he never gave the people that 
he oppressed, he said words to the effect that he would not be there if 
it were not for George Bush. I will not repeat the adjectives that he 
used to describe President Bush, but when he said he would not be there 
if it were not for President Bush, or words to that effect, he was 
right, George Bush and about 300,000 great Americans in uniform. The 
point is we have to be the leaders of the free world. If the free world 
were not led by the United States, I do not think there would be a 
leader in the free world.
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, President Bush stood up for freedom, as well 
he should.
  Just a couple of weeks ago at President Reagan's funeral here in 
Washington, I had the unique privilege of standing in line waiting to 
walk by the casket of former President Reagan with Mikhail Gorbachev.

                              {time}  2100

  They called Reagan a cowboy; but Mikhail Gorbachev, his adversary at 
that time, was at his funeral saying that that man stood up for 
freedom, and he won the Cold War, just like President Bush is standing 
up and winning the war on terrorism and our troops are making that 
happen.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Hayes). It must have taken a lot of grit for Mikhail Gorbachev to 
have all of the previous speakers or the speakers at that ceremony talk 
about how Ronald Reagan equipped him; but, you know, he put up with 
that and then paid his respects to President Reagan. And I think there 
is a message there, and that is that the goodness of America comes 
through, and ultimately it persuades others to follow the path of 
freedom. I thank the gentleman for his comments.
  And I think, Mr. Speaker, we are out of time. We would like to yield 
back the balance of our time.

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