[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23152-23154]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   CONGRATULATING THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ

  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I rise to congratulate the people of Iraq 
on writing another chapter in the history of their nation. After the 
coalition forces toppled Saddam's oppressive regime, many believed it 
would take years until the Iraqis would be in control of their 
government apparatus. They were wrong. On June 28, 2004, the transfer 
of power took place and Iraqis became the rulers of their nation. On 
January 20, 2005, millions of people, including women, risked their 
lives to choose the members of a temporary Parliament responsible for 
drafting the new constitution. This past weekend, millions of Iraqis 
lined up to cast their ballots in more than 6,000 polling places across 
Iraq.
  The Iraqi people's vision of a free and stable Iraq led them to an 
important milestone--voting on a democratic Iraqi-written constitution. 
Last weekend, through will and determination, more than 60 percent of 
the eligible voters in Iraq chose to speak up against tyranny and 
oppression--a higher percentage of voter turnout than in the 2004 U.S. 
Presidential election.
  What we saw in Iraq on October 15, 2005, proved that even those 
oppressed for decades will peacefully choose their own future when 
given a chance to participate in a fair and open electoral process.
  There had been much speculation that a majority of Sunnis would 
boycott the referendum. However, until the last few days before the 
vote, leaders of the Shi'a and the Kurds worked relentlessly to 
convince their Sunni countrymen and women to vote either for or against 
the constitution. Their work came to fruition when millions of Sunnis 
lined up to cast their ballots and decide the future of their country.
  While many Sunnis voted against the proposed constitution, the 
referendum sent a clear message that all Iraqis are willing to invest 
in the democratic process.
  By casting their ballots, millions of Iraqis also sent a strong 
message against terrorism. Ideology of hate has no place in the world, 
no place in Islam, and most certainly no place in Iraq. Terrorists' 
tactics of striking innocent men and women and children are despicable 
and cowardly. Terror has not derailed the political process, nor the 
establishment of the rule of law. Despite fears of retaliation by al-
Qaida and other terrorists, millions of Iraqis chose to participate in 
the process that will decide the future of their nation.
  The Iraqi security forces have also started to make a significant 
difference. According to our military leaders and officials on the 
ground, the Iraqi security forces were clearly in the lead in securing 
polling sites around the country. Backed by the coalition forces, the 
Iraqi military presence was increased by 35 percent since January. 
Press reports indicated that scattered instances of violence were 
quickly suppressed by the Iraqis.
  This accomplishment indicates the willingness of the Iraqi security 
forces to stand up to insurgents and protect their fellow countrymen. 
With each Iraqi soldier trained and equipped to carry out the mission, 
Iraq draws closer to be able to stand on its own and protect Iraq's 
freedom.
  As they have learned the power of the ballot box, Iraqis will soon be 
experiencing the strength of the rule of law during the trial of Saddam 
Hussein that convenes today. Only a couple thousand years ago, 
thousands of Iraqis--including women and children--were killed, 
tortured, and wrongfully imprisoned. Nevertheless, the current Iraqi 
Government fully understands the importance of a fair trial and the 
precedents it will establish. As a result of these advancements in 
Iraq, the country's most brutal dictator will face trial by a jury of 
his peers, a trial that thousands of Saddam's victims never received. 
The world will pay close attention as the Iraqi judicial system moves 
forward with this challenge. I am confident the Iraqis will adhere to 
the highest standard of the rule of law to reach a proper conclusion.
  Today, the successful referendum in Iraq would not have been possible 
without our brave men and women in uniform who were called by our 
Nation's leaders to perform a noble but difficult task. Their 
commitment and dedication to peace and prosperity around the globe has 
never been more evident. Nearly 150,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and 
marines are deployed in Iraq, doing their duty with pride, patriotism, 
and perseverance. Our success in Iraq and Afghanistan has not come 
without cost. Those who have fallen have served a cause greater than 
themselves and deserve a very special honor. My heart goes out to the 
families whose sons and daughters have made the ultimate sacrifice.
  The people of Iraq have clearly spoken of their desire for a free and 
democratic Iraq. The terrorists understand that their only chance is to 
break the will of the American people and force us to retreat. We will 
not waver in our support of the Iraqi people. We will not waver in our 
support of the democratic process and the rule of law. And we will not 
waver in our cause for freedom in a land that has known nothing but 
oppression. The lessons learned in previous world conflicts have proven 
that when the stakes are so high, we must remain firm, resist the 
enemy, and fight until the war is won.
  Mr. President, our Nation has a leader who has made it clear that 
winning the war on terror is a defining moment for the civilized world. 
Since September 11, 2001, President Bush has taken bold steps to ensure 
the safety and the security of the United States, especially against 
terrorist organizations and the nation states that support them.
  Specifically, since President Bush has taken office, the United 
States, under his leadership, has--and I would like to list a number of 
successes against terrorist organizations--overtaken two terrorist 
regimes, rescued two nations and liberated some 50 million people; 
captured or killed close to two-thirds of known senior al-Qaida 
operatives; captured or killed 45 of the 55 most wanted in Iraq, 
including Iraq's deposed dictator, Saddam Hussein; hunted down 
thousands of terrorists and regime remnants in Afghanistan and Iraq; 
disrupted terrorist cells on most continents and likely prevented a 
number of planned attacks.
  This is an astounding record of accomplishment for our Commander in 
Chief, his national security staff, and the phenomenal men and women of 
our military services. The United States went to war in Afghanistan and 
Iraq,

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risking significant loss of life and treasure to protect our way of 
life. Our goals are clear and twofold: Destroy the nexus of terrorism 
and weapons of mass destruction that personified the two ousted regimes 
and create in their stead stable, democratic states able to participate 
in the modern world today. And we see the results of that successful 
effort in both Afghanistan and Iraq. We succeeded in our first goal, 
having killed or captured perpetrators and supporters of the enemy 
terrorists.
  As I discussed previously, the courageous people of Afghanistan and 
Iraq are making remarkable progress toward adoption of constitutional 
reforms to secure momentum for a lasting democratic independence. Our 
Commander in Chief deserves recognition for these achievements. America 
is safer because he took action, and the world will be a better place 
when the foes of freedom are defeated. We must stay the course and 
follow through with determination and perseverance. We must turn to 
those who doubt our mission and speak of the tremendous courage being 
shown by the Iraqi and Afghan people who are just beginning to enjoy 
the fruits of freedom. We must constantly thank our men and women in 
our Armed Forces who have so valiantly served our Nation, and we must 
remind ourselves that the global war on terrorism is not about religion 
or ethnicity; it is about freedom and whether we will allow others to 
dictate our freedom. We must not give in to the ideology of terror, and 
we must remain committed to those who need our assistance so much.
  As we review the history of Saddam Hussein as he begins standing 
trial today, I view with optimism the ability of the Iraqi people to 
conduct a fair and just trial. They face a history of continued 
inhumane actions by a ruthless dictator in Saddam Hussein for thousands 
upon thousands of people who were massacred and killed for no real, 
apparent reason other than the fact that they disagreed with Saddam, 
who was the ruthless dictator in charge.
  History takes us back many years. Saddam came into power a number of 
decades ago, and during that time we saw a record number of injustices 
that occurred to the Iraqi people. We saw, in 1980, the persecution of 
the Faylee Kurds. We saw, in 1983, the Kurdish massacres targeted 
against Barzanis and the KDP. In 1988, we saw the Anfal campaign. As 
many as 182,000 people disappeared during this time period.
  In 1988, we saw in Halabja the Saddam regime launched chemical 
attacks against more than 40 of its own villagers. On March 16, 1988, 
the regime dropped sarin and VX on the town of Halabja, killing more 
than 5,000 people and injuring thousands more. Many of the survivors 
suffered long-term medical complications, and thousands died. There 
have been significant instances of birth defects in children born to 
parents of Halabja, and many are still suffering from the effects of 
the attack.
  In 1991, during the Shi'a uprising in the south, the regime brutally 
massacred tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians. Also in 1991, 
once Kurdish autonomy was declared, many Kurds living below the green 
line were massacred, leaving mass gravesites in the Kirkuk region. In 
1991, with an uprising in Najaf, we saw again the demonstrated 
brutality of this regime. As it put down the uprising, many of the 
perpetrators were rounded up, were arrested, and many of the 
participants who were placed in jails were tortured.
  The Marsh Arabs, whose people had lived for thousands of years in the 
longstanding Marsh Arab area, were forced to leave the land after it 
was no longer cultivable and habitable because the regime decided to 
divert their waters to other sources.
  All Iraqis who opposed or questioned the leadership of Saddam 
Hussein, whether Shi'a, Sunni, Christian, Kurd, Turkoman, or other, 
were systematically intimidated, tortured, and executed during the 
regime.
  We are now in a new chapter of the trial of Saddam Hussein. Many of 
these atrocities will come to light. As I mentioned earlier, I have a 
lot of faith in the Iraqi people, that they will conduct the trial in a 
responsible way following international law and also, in some 
instances, applying their local law.
  The credit for freeing the Iraqi people I think goes to the men and 
women in the Armed Forces, it goes to the American people who have 
shown perseverance through this period of time, and also to our 
President, our great leader, who has demonstrated strong leadership not 
only in America but across the world in this fight for freedom. The 
real beneficiaries are going to be the Iraqi and the Afghani people.
  I, along with many other Americans, will be watching as the trial 
runs its course. This is not going to be an American trial or any kind 
of world trial, although international procedures will be followed. But 
it will be a trial that will reflect the freedoms of the Iraqi people 
and reflect their form of justice.
  I wish the Iraqi people well. I commend our President for a job very 
well done. Again, I want to recognize the sacrifice and commitment of 
our men and women in the military who have been so brave and 
forthright, and have done overall a great job in representing America 
on the battlefield in their fight for freedom.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia is recognized.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, parliamentary inquiry: My understanding is 
the time at this point had been reserved for statements regarding the 
elections in Iraq. Am I correct? What is the time remaining?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning business time has now expired.
  Mr. WARNER. I ask unanimous consent the time be extended for a period 
not to exceed 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, my distinguished colleague from Colorado 
has spoken very eloquently with regard to the elections in Iraq. I 
would like to add a few thoughts of my own, for it was truly a 
momentous event in the sense that a nation which had not had any 
government since 1920 was given the opportunity to begin its course 
toward joining the nations of the free world to have some form of 
democracy of their own choosing--and I underline that: Of their own 
choosing. They thereby take a place in the world with a responsibility 
for securing the basic freedoms people worldwide desire.
  On Saturday, October 15, 2005, the Iraqi people, once again, 
following their historic election in January of this year, took another 
significant step forward in Iraq. We saw millions of Iraqis indicate 
their willingness to embrace the democratic process by virtue of their 
voting. There was a strong turnout nationwide, a significantly higher 
turnout than we anticipated in certain areas. This turnout, 
particularly in the Sunni regions, is more remarkable because it was 
often in the face of insurgent intimidation.
  We all observed three important signs of Iraqi progress in the events 
of October 15th. First, the electoral process proceeded as planned. 
Insurgent efforts to disrupt the elections that were attempted 
throughout the summer and right up to the elections simply did not 
succeed.
  Second, Iraqi Government's outreach to Sunni leaders during the 
constitutional drafting process is having an effect. Prime Minister al-
Jafari said, ``The victory for Iraq is that Iraqis are voting.''
  Third, the Iraqi security forces provided protection to more than 
6,000 polling sites. I cannot overstate the importance of that. The 
United States, together with its coalition partners, worked hard for 
some 2 years now to establish a military and a police force. I would 
say, having followed this very carefully in the Armed Services 
Committee, that significant progress has been made in the last 120 
days. We have established criteria to assess the quality and the 
professional level attained by these individuals, and how best to 
integrate them in the overall security framework needed to preserve and 
protect the Iraqi people and preserve their sovereignty. Real progress 
has been made. The voting day was an example of how they perform. At 
the polling sites, security was primarily the responsibility of either 
the Iraqi police

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or the national forces. It was clear and visible that the Iraqis took 
the lead in this effort. No security incident appeared to affect 
voting. The level of security breaches was far below the high of some 
300 breaches during the January election of this year. I believe there 
was less than 20 incidents total that tried to disrupt the election, 
but all failed to affect the casting of votes at these polling places.
  We have no confirmed figures on the results yet. We, the world, await 
the outcome. Newspapers throughout the world carry reports of the 
importance of the election and saluting those who made it possible--not 
just the security forces but also the United Nations and other 
international organizations which came in and supervised this historic 
day. Basically the streets were calm. In some places there were mild 
celebrations.
  Last month, for example, in Tall Afar in northern Iraq, coalition and 
Iraqi forces were engaged with insurgents for control of that city--a 
bitter battle. It is interesting that on Saturday the Independent 
Election Committee of Iraq estimated that 80 percent of the registered 
voters in that community voted. Therefore we must praise the efforts of 
the Iraqis, the U.S. civilian and military personnel, all those of our 
coalition partners and those of international organizations for 
planning and executing an electoral referendum in such a challenging 
environment. The United Nations chief electoral adviser in Iraq said:

       The process has gone so smoothly and well, from a technical 
     point of view.

  The Vice Chairman of the International Mission for Iraqi Elections, a 
coalition of electoral monitoring bodies, praised the referendum for 
its legal framework, planning, and logistics. Now the world will await 
the final result, due hopefully later this week. The Independent 
Electoral Commission in Iraq is supervising this process and will 
announce an official tally after votes are counted at a central 
location overseen by the United Nations election advisory team to 
ensure that international standards are being met.
  There are, no doubt, difficult days remaining ahead. Generals Abizaid 
and Casey told the Congress, the American people, and indeed the whole 
world, just that in appearances throughout the United States last 
month. Both men were confident that we are moving in the right 
direction. We saw that progress this Saturday and we salute them for 
their leadership and their participation and their responsibility in 
achieving the results that came about on Saturday.
  If the constitution is ratified, Iraqis will vote again on December 
15. This time they will vote for a permanent government to take office 
on December 31. That leaves 60 days, basically, between now and 
December 15. It will be a very unusual period in the history of Iraq, 
in that many of those in this current government, the interim 
government, will be seeking office in that election. So we have to 
exercise a degree of patience as we watch them, as they pursue their 
political campaigns at the same time they have official duties to 
maintain a government and serve the needs of the people of Iraq--
whether it is the power, whether it is the water, whether it is the 
security. All of those things must be maintained during this 
interregnum until the election takes place.
  Then, following December 15 there is basically a 60-day period as 
established under the law that they have adopted. There is a 60-day 
period in which that government must replace the existing one and take 
the reins of authority and govern Iraq for a period of 4 years--truly a 
permanent government.
  As this political situation matures, so too will the Iraqi security 
forces, and I am confident we will see a continued strong pace to 
obtain the needed numbers of trained police, border security, internal 
security, national guard, and a standing army to provide that nation 
with protection for its sovereignty and internal protection from the 
insurgents. With an Iraqi permanent government in place and steady 
progress in these security forces, I see--and I want to say with great 
caution--an opportunity, following the first of the year, to begin to 
review our present force structure and to consider such options as will 
hopefully be available to lessen the size of our overall troop 
presence.
  Watching Iraqis vote, we as Americans should be especially proud of 
the contributions of those men and women who proudly wear the uniform 
of the United States. When I speak with them in Iraq, as I did weeks go 
on my sixth trip, and in Afghanistan, they know the importance of what 
they are doing.
  I would like to underline that. Individually, they know and 
understand the importance of the mission which they, as members of the 
all-volunteer force of our military, have undertaken. Together with the 
commitments in support of their families back home, they are performing 
brilliantly in Iraq, Afghanistan, and all across the world, protecting 
the security of this Nation and the security of our principal allies.
  We will continue to demand from these people as we always have, but 
they are like generations before them, answering a call to duty to 
defend the values and freedoms we cherish. We wish them well. We wish 
the blessings of the Almighty on them and their families. We have taken 
heavy casualties in this conflict, both in terms of lost lives and 
wounded. Not a day goes by that those who are privileged to serve in 
this Chamber do not have that foremost in their minds, as do most 
Americans.
  I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The Journal clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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