[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 20804-20805]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           FREEDOM'S PROGRESS

  (Mr. PRICE of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 
people of Afghanistan on the elections they just held.
  The saying that ``freedom is not free'' rings true for those who 
defied

[[Page 20805]]

the Taliban, defied the warlords, and made history by freely electing 
their leaders this past Sunday.
  During the past 4 years, people have forgotten what the Taliban stood 
for: public executions at soccer stadiums; banning the Internet, music, 
television and education; preventing women from going to school or work 
outside the home. A woman caught wearing fingernail polish may have had 
her fingertips chopped off.
  This week however, Afghans, 12 million strong, have shown the world 
that they will not go back to tyranny, they will not take a step back 
into oppression, and will not buckle when taking on the challenges of 
democracy.
  Madam Speaker, Afghanistan demonstrates the most recent chapter in 
freedom's march. It is a glorious story whose success should be 
recognized and applauded.

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