[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 22647]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS

  (Mrs. DRAKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, this weekend I had the privilege to lead an 
armed services congressional delegation to Iraq. We had the great 
opportunity to visit with our brave fighting men and women, attend 
briefings by their commanders, and see firsthand the progress that is 
being made. We visited Camp Victory, Baghdad, Ballad, and Qatar. Our 
brave men and women are working very hard, they are making incredible 
progress, they are proud of what they are doing, they are determined to 
prevent another attack on our Nation, and they know a free and 
democratic Iraq means the spread of freedom throughout the Middle East 
and a safer world for all of us.
  As these courageous American heroes stand side by side with our 
allies and with Iraqi soldiers, they want to be assured that the 
American people support them, that the American people understand the 
mission, and that the American people understand the threat to the 
entire world. Today New Yorkers are on alert because of their efforts. 
What happens in Iraq matters to Americans. I thank them for their 
service.

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