[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 806]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             EXPRESSING AWE AND ADMIRATION FOR IRAQI PEOPLE

  (Mr. CHOCOLA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CHOCOLA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the fact 
that this Sunday, January 30, will be a truly historic day, a day when 
the Iraqi people, once oppressed and without a voice, will cast their 
vote in their nation's first democratic elections. It is an amazing 
fact when you think that just 2 years ago they suffered under a brutal 
dictatorship.
  There is no question that the desperate tactics and deliberate 
attacks will increase in the final days leading up to the election. But 
in spite of the efforts of those that hate freedom, the elections will 
take place; and it will begin a new period in Iraq's history, a 
beginning that will lead to freely elected leaders, a national assembly 
and a constitution founded on freedom and equal rights.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues and the people of this 
great country to join me in awe and admiration for the Iraqi people as 
they show the world the power of liberty and their determination to 
forge a path towards lasting freedom.

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