[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 7941-7950]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        THE IRAQ THEATER OF WAR

  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 wanted to take this opportunity with a 
number of colleagues on the Committee on Armed Services to discuss the 
subject on which America is most closely focused right now because we 
have troops in combat and that is the Iraq theater of war and the 
progress that has been made and the portent for the future.
  We all recall when our great servicemen, the 1st Marine Division, the 
101st Airborne, the 3rd Army Division, and the many other supporting 
elements in the Navy and the Marine Corps and the Army and the Air 
Force and the U.S. Coast Guard made that lightning drive for Baghdad 
and doing something that most of the critics felt they could not do, 
drove past choke points, bridges, oil fields, and other places that we 
thought the enemy would blow or disrupt; but the movement was so quick 
and so well coordinated that, in fact, we seized most of those 
difficult areas before the enemy could take advantage of their 
capability to blow them or to make them impassable for our soldiers.
  So we drove up right through the center of Iraq, up through the heart 
of Iraq; and we took Baghdad and we started the second chapter of this 
centerpiece of the war on terrorism and that is to turn Iraq into a 
nation that has a benign intent with respect to the United States, that 
is not an enemy of the United States, and, in fact, can be counted on 
to be a friend and in that very, very difficult part of the world lying 
between Syria and Iran, can be a force for good and an ally of the 
United States. It is a very important aspect of our war against 
terrorism.
  Now we have started the second chapter, and it is a tough chapter. We 
have troops engaged in combat right now in areas like Fallujah. We have 
the United States Marines in firefights, as we speak, trying to knock 
out the resistance to those who do not want to see democracy.
  And I think for those who looked at this June 30 hand-over of initial 
sovereignty, taking it away from the United States and handing it over, 
starting that turn-over of political power, most of us anticipated that 
there would be an up-swell in violence. There has been an up-swell in 
violence.
  And the Marines right now are fighting tenaciously. And we see with 
our embedded reporters and our real time television in the city of 
Fallujah and other areas, difficult areas, we see clerics like al Sadr 
taking advantage of the occupation in an attempt to foment anti-
Americanism and strikes against our troops. We see still the remnants 
of Saddam Hussein's regime, those people who had it so good in the days 
of the palaces who want to get back into power.
  And we have a message for the United States that, I think, is derived 
against that background. That message is hold firm. Stay steady, 
because we are making steady progress.

[[Page 7942]]

  And there are people in Iraq who want to be part of this new 
government. We have hundreds of little community governments that have 
been started up, interestingly, by our military leaders, by these great 
wonderful military leaders who are skilled in leadership, who know how 
to bring people together, who know how to engineer teamwork. And they 
stood up city councils and what I would call county governments across 
Iraq.
  And those people are working on getting those sewage systems hooked 
up, getting that electricity hooked up, getting that water supply to 
the neighborhood that does not have it.
  And we are also doing great things for the children of Iraq. We are 
now at a record level of school attendance. We are doing everything we 
can to make sure that Iraqi children are able to go to school, get an 
education. We have stood up hospitals. We have allowed a religious 
freedom that is unprecedented in modern times where people can go to 
the areas that were forbidden by Saddam Hussein. We are hooking up 
electrical capability and turning on that great resource for the Iraqi 
people, and that is the oil fields.
  Now we have had a major, major redeployment of American troops, one 
of the biggest in history. And in that redeployment we moved the 1st 
Infantry Division up to that very difficult area of operations, up to 
the area of Baghdad where the 4th Infantry Division was in place. The 
4th Infantry Division is now rotated out. We have moved many elements 
from the 1st Marine Division into the area of operations to Fallujah 
and points west where the 82nd Airborne was in place and where the 1st 
Armored Division was in place. In Baghdad we have moved now the 1st 
Cavalry Division. And we have kept most of the 1st Armored Division in 
place which, I think, in light of this up-swell in violence, is a very, 
very prudent decision by Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld and the 
President of the United States.
  So stay steady should be the order of the day. And we are doing that. 
And our troops are doing a wonderful job for us. We know we have got a 
ton of National Guard and Reservists in place. And they are doing a 
wonderful job for us. And when we finish in Iraq, we cannot guarantee 
that the Iraqi people will have freedom forever, we cannot expect them 
to turn into Republicans and Democrats. But what we can expect is to 
have a nation that has a benign intent toward the United States, that 
is has a good relationship toward the United States and refuses to be a 
jumping off point for terrorism and a point for unrest and disruption 
in that part of the world.
  And I still in my mind's eye, I know it was a long time ago and 
images move off that TV screen quickly, but I remember the pictures of 
the dead Kurdish mothers holding their babies, killed in mid-stride 
where that poison gas hit them. I remember those images.
  I remember the images of the mass graves that they have uncovered, 
many more to be uncovered where people are just now discovering what 
happened to their father or their brother.
  I remember the story from the farmer who said that every day bus 
loads of people would be brought up to his farm and that backhoes that 
had dug the trenches the day before would be standing by with new 
trenches dug, and the firing squad that worked bankers hours, 9 to 5, 
would appear; and they would move people out of the buses from 
grandmothers right down to little children, move them up to the edge of 
the trenches, and they would each receive one bullet in the back of the 
head, and then they would be bulldozed into the trenches.
  He recounted one day where the firing squad ran out of ammunition so 
they just bulldozed them into the trenches alive. That is the story of 
what happened before in Iraq.
  And so for people who ask their mothers and fathers when they look 
through history and see terrible things in that land, they say why did 
we not as Americans do anything about it, they can, with respect to 
Iraq, say America did something about it.
  Right now we are in a difficult time. Our troops are in battle. Now 
we should stay firm. We should stay steady.
  Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to yield to my colleague, the gentleman 
from Minnesota (Mr. Kline), who had a great career in the United States 
Marines, who does a great service on the Committee on Armed Services.
  Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding. I thank 
him for his leadership on the Committee on Armed Services and 
everything he is doing to take care of our men and women who are 
leading in this war on terrorism.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the heroes, not in the large 
sense, but in the individual sense, the heroes that we have in this 
war, fighting in this war in Afghanistan and in Iraq. And, 
specifically, I would like to share the story today of just one of the 
many committed Marines. And I know that the gentleman's son is in the 
Marines, and we share some common bond here; but one of the Marines 
that is serving today in Iraq has an incredible story.
  I was talking to the commandant of the Marines this week. He was in 
an airplane, I think he said at 48,000 feet. It is amazing how we fly 
these airplanes these days. He was telling me the story of Sergeant 
Christopher Chandler. I wanted to share that today because it is a 
story of resolve, determination, love of country, and love of the 
American people. It is an example that we see in other men and women in 
uniform, but this one is particularly special.
  I have got some notes here to make sure I get the dates and times 
right. In November of 2001, Sergeant Christopher Chandler answered the 
call to service in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Less than 
one month into this assignment, Sergeant Chandler stepped on a land 
mine while providing security for an explosive ordnance disposal unit 
in Kandahar, Afghanistan; and he lost a leg.
  Sergeant Chandler was one of the first service members injured in the 
global war on terrorism after the attacks on 9/11 and the first 
American to be awarded the Purple Heart in Operation Enduring Freedom. 
Despite the severity of his injury, he refused to let the incident 
diminish his resolve.
  Following the incident, Sergeant Chandler was evacuated to Walter 
Reed Army Medical Center where he received treatment and was outfitted 
with a prosthetic leg.
  Neither his injury nor the immediate danger he experienced were able 
to stifle the determined spirit of Sergeant Chandler. Upon completion 
of physical therapy, he re-enlisted in the Marine Corps and requested a 
seat in the U.S. Army jump school.
  His request was met, as I am sure you can imagine, with some 
resistance. He was informed that no exceptions could be made for any 
physical limitations. He would be required to complete every task and 
fulfill each training requirement at the same level of excellence as 
everyone else attending that jump school.
  He accepted the challenge. He excelled. He was able to demonstrate to 
the physical evaluation review board that he was fit to return to full 
active duty without limitations. He became the first amputee to 
complete Army jump school.
  The story is not over. In December of 2003, Sergeant Chandler 
graduated, exceeding all expectations by being selected the 
noncommissioned officer honor graduate of his class.
  Today Sergeant Chandler is serving our Nation bravely as a member of 
the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance in Iraq.
  It has been said that the truest test of a man's character is not 
what he does with success, but what he makes of defeat. For 
generations, the Marine Corps has trained recruits with this type of 
determination and instilled the courage in its men and women to move 
forward when those around them have faltered. Sergeant Chandler is a 
leader, but he is not the only one.
  Thousands of terrific men and women have answered the call to serve 
because they know how important this service is to the security of 
America and to a stable world. And these brave men and women deserve to 
know that they have our unconditional love and support.

[[Page 7943]]



                              {time}  1815

  In those discussions with the Commandant of the Marine Corps, as I 
mentioned earlier, and he has just returned from Iraq only just a 
couple of weeks ago, he shared with me the single most asked question 
about the families of the American and women serving at every level and 
by the men and women themselves in the Marine Corps. And the question 
is, Do we still have the backing of the American people?
  He answers unequivocally yes. We need to make certain that stays so. 
These men and women who face danger each day on our behalf see and hear 
the same newscasts that we do. We cannot allow the morale of our troops 
to be diminished by these negative reports.
  Mr. Chairman, you are absolutely right. We have to stay the course. 
We have a responsibility to make our support known, our emotional, 
financial, all levels of support to every man and woman who serves this 
Nation. We owe them no less. We cannot show any weakening of resolve.
  It is a commitment that we have to Sergeant Chandler and to all the 
Marines and soldiers serving over there.
  I know, Mr. Chairman, you are giving them your unqualified support 
and I pledge mine, and I ask my colleagues and the American people to 
do the same.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his very eloquent 
remarks. I am reminded that we have a lot of folks fighting the war 
against terrorism in Afghanistan and in other parts of the world. We 
are equally grateful to them. I thank him for the experience he brings 
to the committee and his good judgment.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to my great colleague, the gentleman from New 
Hampshire (Mr. Bradley) for any remarks he would like to make.
  Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman very 
much for his leadership of the Committee on Armed Services. It has 
certainly been a pleasure to serve with him.
  Mr. Chairman, I was in Iraq in November, and there is no question 
what I saw. Iraq is a war zone in some places. We saw that when we were 
on the ground. We saw the fact that there are challenges and obstacles 
that face us. The gut wrenching scenes that we have seen on our TV are 
without doubt something that all Americans find very difficult to 
endure. But we have also, Mr. Chairman, seen what we are fighting.
  I was in the Abu Ghraib prison. I stood in the execution chamber 
where 80,000 Iraqis were hung. It is a life altering experience to have 
been in a place where so many people were so barbarically killed.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield on that one 
point, I remember one story in the Post and I believe it was fairly 
well-documented about a high school class in Baghdad where the high 
schoolers, several of them wrote anti-Saddam Hussein remarks on the 
blackboard. They disappeared, and their families discovered after some 
years they had been hung. So high schoolers were taken out and hung for 
making anti-Saddam remarks.
  Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire. Mr. Speaker, that story was in the 
Washington Post just after I returned from Iraq. It was about 40 or 45 
young high school students. We all do crazy things when we are young, 
but graffiti should not be a reason that one gets executed. But we saw 
that when we were in Iraq.
  What most Americans are not seeing, which you so correctly note, is 
the reconstruction that is taking place, the fact that electricity is 
now at pre-war levels and is evenly distributed through the country, 
the fact that water systems are coming back online, the fact that there 
is adequate food in the country, that there is gasoline, that there is 
traffic on the streets, that the major oil refineries are working, that 
oil is at pre-war export level.
  Mr. Chairman, this is significant success in a short period of time. 
And yes, we need to get the security situation under control. Our 
soldiers are doing a terrific job in some of the most trying and 
difficult circumstances. Over 700 of them have paid the ultimate 
sacrifice, and we must be forever thankful and supportive of their 
efforts. And I would like to, if I could just have another couple of 
moments, read from an e-mail of one of those soldiers because I think 
it is certainly far more telling in his words than any of our words.
  This is a soldier who is in the U.S. Army serving in the 16th Combat 
Engineer Battalion in Baghdad. I will not read the entire e-mail. I 
will read excerpts from it but it is very telling. ``The news you are 
hearing stateside is awfully depressing and negative. The reality is we 
are accomplishing a tremendous amount here, and the Iraqi people are 
not only benefiting greatly but are enthusiastically supportive.'' He 
goes on to say, ``I am not out of touch with the negative side of 
things. In fact, I think my unit has it harder than many other Army 
units in this whole operation. That said, despite some attacks, the 
overall picture is one of extreme success and much thanks. The various 
terrorist enemies we are facing in Iraq are really aiming at you back 
in the United States. This is a test of will for our country. We 
soldiers of yours are doing great and scoring victories in confronting 
the evil terrorists.''
  He concludes by saying, ``Yes, there are terrorists who wish to 
strike these things down, but this is a test of will. We must win. We 
can do this as long as Americans at home keep faith with the soldiers 
in this war. We are Americans after all. We can and must win this test. 
That is all it is.''
  So, Mr. Chairman, let me conclude by saying that based on my 
experience of having been in Iraq and what we knew absolutely about 
Saddam Hussein, that he had started two wars, that he had territorial 
aspirations, that he had used weapons of mass destruction not only 
against the Iranians but against the Kurds, as you so aptly noted, that 
he was funding suicide bombers, and that over 300,000 people were 
killed and laid in mass graves. That is what we know.
  Mr. Speaker, our world is a much safer world with Saddam Hussein in 
prison, not in power.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I might just ask the gentleman what his 
basic take was on the GIs that he met with while in Iraq?
  Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire. Mr. Speaker, there were six of us in 
this congressional delegation and all of us had the chance to meet with 
various members of the military from our own State. So I met with 12 or 
13 New Hampshire soldiers. At that time their morale was extremely 
high. We knew that we were asking them to do a very tough and a very 
dangerous job and they knew it too. They missed their loved ones. There 
is no question about that. They would obviously prefer to be home and 
not in a far away land as they are. But they also said to a man that 
the reaction that they were getting from the Iraqi people was extremely 
positive.
  They do not all love us there. That is clear. But the vast majority 
of Iraqi people are glad that we have liberated their country and they 
are glad for the fact that these soldiers are helping rebuild schools, 
get hospitals on line, improve the water systems, all of the 
reconstruction projects that we are asking them to do, and the vast 
majority of the Iraqi people are glad that there is now an interim 
constitution and there is going to be a successful handover of power on 
June 30.
  Certainly in talking to the New Hampshire soldiers, this is precisely 
what they told us and felt that if we stand behind their mission they 
will finish the job and they will finish it and have done a great job.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his trip, and I 
want to thank all the Members who have gone, Republican and Democrat. 
We have had a great majority of the members of the committee go to Iraq 
and spend a lot of time with the troops. We really appreciate that.
  Incidentally, I would ask my colleagues, the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Forbes) and the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis), the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Schrock), and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Turner), I will ask the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Turner) to talk

[[Page 7944]]

to us a little bit next. But if anybody needs to leave early, we will 
make sure that they get a chance to speak before we go on.
  I want to thank the gentleman for his great work on the Committee on 
Armed Services. It is a big commitment to go to Iraq and take that big 
block of time, and it is not easy, not convenient and under the rules 
and the tough aspects of flying into some of those areas now it is a 
little bit of an ordeal. I want to thank the gentleman for taking the 
effort and really caring about our troops.
  Mr. Speaker, I recognize the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Turner) for any 
remarks he would like to make.
  Mr. TURNER of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I first want to congratulate you on 
your comments that you have made about the importance of our troops 
having the necessary equipment and protective gear. You have been a 
leader, as has our President, in making certain that they have the 
resources necessary in order to protect themselves, and that of course 
was not without opposition.
  There has been significant opposition in supporting our troops and 
our funding, and our President has stood fast and so have you in making 
sure that they have had the correct armor, the Humvees had the correct 
armor, and that we work diligently to bring those supplies and 
equipment to our troops.
  Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to travel to Iraq with the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton) of the Subcommittee on 
Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities under the 
gentleman's committee. We had the opportunity to go to Bahrain, Saudi 
Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and Kuwait.
  Throughout our trip there was not anyone that we met with in any one 
of those countries who did not identify Iraq as part of the war on 
terror. They all reported that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the 
safety in the Middle East, safety to the United States and safety of 
the Western civilized world, and understood how important it was that 
the United States win this effort and stick to this effort of 
stabilizing Iraq and of the removal of Saddam Hussein.
  Now, everyone has their stories of when they were in Iraq as to what 
they saw. One that touched me the most, I served as the former mayor 
for the City of Dayton and I had the opportunity to talk with some of 
the mayors that were emerging for some of the towns and cities in Iraq, 
and they were able to talk to us about the path to liberty. These were 
men who were absolutely committed to serving their communities, who had 
the challenges that every community does, in dealing with the areas of 
infrastructure and sanitary issues, sewer issues, their police, the 
safety of their people, but had a glint in their eye of the commitment, 
of the understanding of what was more important of what they were 
doing.
  They were not mayors who were just concerned about the public 
services that a city provides, but they were concerned about the path 
to liberty, the support the United States was providing to them and 
their ability to stabilize their country.
  Each of them was serving at a tremendous risk to themselves and their 
family, knowing that the idea that they were standing for, the beliefs 
that they were standing for, of liberty, was jeopardizing their life 
and the lives and the safety of their family.
  Now, recently, I had someone ask me why did I think the conflict in 
Iraq was increasing currently. I think we all know that as we take a 
look at Iraq and its path to liberty that there are those that 
benefited from the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein. There are those who 
benefited from this brutal dictatorship and they do not want to see 
this path to liberty this country is taking. They would prefer to have 
a brutal dictatorship that delivers out power and benefits to the few 
instead of the country benefiting from the freedom of all.
  I think the President's efforts in Iraq are best shown in the efforts 
that we have recently seen in Libya. We know that as a result of Iraq 
and the removal of Saddam Hussein, that Moammar Khadaffi has come 
forward and offered up his nuclear weapons program to the United States 
and other countries, indicating that he is abandoning his efforts of 
pursuing the weapons of mass destruction, particularly in the area of 
nuclear weapons and that he was much more advanced than what we had 
thought.
  What we know is by pulling Saddam Hussein out of a spider hole, in 
Libya we have seen that Moammar Khadaffi and the Libyans have coughed 
up their nuclear weapons program again to the greater safety of the 
world and to the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the chairman's leadership on this issue and 
for continuing to focus on the issue of protecting our troops.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to thank the gentleman for his 
great service in the Committee on Armed Services and his expertise to 
the markups we have had; also to his commitment to our people in 
uniform.
  Let me ask the gentleman his ideas on the morale of our troops. I 
understand this is a tough and difficult time. What is your take?
  Mr. TURNER of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, when I am asked this back at home 
about the issue of morale of our troops, I always tell everyone there 
are two components of morale. One is are you sure of your purpose? Two, 
do you want to come home?
  Everyone I met with, of course, wanted to come home and had very 
compelling stories of the sacrifice they were making in being away from 
their families. But everyone was absolutely sure of their purpose, not 
just for the liberation of Iraq but for the absolute nexus of their 
work for their safety of the United States. They know they are on the 
front lines of the war on terror and the war on terrorism. They know 
the efforts they are doing is making America safer.
  Every one of them when I asked about their commitment to being in 
Iraq, their desire to stay and finish the job, were absolutely 
committed to this, and from that I would say their morale was very high 
because they were doing what they love, which is defending our country 
and advancing the freedom and the safety of our country.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
  Let me ask the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes), who actually 
arrived first for this special order. I want to thank him for his 
special efforts and all the great service on the committee, and all the 
work he does for the people who wear the uniform for the United States. 
Please tell us about your experience in Iraq.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, first of all, we want to thank you for your 
diligent efforts on behalf of our men and women in uniform.
  Mr. HUNTER. We are all working together.
  Mr. FORBES. It is an important thing and we appreciate your 
leadership on this. I appreciate your conducting this special order 
tonight, because as you know so oftentimes the men and women fighting 
in Iraq never get their voices heard here. We hear a lot of negative 
voices and a lot of other things in the media, but they do not get to 
speak out unless we bring that message here.

                              {time}  1830

  Just a few nights ago I had an opportunity to speak to a large group 
of students, and they were in high school, and they had all been high 
achievers and had great academic excellence, and as I walked in that 
big auditorium, I was looking at all the students. I could not help but 
think that we had men and women over in Iraq who were just a couple of 
years older than they were, and because of their courage and what they 
were doing, that those students were able to meet there that night in 
freedom and in safety because these men and women in uniform from this 
country have gone there and taken the fight to the terrorists so that 
we are fighting in Iraq instead of fighting over here in our streets 
and in our hallways over here.
  Mr. Speaker, it just makes you proud to be a part of those young men 
and women.
  Mr. HUNTER. On that point, too, I would say to my good friend from 
Virginia, one thing that I think Americans understand is that we now 
live in

[[Page 7945]]

an age where we have to preempt, we have to go abroad, we have to go 
after the bad guys. That is what this President has done aggressively. 
He has gone after the bad guys. Up to that point we had had attacks on 
the Cole, we had attacks on embassies, we had terrorist acts around the 
world and we threw a few cruise missiles. We got a pharmacy knocked 
out, a pharmaceutical plant, and a relatively empty training ground in 
Afghanistan and two Chihuahuas and I do not think we hit the Chihuahuas 
under a previous administration, and I am being facetious. Actually, 
they were not effective enough to get Chihuahuas. So we had a very 
limited response to terrorist acts against our people. It killed our 
people.
  This President has gone after the bad guys in a furious way, and we 
have taken out terrorists in places where they never thought we would 
show up.
  We had the 10th Mountain Division guys come up over the top of those 
mountains at 10,000 feet elevation and, they killed these guys at close 
range in their foxholes and their fighting positions.
  We had people who went to meeting places where they thought they were 
totally meeting in secret, except for a team of Navy SEALS who had 
shown up before they did by great exertion and got there ahead of them.
  We have got American Marines right now locked in firefights at close 
range in Fallujah, where literally one mud wall may separate our forces 
and automatic weapons fire coming from the other side.
  So we have gone after the bad guys aggressively and there have been 
some rewards, and I think Americans reflect on those rewards.
  Mr. Khadaffi, who caused us enormous problems and caused us to have 
to take military action after he killed American servicemen through 
terrorist activities in Germany, and I remember the strike on the Gulf 
of Sidra that was made under Ronald Reagan. He decided, and I think one 
reason he decided was because of what he saw on his television set, he 
decided to start turning his nuclear program over to the United States 
and turning over tens of millions of dollars worth of equipment, and I 
think that is because he looked at his television set and he saw Saddam 
Hussein being led out of his spider hole and decided that he did not 
want to be in that position some day, and so we are now disarming Libya 
of its nuclear program without firing a shot. That is one result, one 
reward of having a President who has gone aggressively after the bad 
guys, and I think Americans understand.
  I thought what a great thing as I drove up from the gentleman from 
Virginia's (Mr. Schrock) district the other day, through the 
gentleman's district and through the gentlewoman from Virginia's (Mrs. 
Jo Ann Davis) district, what a wonderful thing that we, millions of 
Americans, live this great life, springtime in America, and you can 
drive up that highway, you can see the new rose buds coming out and the 
dogwoods blossoming, and we live this wonderful life with our families 
in security because we have great people in uniform who are 
aggressively going after the bad guys.
  We found out in 9/11 what happens when we do not aggressively go 
after the bad guys, when we bomb an empty pharmaceutical plant in 
response to killings of Americans.
  So I think the American people kind of understand that, and I think 
that has been reflected in every poll, and these things never come 
wrapped, I have discovered, in neat packages. Nothing ever flows 
smoothly. Lots of mistakes are made in wars. You have lots of problems 
with your logistics lines.
  I would like to see our armored situations coming along faster than 
they are. Even though we now have some 7,000 out of our 12,000 Humvees 
in theater, are now totally remanufactured Humvees or they are up-
armored, I would like to see all 12,000 that the Army has up-armored. I 
would like to see more gun trucks, more armored five tons, seven tons.
  This President has aggressively gone after the bad guys, and in those 
actions and the actions of our great people in uniform we have put the 
United States in a much better position than we were just a few years 
ago, and I thank the gentleman for talking about this.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I think one thing that September 11 shows 
very clearly is that we are going to fight this fight. The question 
that is left is just where are we going to fight the fight, whether we 
are going to fight it on our soil, we are going to fight it where the 
terrorists are.
  It is interesting if you took a microphone and interviewed each one 
of our men and women in uniform, as I know you do when you are in Iraq 
and you try to talk to them and we talk to them here, to the person, 
they will tell us this is a fight that we have to win, we need to be 
there.
  One of the things that, as I was just looking at that large group of 
high school students, I kind of threw away my speech and I was trying 
to think what could I tell them. The one thing that I told them was 
whatever you do, do not quit, and I remembered a story of a group of 
airplanes that had been lost over the Atlantic. They were trying to 
come into Florida. They had lost communications and it was dark. They 
were running out of fuel, and they did not know if they were heading in 
the right direction, and about 15 minutes before the lights would have 
opened up, they would have seen the base in Florida, they turned 
around, headed back out to the Atlantic, and they were never heard of 
again because they quit.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to just close with one statement that I heard 
from a sergeant that was over there in Iraq. When we were in Iraq, we 
stopped by Ramstein Air Force Base. As you know, that is where we take 
all of our wounded soldier, and there was this young sergeant who was 
25 years old, Puerto Rican soldier, who was in there. I went in and I 
talked to him, and literally in broken English he was telling me his 
story, how these terrorists had got him in Iraq and he had sent his 
platoon back. For 2\1/2\ hours he would not quit. He continued to fight 
the terrorists and to fire his gun. They finally came in, took him off 
on a stretcher. He continued firing.
  Mr. Speaker, he was shot in his arm. He was shot in his hip. The 
bottom bone in his leg was blown out, and when they took him into 
surgery in Ramstein, the doctors told me that as he was literally 
heading into surgery he looked at them and said I just have two things 
to ask you. He said, one, try to save my leg, which they were able to 
do; and the second thing he told them, which was a refrain we are 
hearing over and over and over again from our men and women over there, 
he said get me back to my troops.
  I went in and I put my arm on his shoulder, Mr. Speaker, and it was 
all I could do to hold back the tears, and I said I just do not know, 
Sergeant, how to thank you for what you have done. Without even 
thinking about it or batting an eye, he looked at me, and he said, 
Congressman, it was a privilege for me to be shot for my country and 
for freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, he did not quit on us, and this country is not going to 
quit on him, and thank you for holding this special order tonight.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for a very, very 
eloquent statement and for his great service to our country and as a 
great member of the Committee on Armed Services and his caring for our 
people in uniform. Thank you very much.
  It is a pleasure to call on the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo 
Ann Davis), who also is a great supporter of the U.S. military and a 
great member of the committee. Thanks for being with us.
  Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I want today to express 
in the strongest possible way my support for our Nation's ongoing 
missions to sow the seeds of liberty, security and prosperity in Iraq, 
and as you know and as you said, you have been through my district and 
you know that I represent an area in Virginia where thousands upon 
thousands of service members live and train, and those service members 
I represent and their families and all of our men and women in the 
military and their families. I want to say right now how much I thank 
them for everything that they are doing and that they are sacrificing 
for our country.

[[Page 7946]]

  It is one of the most honorable things that anybody could do, and 
most Americans have absolutely no idea how much dedication and 
commitment it truly takes to do what they do, and for that I and so 
many of our Members of Congress are truly grateful, as I know all the 
members on our Committee on Armed Services are.
  Mr. Speaker, I feel very strongly that Congress and the 
administration cannot afford to lose sight of how important it is that 
our mission succeeds in Iraq. Failure is not an option, and the gravity 
of the implications for the broader war on terror and the security of 
so many things is so enormous, and I would like to talk a little bit 
now about our Marines operating in Fallujah and the nobility and the 
goodness of their brave devotion to duty under fire from a largely 
faceless enemy. Their courage, their competence and commitment are the 
hallmark of everything that is and ever will be great about America.
  Our duty under Article I, section 8 of the Constitution, not to 
mention our own constitutional oath, absolutely compels us to make 
difficult choices in staying the course, regardless of the prevailing 
political winds at home and overseas. Anything else would dishonor the 
service of our Marines, our soldiers, sailors and airmen and all others 
who are supporting our effort, as well as the legacy and the memory of 
brave generations of all who have gone before them.
  Mr. Speaker, I will insert the full text of an April 25, 2004, 
article from the Los Angeles Times, which I am going to make reference 
to, with my statement in the record, and I would like to call my 
colleagues' attention to that article entitled: ``Keeping Spirits Up 
While They Hunker Down; Humor and a Lid on Emotions Help Echo Company's 
Marines Stay Focused in Fallouja.''
  Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to say that I know a friend and Naval 
Academy classmate of the commander of Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st 
Marine Regiment, the unit profiled in this story. The enthusiasm of the 
Echo Company commander that is referenced in this story is, as I can 
tell you firsthand, an absolutely contagious thing.
  It is vivid in friends of the company commander halfway around the 
world, and I trust and pray that it is also in the young Marines under 
his charge in Echo Company. We should consider ourselves blessed that 
we have this quality of leadership so abundantly present in our young 
officers who are on the tip of the spear in Fallujah and places like 
it.
  Captain Doug Zembiec, the leader of Echo Company, embodies everything 
that we envision in the young American officers with whom we entrust 
the lives of our young men and women.
  I would like to read an excerpt from the article that I referenced 
before. It reads:
  ``Just as the chaplain Saturday started to lead a group of Marines in 
song, a Marine sniper on the roof let loose several thunderous rifle 
blasts at armed insurgents moving into position for a possible attack. 
If the Marines in the room below took any notice, they didn't show it. 
Instead, they launched into `Lord, we lift Your name on high.'
  ``For the young men of Echo Company of the 2nd Battalion, 1st 
Regiment of the 1st Marine Division, the sound of sniper fire, or 
mortar rounds, rockets or bursts from automatic weapons is hardly 
noticeable anymore.
  ``Other companies and other battalions have done their share of 
fighting in Fallujah, but none have done more than Echo Company of the 
2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division,'' and I am still 
quoting from the article.
  ``All military groups take on the personality of their commander. For 
Echo Company, that's Captain Douglas Zembiec, 31, of Albuquerque, a 
balding, gregarious man who, in glasses, looks like a high school 
science teacher but was a former wrestler at the Naval Academy.
  ``Zembiec believes in leading from the front. He led the charge into 
hostile fire that started the Marine assault April 6 on the 
neighborhood and has been known to disregard his own safety to get a 
clear radio transmission during combat.
  ``His admiration for his troops is hard to contain.
  ```They're fired up, they're motivated,' he said while filling out 
forms requesting medals for bravery for several of his men. `These are 
young men who grew up wanting to be defenders. What other kind of job 
has this kind of honor and danger?'
  ``Gunnery Sergeant Daniel Jonas, 35, of San Diego, who served in 
Operation Desert Storm and Kosovo, said Zembiec's enthusiasm and his 
policy of giving authority to enlisted Marines have helped sustain 
morale.
  ```This is a very close company,' he said.
  ``There are, inevitably, strong bonds formed from facing danger and 
from their mutual dependence.
  ```We're out here for each other,' said Private First Class Bernard 
Boykin, 21, of Eugene, Oregon. `I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.'
  ``And what will the men of Echo Company remember when it is over?
  ```I'll always remember the good times, the jokes, the stories,' said 
Lance Corporal Chris Hankins, 19, of Kansas City, Missouri. `But the 
bad things, the dead bodies, seeing my friends bleeding and being 
carried away, I hope to forget that.'''
  Mr. Speaker, it is beyond me how any American could read this 
article's capsule of a leader's laser-like vision of his mission, the 
resolve of those under his charge, and the mutual esteem and faith that 
they are driven by and not be deeply moved and humbled. It should 
remind us to the depths of our being how fortunate we are to be 
Americans.
  It is the service of Echo Company and their contemporaries that we 
cannot dishonor by failing to stabilize Iraq. Regardless of one's view 
on what led us there, our vision of the need to stay the course there 
absolutely must be a common one. As you have said, Mr. Speaker, we have 
got to remain steady, and that is the one thing that is the message 
that we have got to send to the American people, we have got to send to 
our troops who are over there fighting for us.
  Before closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Colonel 
Michael Shupp, our former Marine House liaison director who will 
shortly be assuming command of the 1st Marine Regiment in Iraq.
  Colonel Shupp took me on my first CODEL to Afghanistan, and I have 
watched him as he has been readying to change and to go over to Iraq to 
command the 1st Marine Regiment in Iraq.

                              {time}  1845

  And I have seen the excitement and the grin on his face that you 
cannot keep him from showing when he is ready to leave to go over and 
do his duty. That is what our Marines are like. That is what every one 
of our men and women in uniform are like. That is why we have to stay 
steady on this course.
  Colonel Shupp, who is a proud graduate of VMI, has been a treasured 
friend to all of us, and I know I speak for all 434 of my colleagues. 
We will sorely miss him, but I know that our country needs people like 
Captain Zembiec, that I referenced, and Michael Shupp if we are to 
succeed in filling our oath to preserve, protect, and defend the 
Constitution.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from 
California and all the members of the House Committee on Armed Services 
who have fought so diligently to fight and protect and give our men and 
women in the military what they need so that we can stay the course and 
stay steady.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record the Los Angeles Times article I 
referred to earlier.

              [From the Los Angeles Times, Apr. 25, 2004]

 The World; Keeping Spirits Up While They Hunker Down; Humor and a Lid 
    on Emotions Help Echo Company's Marines Stay Focused in Fallouja

                            (By Tony Perry)

       Fallouja, Iraq.--Just as the chaplain Saturday started to 
     lead a group of Marines in song, a Marine sniper on the roof 
     let loose

[[Page 7947]]

     several thunderous rifle blasts at armed insurgents moving 
     into position for a possible attack.
       If the Marines in the room below took any notice, they 
     didn't show it. Instead, they launched into ``Lord, we lift 
     your name on high.''
       For the young men of Echo Company of the 2nd Battalion, 1st 
     Regiment of the 1st Marine Division, the sound of sniper 
     fire--or mortar rounds, rockets or bursts from automatic 
     weapons--is hardly noticeable anymore.
       Other companies and other battalions have done their share 
     of fighting in Fallouja, but none have done more than Echo 
     company of the 2/1.
       Hunkered down in several adjoining two-story homes in an 
     abandoned, bullet-ridden neighborhood in the northwestern 
     corner of the city, the Marines of Echo Company have engaged 
     in skirmishes with insurgents nearly every day for three 
     weeks.
       And if the order comes for a full-out assault on the city 
     center, there is no doubt that Echo Company will be a major 
     part of the operation.
       ``This is what Marines do,'' said Sgt. Casey Olson, 26, of 
     Fargo, N.D. ``They fight.''
       They also laugh, grieve and bottle up their emotions to 
     stay focused on the heavily armed insurgents who lie only a 
     few hundred yards away.
       Despite a cease-fire agreement and a call for the people of 
     Fallouja to relinquish their heavy weapons, arranged with the 
     help of Iraqi mediators, the troops of Echo Company, and the 
     battalion's other companies, Fox and Golf, have been attacked 
     daily.
       Last week, Echo Company fought a five-hour battle with 
     insurgents, leaving three Marines wounded and scores of 
     insurgents dead or injured.
       The notion of a cease-fire has brought a kind of sarcastic 
     battlefield humor.
       The insurgents aren't really firing mortar rounds at the 
     Marines, they're only trying to turn in their mortars one 
     shell at a time, the troops joke. And those insurgents 
     running between houses with AK-47s and rocket-propelled 
     grenades? They are actually running to a Marine checkpoint to 
     give up their weaponry.
       The floors of the homes occupied by Echo Company are a 
     jumble of weapons, sleeping bags, magazines, DVDs, MRE 
     rations, cartridge belts, letters from home.
       Concrete walls have been knocked down between rooms and 
     between houses to keep the Marines from having to venture 
     into alleys.
       The Marines cordoned off the city five days after four U.S. 
     civilian security contractors were slain and their bodies 
     mutilated.
       Marines sleep 10 or more to a room. Snipers are on the 
     roofs, streets are blocked with concertina wire, and houses 
     are barricaded with sandbags. The formerly vibrant, middle-
     class neighborhood has become a ghost town after residents 
     fled the fighting.
       There is no water or electricity; the sewer system has 
     stopped functioning. Resupply convoys arrive under heavy 
     protection. The wind carries dust storms down the streets and 
     the sound and sight of mortar rounds and rockets fill the 
     evening darkness.
       The insurgents, several hundred yards away, have been using 
     mosques as rallying spots. The minaret of one mosque offers a 
     direct view of the alley between the homes occupied by the 
     Marines, a perfect vantage point for insurgent snipers.
       Two weeks ago, two members of Echo Company were killed and 
     seven wounded during an attack by insurgents. The painful 
     memory lingers.
       ``It was the worst night of my life,'' said Navy medical 
     corpsman Jason Duty, 20, of New London, Conn. ``You take 
     classes, symposiums, training on mass casualties, but it 
     slaps you in the face when you see nine guys bleeding, 
     screaming.''
       A small memorial with a tiny American flag has been erected 
     for the two Marines killed: Lance Cpl. Robert Zurheide of 
     Tucson and Lance Cpl. Brad Shuder of El Dorado Hills, Calif.
       ``You just can't think about it, you can't,'' said Lance 
     Cpl. Christopher Rodriguez, 19, of Des Moines. ``You just 
     keep pushing forward.''
       Rodriguez says he notices things that lift his spirits when 
     he is on patrol and entering other abandoned houses looking 
     for insurgents.
       ``You see things--like baby pictures and a Barbie doll, 
     maybe some toys,'' Rodriguez said. ``You realize these are 
     people who want a good life. And we can help them have it.''
       Lt. Ben Wagner, 27, of San Diego said the Marines of Echo 
     Company have had to build ``an emotional wall'' to block out 
     things that could distract them.
       ``It's not easy or fun. But as platoon commander, if I'm 
     sad or upset, it affects other people,'' Wagner said. ``The 
     same is true of the other Marines. You have to stay focused 
     on the job, even if it's hard.''
       ``Two-thirds of the company served in the invasion of Iraq 
     in March 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime. Now, its 
     members say, it's more difficult, more confusing, more 
     tragic.
       ``It's worse this time,'' said Cpl. Joshua Hill, 22, of 
     Huntsville, Texas. ``Last time, we fought the Iraqi army and 
     they surrendered. This time, it's like we're fighting the 
     Iraqi people and they don't understand we're trying to help 
     them.''
       Olson agreed that ``they seem more determined this time. 
     We're going to be beat them, but they seem more determined.''
       All military groups take on the personality of their 
     commander. For Echo Company, that's Capt. Douglas Zembiec, 
     31, of Albuquerque, a balding, gregarious man who, in 
     glasses, looks like a high school science teacher but was a 
     former wrestler at the Naval Academy.
       Zembiec believes in leading from the front. He led the 
     charge into hostile fire that started the Marine assault 
     April 6 on the neighborhood and has been known to disregard 
     his own safety to get a clear radio transmission during 
     combat.
       His admiration for his troops is hard to contain.
       ``They're fired up, they're motivated,'' he said while 
     filling out forms requesting medals for bravery for several 
     of his men. ``These are young men who grew up wanting to be 
     defenders. . . . What other kind of job has this kind of 
     honor and danger?
       Asked what kind of day his Marines are having, Zembiec 
     said, ``A terrific day. We just whacked two [insurgents] 
     running down an alley with AK-47s.''
       Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Jonas, 35, of San Diego, who served in 
     Operation Desert Storm and Kosovo, said Zembiec's enthusiasm 
     and his policy of giving authority to enlisted Marines have 
     helped sustain morale.
       ``This is a very close company,'' Jonas said.
       There are, inevitably, strong bonds formed from facing 
     danger and from their mutual dependence.
       ``We're out here for each other,'' said Pfc. Bernard 
     Boykin, 21, of Eugene, Ore. ``I wouldn't want to be anywhere 
     else.''
       And what will the men of Echo Company remember when it is 
     over?
       ``I'll always remember the good times, the jokes, the 
     stories,'' said Lance Cpl. Chris Hankins, 19, of Kansas City, 
     Mo. ``But the bad things, the dead bodies, seeing my friends 
     bleeding and being carried away, I hope to forget that.
       ``I never want to think about that again.''

  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her great 
service on the Committee on Armed Services and her dedication to our 
people in uniform. What a wonderful, wonderful statement she has made, 
and especially relating it to the people that wear the uniform, because 
they are literally America's heart and soul over in that military 
theater.
  So I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia very much, and now I would 
like to yield to the gentlewoman's colleague, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Schrock), who has done a great job on our committee and 
works very hard and has served our people in uniform, so he has a 
little background there himself.
  Let me ask the gentleman what his take is on the situation in Iraq 
right now. How does my colleague see it?
  Mr. SCHROCK. Well, Mr. Speaker, I am totally convinced that our men 
and women know exactly what they are doing. They are proud to be there 
and doing exactly what we task them to do. It looks like we have made 
some major headway today in Fallujah. I think it was long past time 
when we did do that. This constant drip, drip, drip of our folks 
getting injured and killed could only go on so long, and I think we 
gave those people far and enough time to get out of there so we could 
go in there. Now they have done that; and, hopefully, we are going to 
bring a little peace to that area and will settle things down.
  The interesting thing is I think Americans believe when they see 
actions like Fallujah, that the whole country is on fire and the whole 
country is being bombed. It is not. Most of the country is stable and 
being brought back to life. Schools are open, courts are open, the 
water systems are up and running, sewer systems are up and running. But 
when we have one little area like that that is being attacked, the 
perception is that the whole country is like that, and it is not.
  It is interesting, our men and women know what they are doing and 
they do a great job. And even those who have been injured and brought 
to field hospitals want to get well and get back again. They want to go 
back to join the folks they were fighting with so they can bring this 
thing to a conclusion because they know it is the right thing to do.
  I think that is the story that, unfortunately, does not get out very 
often. Good news is no news in so many cases, and there are so many 
good stories over there that are going on. It is a

[[Page 7948]]

shame the American people are not allowed to share in those. And I 
think the news media, unfortunately, has not done a good enough job of 
showing the good-news stories in Iraq. That is said not only for our 
men and women but for their families back home.
  Mr. HUNTER. I think the gentleman understands, too, that there is no 
substitute in terms of a dramatic picture on the television screen for 
a burning truck or for an explosion or bullet-riddled vehicle. That, 
unfortunately, tends to sell more Coca Cola
  Mr. SCHROCK. It does.
  Mr. HUNTER. I would compare it to some of the TV stations who say we 
are going to make our 5 o'clock news wall to wall wrecks. We are not 
going to have a lot of content, but we are going to have wall to wall 
wrecks, and we will get a certain viewership just from doing that. I 
think nationally you see the same thing. So they do not see the good 
things. An electric line being hooked up will put you to sleep, and it 
is nothing like a burning vehicle. I think that is one of the things 
that we are fighting against. I am glad the gentleman is here to talk 
about the accomplishments.
  Mr. SCHROCK. Mr. Speaker, I think it is kind of a sad commentary, 
too, because our folks are doing such a great job. When they see all 
the bad stuff and when they know they are doing the good stuff, it 
demoralizes them.
  The two times I have been privileged to be in Iraq, these men and 
women are so supercharged about what they are doing and know they are 
doing the right thing. Whether they are active duty, Reserve, or Guard, 
they all work together as one big unit, and I think we should be very, 
very proud of every single one of them.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those great 
statements because he has worn the uniform for a long time himself. The 
gentleman's feeling is that our people have good morale?
  Mr. SCHROCK. I think the morale is very, very good; and I think I 
have something to compare it with. I was privileged to serve my country 
in Vietnam for a couple of years, so I know what good morale is and 
what it is not. I think the morale of these young men is far better 
than it ever was when I was in Vietnam. Because, frankly, this 
President made it very clear what the mission was and what the end game 
was. When we send people in there knowing that is what they need to do 
and they need to get it done fairly quickly, people will serve and 
serve very well; and they will be enthusiastic about it.
  We did not do that in Vietnam. We played a limited war game in 
Vietnam, and we were never in there to win.
  This President is in there to win the war on terror. Because if we do 
not, it will be spread not only to the countries of the Middle East but 
everywhere and right here on our soil. And, frankly, I would rather 
fight it on their soil than have to fight it here at some point.
  Mr. HUNTER. What is interesting, too, Mr. Speaker, is that those who 
have stepped back from the fray, some of the Arab nations, like Saudi 
Arabia, have now discovered that they are targets; that you cannot, by 
staying away from this fight that the Americans have taken on, because 
we face our threats head on and take them on, they thought somehow they 
could stay out of the battle and they could stay away from the 
brutality of the terrorist groups. But they have discovered now they 
cannot do that. Jordan is discovering it cannot avoid this conflict.
  And I think there is another thing, too, that the world understands, 
and perhaps more leaders in the world need to be educated on this. We 
won World War II. We could have enslaved Germany and Japan. And 
certainly after what Japan did to us with the surprise attack at Pearl 
Harbor, the Japanese people were told by their military leaders to 
expect us to be as brutal to them as they had been to other people. 
They decapitated our POWs. They killed about a third of them. They 
killed 100,000 people when they took Nan-King, China. They speared live 
people on their bayonet courses. They captured Chinese civilians.
  They did all these brutal, horrible things, and they warned their 
people, they are now going to do to us what we have done to them. But 
American GIs walked down the streets of Tokyo and handed out Hershey 
bars. That character has not changed.
  When we look at the guys walking down the streets of Baghdad with a 
bunch of kids standing around them, we see the same character. In fact, 
many of those guys are the grandchildren of people who served in World 
War II and the children of people who served in Vietnam.
  That takes me to one thing, too, that I thought was very relevant, 
and that is the fight over the Presidency and Senator Kerry's 
participation in the Vietnam War, for which he should be credited, but 
also the accountability that he should take for what he said about his 
fellow GIs.
  If we were to take three of the statements Senator Kerry has said, 
the one where he said 80 percent of us were stoned on dope 24 hours a 
day; the one where he said that we murdered 200,000 people, that was 
two of those statements; and the one where he said that we ravaged the 
countryside, cutting off limbs and murdering people in a manner, quote, 
reminiscent of Ghengis Khan, if Senator Kerry had said that our GIs in 
Iraq, as they were driving up that country, if he had come on 
television and said the American soldiers in Iraq are stoned 24 hours a 
day, 80 percent of them; that they have murdered 200,000 Iraqis, and 
they are ravaging Iraq in a manner reminiscent of Ghengis Khan, the 
American people would be picketing his office by the tens of thousands, 
and he would be on his way out immediately.
  So if we just juxtapose and take off that word Vietnam from the 
statement he made in 1971, where he said American GIs were ravaging 
Vietnam like Ghengis Khan and had murdered 200,000 people, if we took 
out Vietnam and put Iraq on it, I think Americans today can understand 
why a lot of Vietnam veterans feel no close kinship to Senator Kerry. 
Because those guys that were driving up there through the heart of Iraq 
taking that shot and shell and heading for Baghdad, those kids were the 
same guys we had in Vietnam. Many of them were the sons and grandsons. 
Same character, same characteristics, same sense of honor, and doing 
the same great thing for the people.
  Lastly, I remember the pictures of the people, of all the hundreds of 
thousands of Vietnamese who tried to swim after the Americans after we 
left Vietnam. I remember also the pictures of the people being held in 
the Hong Kong camps who were now going to be forcibly repatriated back 
to what I guess Mr. Kerry's cohorts would call the people's working 
paradise in Vietnam. They were holding on to the guards and they were 
shrieking and they were beside themselves. They would do anything and 
had to be sedated to be finally put on the planes to be carried back to 
Communist Vietnam.
  That showed, to a large degree, the character of the Americans that 
had been in Vietnam. If we had been bad to the people, they would not 
have tried to swim after us after we left. And they are today in our 
populations by the hundreds of thousands.
  So I thought about that when I watched that embedded news following 
our kids in the 1st Marine Division in Iraq and following the 101st 
Airborne and the 3rd Army and the 4th Infantry Division. Same people, 
same GIs, same good people.
  Mr. SCHROCK. And, Mr. Speaker, the chairman of our House Committee on 
Armed Services is absolutely right. And if, in fact, he witnessed those 
sorts of events and did not try to do anything about that, then shame 
on him. He should have. Where I was in Vietnam, I never experienced 
people who acted like that, and I do not think we have men and women in 
Iraq doing that now. They are there to do their duty. They are not 
engaged in all those other activities he accused others of doing in 
Vietnam, and I think that is a sad commentary.
  Mr. HUNTER. Well, I think American Vietnam veterans should simply 
look at his statements, and if they agree with those statements, if 
they did

[[Page 7949]]

those things, and they think that is accurate, then they should vote 
for Mr. Kerry.
  Mr. SCHROCK. That is right. And I was part of Operation New Life when 
I was stationed on Guam. We had 130,000 refugees come on packed boats 
so they could get out of there and come to a better life. So, believe 
me, they wanted to get out of there just as the Iraqis want the freedom 
we are giving them.
  One thing many Iraqis told me when I was there was, please do not cut 
and run, because we had had such a habit of doing that. They were 
afraid they would start supporting our efforts to free them and we 
would back away and they would have to pay the penalty.
  But this President is determined to get this thing done and get it 
done right, and he is not going to cut and run. We have to stay the 
course as long as it takes.
  Mr. HUNTER. Stay steady.
  Mr. SCHROCK. Stay steady.
  Mr. HUNTER. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. SCHROCK. Mr. Speaker, I really thank the gentleman from 
California for his leadership. I hope the people in California's 52nd 
District realize how fortunate they are to have a man of his caliber 
representing them back here at this particular time in our history. The 
gentleman understands it better than most because he is the parent of 
one of these men that is involved in this battle. And there is nothing 
like that to make one realize exactly what is important. So to the 
gentleman and his wife, Lynn, we thank them; and we are sure Duncan 
will come home very safely and very soon.
  Mr. HUNTER. Well, Mr. Speaker, I would suggest the gentleman not 
praise me too much, because this Special Order has to stay credible.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his great remarks, and I now 
want to welcome the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson), who is 
carrying on the great tradition of Floyd Spence, my great buddy and 
friend and former chairman of the Committee on Armed Services. I thank 
him for the sacrifices his family has made and he has made in being in 
the service, and for his dedication to our people in uniform.
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
California, and we appreciate greatly our colleague's past military 
service, we appreciate his service now as chairman of the Committee on 
Armed Services, and we are very grateful for the service of his son, 
who is currently in Iraq. We are just so pleased that the gentleman is 
leading the effort to explain to the American people the significance 
of the war on terrorism.
  Mr. Speaker, I will be providing for the Record a prepared statement, 
but I would like to give a brief synopsis, and it really relates to 
earlier this month my having had the opportunity to serve on a 
bipartisan delegation led by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Rogers) 
and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge).
  The intent of our trip was to visit Iraq. On the way, though, we had 
several stops. First, it was to Qatar, then Iraq, then Jordan, and then 
Hungary. What I found out at every place that we stopped is that the 
war on terror is coming into place, and we have thousands of allies, 
professionals, working together to provide in the war on terror 
protection for the American people.
  When we first arrived in Qatar itself, we visited with the Iraqi 
Survey Group, and we found that there are hundreds of linguists putting 
together 32 million pieces of evidence, paper, video tape, computer 
disks, and computers themselves to put together the whole story and 
history of the Saddam Hussein dictatorship. This can be used for the 
later situation of a war crimes trial. Additionally, it can be used for 
putting together identification of criminals who are in the country of 
Iraq, in order to protect American soldiers.
  Then we visited Iraq itself, and I was very pleased at the airport to 
visit with the FBI command post and found the very dedicated FBI agents 
who are working to uncover the different bombings that have occurred in 
Iraq in order to protect the American citizens who are in Iraq.

                              {time}  1900

  We also helicoptered to Kirkush to visit with the North Carolina Army 
National Guard. While we were there, we of course met with troops from 
our home State, from my situation in South Carolina. It was a 2-day 
visit. At each stop we would visit with enlisted personnel, junior 
officers, and in meeting with them, it was so encouraging. When I was 
there in September, the young service members told me that 70 to 90 
percent of the people that they met on the streets, and that is how 
they patrol. It is not by speeding Humvees. They walk the streets. 
Seventy to 90 percent are supportive of the liberation of their country 
and the ability to develop a democratic Iraq. Now when I was there just 
this month, the number is 90 percent. I kept stretching and asking 
them, are you sure? They told me that indeed the people are supportive 
of the efforts made by all of our allies. We have got 32 countries with 
25,000 troops in Iraq working to build a democratic country.
  We also had the opportunity to visit with personnel who had helped 
reestablish the Ministry of Health in Iraq. Currently there are 240 
hospitals in Iraq which are open and 1,200 primary health care clinics. 
This is extraordinary because traditionally that has not been available 
for the average citizens. Health care was for the elite of the Baath 
Socialist Party.
  Additionally, we visited Jordan. In visiting Jordan, I found visiting 
the International Police Training Center that there are professional 
police from 20 countries who are training in classes of 500 Iraqi 
police. Ultimately by the end of next year, 32,000 police officers will 
be trained to serve in Iraq. That night I visited with the chairman of 
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AmCham, in Jordan, who told me that 
there have been two business conferences where there are in place 
contracts to establish hopefully over a million new jobs in the country 
of Iraq. This is extraordinary, the progress being made.
  Finally, we came back through Hungary. We visited the International 
Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest, where since 1995 law enforcement 
officers have been trained to fight organized crime and they are 
preparing for police officers from Iraq to fight organized crime which 
works with terrorism. I am so encouraged by the visit to Hungary. It 
was symbolic. Fifteen years ago, Hungary was a totalitarian police 
state. Today it is a democratic member of NATO. Nobody would have ever 
dreamed this could occur in 15 years. That is the vision that our 
President has for the Middle East, that it be democratic, that it be 
peaceful and that it protect the people of the United States from 
terrorist activities.
  I thank the gentleman again for his efforts.
  Thank you Mr. Chairman, we appreciate your past military service and 
now chairmanship of Armed Services Committee, we are grateful for your 
son serving in Iraq.
  Mr. Speaker, during the first week of April, I served on a bipartisan 
delegation led by Congressmen Mike Rogers and Bob Etheridge to visit 
Iraq, but I found every stop in Qatar, Iraq, Jordan, and Hungary to be 
a crucial part of the Global War on Terror.
  I saw first hand courageous coalition forces of dozens of nations 
working with determination to stop terrorism from destroying modern 
civilization. Without fanfare or attention, American families are being 
protected by professionals who are making every reasonable effort to 
keep the terrorists on the defensive overseas and deter further attacks 
on civilians in North America.
  As the media correctly reported the violence of the week in Iraq, the 
global interrelation with terrorism was evidenced by another bombing in 
Madrid while terrorist cells with truck loads of explosives were 
arrested in England and Jordan. The worldwide conflict is not solely 
war in Iraq. The Jordanian explosives yesterday were revealed to 
include chemicals which could kill up to 80,000 civilians.
  In Qatar, we were immediately taken to Camp As Sayliyah for a 
briefing by the Iraqi Survey Group. Hundreds of linguists and analysts 
are cataloging 32 million documents retrieved from Iraqi Government 
ministries, terrorist sites, Saddam Hussein's many palaces, and dual-
use laboratories to recreate a paper, computer disk, and videotape 
history of the Hussein dictatorship.
  The evidence of war crimes will be presented at upcoming trials and 
the recovered

[[Page 7950]]

individual criminal records can now be used to protect American troops 
from violent criminals released by Hussein prior to Iraq's liberation.
  Visiting troops from South Carolina was a highlight of my trip, and I 
enjoyed seeing personnel of all ranks enthusiastic with high morale. It 
was especially meaningful to meet with Columbian Major David G. Ellison 
who still has a will I prepared for him when I was a mobilization JAG 
officer with the S.C. Army National Guard.
  With 2 days in Iraq at the height of renewed violence we found morale 
high, and the South Carolina troops who patrol by walking the streets 
said 90 percent of the Iraqis were grateful for liberation, which is 
higher than the estimates I learned in a September visit. My 
appreciation for the troops and their families is profound. My oldest 
son is now deployed in Iraq, and I was able to speak by phone with him 
as he begins his year of active duty.
  In Baghdad, we visited the FBI Command Post where experienced agents 
from across America lead investigations of identifying terrorists, 
uncovering terrorist financing, and analyzing bombings and murders of 
Americans. This came to life with Congressman Rogers, a former FBI 
agent, and by the accompaniment of Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge 
Tom Fuentes who has an extensive career of professional investigation.
  We helicoptered to Kirkush to visit with the newly arrived troops of 
the North Carolina Army National Guard. Their morale was high as it was 
explained that the local Iraqi security forces were making a real 
impact establishing order. Proof of the local forces' effectiveness is 
that Hussein loyalists are brutally attacking them with the Iraqis 
fighting back with a new resolve to build democracy.
  In concluding our briefings we met with Jim Haveman, formerly 
Community Health Director of Michigan, who explained the upgrading of 
Iraqi healthcare. The previous system, which was totally focused for 
the Baath Socialist Party members, has been expanded for all citizens 
and the Ministry of Health was among the first to be transferred to 
Iraqi control. All 240 Iraqi hospitals and more than 1,200 primary care 
clinics are open.
  Visiting Jordan was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise. Jordanians are 
enthusiastic in helping the coalition rebuild Iraq because a stable 
Iraq protects Jordan's growing economy.
  At the Jordan International Police Training Center, professional 
police from 20 nations are training classes of 500 Iraqi police 
trainees with a goal of producing 32,000 graduates by December 2005. 
Without notice or preselection our delegation interviewed four Iraqi 
students who told of their heartfelt desire to play a role in building 
a democratic Iraq.
  That evening I met with the Chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 
(AmCham) in Jordan. The AmCham had recently hosted in Jordan a second 
business conference on Iraq, together with Amman World Trade Centers. 
The conference was attended by many Iraqi business people during which 
it was suggested that contracts that are either in place or soon to be 
awarded to hopefully create more than 1 million new jobs in Iraq. The 
AmCham is promoting Jordan for the value it offers as a launching pad 
for doing business in Iraq.
  Hungary is home of the International Law Enforcement Academy at 
Budapest where since 1995 police officers from formerly communist 
nations have been trained to detect and fight financial and organized 
crime. Iraqis will soon join the classes to learn of the relationships 
between organized crime and terrorism, which work to acquire financing 
and provide munitions.
  In the former totalitarian police state of Hungary, which is now a 
dynamic member of NATO, it is a dream come true to see freedom flourish 
in just 15 short years of democracy. President Bush has this same 
vision of democracy for the Middle East, which he knows will benefit 
the people of the region and is the best way to protect American 
families from future terrorist attacks. Just as in Hungary, the road is 
bumpy, but the benefits are crucial for peace and freedom. After World 
War II we rebuilt Germany to deter it from being a breeding ground for 
communists and now in Iraq we can stop it from being a breeding ground 
for terrorists.
  September 11 confirmed we are in a global war we did not seek, but we 
clearly now have a choice of fighting terrorists overseas at their 
homes or we will fight them in America at our homes. From Qatar to Iraq 
to Jordan to Hungary competent and dedicated patriots are making a 
difference.
  In conclusion God Bless our Troops, we will not forget the attacks of 
September 11.
  Mr. HUNTER. I thank the gentleman for his remarks.

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