[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14525]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          COMMEMORATING THE ANNIVERSARY OF IRAQ'S SOVEREIGNTY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 4, 2005, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 1 minute.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Iraqi 
people on the anniversary of the establishment of Iraqi sovereignty. A 
year ago today, Iraq took the first crucial step toward establishing a 
democracy and rejoining the international community as a free nation. 
In January, as all of us know, the Iraqi people took another step 
forward. In defiance of an insurgency threatening to ``make the streets 
run with blood,'' 8.5 million Iraqis cast their ballots.
  Now, the political and administrative duties of government are run 
almost entirely by Iraqis. With the help of U.S. and coalition troops, 
Iraq's security forces now number approximately 170,000. The people of 
Iraq deal a crushing blow to the insurgency each and every day through 
the spirit and courage that they demonstrate. The American people stand 
firmly beside the people of Iraq in their efforts to establish full 
democratic rule for themselves.

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