[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19229-19230]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       STAYING THE COURSE IN IRAQ

  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. President, I wish to speak just for a few minutes 
this morning, especially in light of the wonderful

[[Page 19230]]

 speech we heard from the interim Prime Minister of Iraq, Mr. Allawi.
  I had the tremendous privilege, back in June, to meet with Mr. 
Allawi.
  I found him to be very articulate and a true visionary for his 
country. This is a man who has a target marked on his chest and on his 
back wherever he will go in the world. It is critical that we do 
everything we can, along with the Iraqi security forces, to protect him 
and other leaders there. They are truly in the line of fire. There are 
many who would want to assassinate Mr. Allawi because they do not want 
to see freedom and democracy progress in Iraq.
  The speech Prime Minister Allawi gave this morning was heartfelt. You 
could tell he appreciated what America and Americans families, along 
with our coalition partners, have sacrificed for the liberation of 
Iraq. Mr. Allawi made reference to a few things which I believe, as a 
country, we need to acknowledge. The only way for the terrorists and 
the insurgents to win is if America loses its way and loses its will.
  Terrorists look for ways to disrupt and to win over public opinion 
because they know they cannot win militarily. We have not lost a single 
battle or military engagement in the last 3 years in Iraq or 
Afghanistan. Our military is so superior that the battles are not even 
close. We win every single one. So the terrorists know that the only 
way they can win is if they succeed in shifting public opinion back 
here at home. That is what the purpose of the terrorist attacks in 
Spain. They wanted to shift public opinion far enough to incite change, 
which they succeeded at doing. It decided the Spanish election and 
prompted Spain to pull out of Iraq.
  We have to send a strong signal. Whether you are Republican or 
Democrat, whether you are for the war or against the war, it is 
critical that we as Americans stand together and send a message 
overseas, the way our foreign policy to do. We used to stand together 
as Republicans and Democrats and say partisanship stopped at the 
water's edge. We once again need to assert that ideal. We need to say 
to those who would come against us who would rise against the spread of 
freedom, the opportunity for people to live and worship how they want 
to and have the freedoms that we enjoy in many parts of the world--we 
need to say very clearly that we will not allow them to win. We will 
not allow this radical form of Islam to take over the world.
  There is a battle of cultures. We must realize that. The radicals, 
the ones who want to win the hearts and minds of most of the Muslims 
around the world, are a small percentage. But we cannot allow them to 
win at this point. It is critical that we stay strong. We must send a 
message that our resolve is not going to waiver. We are not going to 
allow this to affect our elections. We are not going to allow 
terrorists to win here in the United States.
  There are people--and they are good Americans, solid Americans--who 
are against this war, who have been against it since the beginning. I 
plead with those in our country to look at the message that division in 
our country sends to those who would attack us, who would come against 
us. The old saying ``united we stand, divided we fall'' is as true 
today as it has always been. The more we show that we are united in 
this global war on terrorism, the less likelihood that the terrorists 
will continue. The terrorists must see that public opinion cannot be 
shifted because of the latest bombing or the latest beheading or any 
other horrific acts they may try to inflict on us. The more apparent 
our unity, the stronger our resolve, the less chance they will have to 
recruit new, young volunteers as suicide bombers. The less money they 
will be able to recruit from wealthy people around the world who are 
financing some of these activities.
  We are in the middle of a Presidential election. We realize that. It 
important that we have strong, steady leadership, leadership that I 
believe we have in President Bush. It is at a time of criticality to 
our country and our foreign policy that our leadership carry us through 
the next few years and send a message to the rest of the world that we 
are going to stand strong, that we are going to stay the course.
  Let me conclude with this: There are naysayers who believe democracy 
cannot work in the Middle East, that the only type of governments they 
can have over there are either dictatorships or some type of a 
religious theocracy. Prime Minister Allawi clearly addressed that today 
and spoke on behalf of the Iraqi people hungering for freedom and 
democracy. We must be successful in helping them to achieve that. 
Staying the course, whatever it takes, is critical not only for Iraq 
but for the larger global war on terrorism and to our own security here 
at home.
  If we weren't fighting in Iraq, I can guarantee you, we would be 
fighting here against terrorists on our own soil. Our military is much 
more prepared for that battle than our civilians are. We are in a 
dangerous, different world today. We must realize that.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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