[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10101]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   MESSAGE TO TROOPS: WE ARE WITH YOU

  (Mr. BRADY of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the Abu Ghraib prison guards in Iraq 
betrayed their fellow soldiers and our Nation with their indefensible 
acts. But this past week in Washington watching some Members of the 
House and Senate exploit this behavior to degrade our entire military 
and just score political points, I believe they betray our troops as 
well.
  It is never wrong to seek the truth, and we will find it in Abu 
Ghraib. But let us not make a bad situation worse with ill-chosen words 
and broad accusations. I reject the claim that ``Saddam's torture 
chambers reopened under new management, U.S. management.'' I reject 
those who malign the character of our entire military. And I reject 
those around the world who clamor that the prison guards reform the 
values of America, our soldiers, or our President. They are wrong.
  The real truth is that over 130,000 American fighting men and women 
endanger their own lives in Iraq each day. They serve far from the 
comfort of their families for long periods of time. The rest of the 
world should be down on its knees every night thanking them for it. We 
are.
  I have a message for our troops: Ignore the blowhards in Washington. 
Do not listen to the national media. You are good and decent people 
fighting for our freedom and security. Your friends and families know 
this. America knows this. We are with you.

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