[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 20]
[House]
[Pages 27575-27576]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             IRAQ SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, it is perhaps difficult for some to 
comprehend the extent of our successes in Iraq because they are focused 
on isolated incidents rather than looking at the totality of our 
efforts. So to fully grasp how far Iraq has come, it is necessary to 
take stock of these successes.
  My stepson, Doug Lehtinen, and his fiance, Lindsay Nelson, are 
serving in Iraq right now. They are marine officers flying F-18s along 
the Syrian border. They know that the security component of our efforts 
in Iraq is the cornerstone for our mission for victory.
  Iraqis are playing an ever-increasing role for providing for their 
own security. The Iraqi army and police forces are growing larger and 
are better trained and they are more effective than ever. The Iraqi 
army and security forces grew from just one operational

[[Page 27576]]

battalion in July 2004 to more than 120 today. Many critics note that 
only one battalion is rated at what the U.S. Army categorizes as a 
level one, fully independent degree of operability. However, over 40 
are at level two, which are capable of fighting, with some support, 
usually just logistics or artillery support from our coalition forces.
  All of these units are patrolling their own areas of operations, and 
the cities of Najaf and Mosul are now patrolled exclusively by Iraqi 
security forces, as are large portions of the city of Baghdad. And 
there are also roughly 80 battalions, both police and military, 
identified as category three and are currently fighting alongside our 
U.S. and coalition forces.
  As a result, the United States military recently transferred more 
than two dozen U.S. established bases to Iraqi control. In addition, 
there are now currently 25,000 Iraqi special police officers who can 
conduct combat and commando operations as well as routine policing 
duties. Also, there are 75,000 Iraqi police officers trained and 
equipped.
  And looking to the future, Mr. Speaker, the current plans include 
establishing 10 Iraqi army infantry divisions. That is 160,000 
soldiers, 135,000 regular police officers, 9,000 border police, in 
addition to the current force of 18,000, and 3,000 additional highway 
patrol officers in addition to the current level of 3,000, by the year 
2007.
  Today, thousands of young Iraqis are volunteering, volunteering for 
service, and they are training to become soldiers and police officers 
at several facilities throughout the country of Iraq. As a result, over 
225,000 Iraqi soldiers and police officers will be available to provide 
security for Iraq's nationwide election in just under 2 weeks. Yes, the 
third successful election which will take place in just a few days.
  Today, Iraqi security forces are strong enough to garrison and 
control cleared areas, as recently illustrated in the leading role 
taken by the Iraqis in the successful September 2005 offensive in Tal 
Afar. Both U.S. and Iraqi forces have enjoyed additional successes in 
eliminating insurgent strongholds in Fallujah, in Mosul, in Najaf, in 
Samara, and in many other smaller towns along the Syrian border.
  The increasing effectiveness of the Iraqi security forces has 
inspired optimism among the Iraqi people, and this is reflected in the 
growing number of intelligence tips from Iraqi civilians. According to 
reports in March 2005, Iraqi and coalition forces received 483 
intelligence tips from Iraqi citizens. This figure rose to 3,300 in 
August and to more than 4,700 in September. This has translated into 
further public confidence in the security situation in Iraq.
  Simultaneously, the increasing effectiveness of the Iraqi security 
forces has caused fear and derision within our enemies' ranks. 
Significant success securing the Syrian border, previously a sieve for 
Iraqi and foreign insurgents, has made it tougher for Syrian-based 
insurgents to orchestrate or support attacks in Iraq. As a result, 
homicide bombings by Islamic jihadists has reportedly been down 30 
percent since the October constitutional referendum.
  So the military and the security components of the strategy are laid 
out in the national strategy for victory in Iraq, as stated by the 
President, and it is due to the commitment of fighting men and women 
like my stepson, Doug, and his fiance, but also thanks to the brave men 
and women of the Iraqi security forces who continue to fight for their 
emerging democracy.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to look at the situation in Iraq, 
look at the threat posed by Iraq under the regime of Saddam Hussein, 
then look at Iraq today. There is no question that we are succeeding.

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