[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 7186]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              WAR IN IRAQ

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Nevada for his 
courtesy and his previous offer to let me speak. I am glad to have this 
opportunity to talk about a number of things that have come up today. 
We have talked a little bit about the war in Iraq. We have talked a 
little bit about the environment because Earth Day is tomorrow. We have 
talked a little bit about overtime and we have talked a lot about 
energy. I am going to cover those topics as well as some other things 
that need to be known.
  I am going to start with the war in Iraq because last week I had the 
opportunity to go with Senator Sessions and Senator Chambliss to visit 
NATO and then to go into Germany and to visit with some of the troops 
that have been wounded in Iraq. Some of them have been wounded very 
severely. In fact, those who are not severely wounded do not leave 
Iraq. There are hospitals in Iraq that take care of them and then get 
them back into the fray. Those who have been injured worse are flown to 
Landstuhl Hospital in Germany where they are stabilized, treated, and 
then sent back to the United States for more treatment.
  The three of us had an opportunity to visit that hospital. We split 
up into three groups so we could talk to more of the soldiers. We 
thought we would be able to perhaps pump them up a little bit after 
what they had been through. Quite the reverse happened. They pumped us 
up. It was a tremendous experience.
  These people, men and women, to a person said: We are making a 
difference in Iraq. We know the people over there, we know our job, we 
are doing our job, the people are responding to what we are doing, and 
we are making a difference.
  The other side is so worried that they are bringing in people to take 
us on. Every one of them wanted to be patched up as fast as possible 
and go back to help their buddies. They knew what the job was. They 
knew the people there. It was tremendously inspirational.
  The next day we went to an Army training base that a lot of U.S. 
soldiers in the past had been assigned to and are still assigned to, 
but they have been moved to Iraq. They have been assigned to Iraq and 
they had just been on another overseas assignment, had been back about 
8 months and were assigned to Iraq. Some of the spouses there had had 
husbands extended in Iraq. We wanted to find out what they were 
feeling, what they were thinking. It was a chance to visit with them, 
and so we did.
  Again, we were the ones who were encouraged. I remember one of the 
spouses explaining that part of the job of a soldier is to watch the 
back of his buddy, and when some of the troops are pulled out 
prematurely there is nobody to watch somebody's back. Then the lady 
said: If my husband was the one who had to stay and somebody got pulled 
out, I would not be able to take it. So if my husband is the one who 
has to stay to protect somebody else, that is their job. That is what I 
want him to do. That is what he needs to do. That is what will make the 
difference.
  What I noticed at both of those meetings was that other countries of 
the world say the reason we are the most powerful country in the world 
is because of the money we spend on being powerful. Some people would 
say it is because of the technology we have developed that makes us 
more equipped with more advanced things than any other country in the 
world. Both of those play a small role, but what makes the difference 
between the United States and the other countries is the people of this 
country, the young men and women who are serving in our Armed Forces--
their dedication, their innovation, their ability to think, their 
ability to react, and their patriotism.
  Then we have another secret weapon, and that secret weapon is the 
spouses and the families who are praying for and supporting the troops. 
That is a force other countries cannot reckon with, and we should be so 
appreciative.
  I want to mention one other thing that might seem unusual. When we 
were meeting with one of the generals, the general prayed. Now, I am 
not sure that is acceptable under the Constitution as it might be 
interpreted by some judges, but he prayed. He knows that will make a 
difference.
  One of the things that occurred to me while he was doing that is we 
often almost always remember to pray for our troops, but I think we 
probably ought to be praying for the opposition as well. We ought to be 
praying for the opposition to soften their hearts, for the opposition 
to realize what is happening in the world and the role they are 
playing. Praying can make a difference, and it is up to all of us to 
try that, with faith, and see if it will not support these admirable 
troops, their spouses, and their families.

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