[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Pages 27907-27909]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ACCENTING THE POSITIVE

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I have a few issues to discuss in morning 
business. First, I desire to be more positive than what we have been 
hearing. It makes one depressed to hear the negative discussions. There 
are quite a number of positive things happening in this country. 
Perhaps we ought to talk about them.
  We have had the extraordinary growth in gross domestic production, 
growth in the economy over the last number of months, particularly in 
the last month, 3.5 percent growth. We have had more jobs than we have 
had for a very long time. We have more people working than we have had 
for a very long time. Certainly there are always issues we can talk 
about. The fact is we are moving forward on these issues. We are doing 
the things that need to be done. Indeed, we should.
  I am sometimes a little distressed that we seem to think the Federal 
Government is in charge of everything that affects our lives. That 
probably is not the case. We are also dealing with a great deficit. Yet 
we want to talk constantly about how we need more money for this and 
more money for that, more money for all these things. We are in a 
country where we have several levels of government. There ought to be 
some division of responsibility. That is our system. We should have 
somewhat of a limited Federal Government, we are not into every issue. 
It is disappointing to hear that everything occurring to everyone is a 
responsibility of the Federal Government.
  We also ought to understand when we have some sort of effort to 
reduce taxes, that helps increase the economy. We have seen more 
revenues when we have less taxes. The economy grows. There is more 
investment and we create jobs. Those are good things. Occasionally we 
ought to talk about that.
  I understand a person opposed to the administration wants to talk 
about the bad stuff. I will primarily talk a little bit more about Iraq 
and the situation we are in there. It has been an issue for all of us, 
and tends to be something we are all very much concerned about. 
However, the discussions lately have changed somewhat. That is a good 
thing.
  Almost no one is suggesting that U.S. troops ought to remain in Iraq 
forever. We hear all the views, people talking about this point of 
view, that point of view. But since the beginning, there was the notion 
that we have a job to do, and as soon as that job is finished we need 
to get out. That is not a new topic.
  I have to admit completing the job can be defined differently by 
different people. However, the fact is almost everyone at the same time 
suggests that the troops need to remain in their current numbers until 
the insurgency is suppressed. Most everyone agrees with that.
  In the beginning, some of the folks in the House of Representatives 
were making the point to get them out of there now, get them out in 6 
months, but they have moderated that and are saying, yes, we need to 
change what we are doing; we need to complete our job. We see more and 
more people wanting to do that. The administration has been talking for 
some time, of course, about reducing the number of troops in the 
process of doing that but not setting a date.
  My point is it is interesting, and the media has something to do with 
this, to try to show the differences, but the fact is there is quite a 
bit of similarity among the things that people are saying with regard 
to Iraq.
  Few people agree with the idea of increasing the number of troops. 
There is some talk about that. But that is not generally agreed to. Of 
course, almost no one agrees the troops ought to be pulled out 
immediately at a certain time.
  My point is there seems to be great differences between the critics 
and the administration. But when they look at it, everyone is pretty 
much on the same side. We need to finish our job,

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reduce our troops there, turn it over to the Iraqis as soon as 
possible. The time to do that, the way you do that, there is an area 
for difference, but that is a common argument.
  I am trying to say, finger-pointing aside, regarding the debate over 
whether we should begin to gradually have a withdrawal of troops, there 
is no debate over that. How you do it, of course, there are different 
views. There is no disagreement as to bringing the news into the 
political process. I think it is exciting that this week there will be 
an election and we will see what kind of bringing there is into that 
process.
  So I guess I am kind of pleased that even though we have differences 
of view--and that is perfectly legitimate--I am finding there is less 
difference in the policy between the people who have disagreement than 
there might have been in the past.
  Obviously, the war on terrorism is being fought overseas in 
Afghanistan and Iraq. Of course, fundamentally, it has changed the 
environment that has given rise to the Islamic extremism that brought 
about the attacks, and so on. In a broad sense, that is exactly why we 
are there. It is one to bring justice back to the perpetrators, but 
also to change the conditions in the Middle East. I think that 
basically is beginning to happen: the introduction of a stable 
democracy and freedom, a democracy that is shaped on the basis of what 
Iraqis want. We are not imposing on them the same kind of system we 
have here necessarily; for instance, that there has to be endless 
discussion on the floor. We are not saying that. There are great steps 
being made in deliberation there.
  I guess it has been a year and a half since I have been in Iraq, but 
certainly I think some real progress has been made. I felt as if there 
had been great progress when I was there. And as to the polls, in the 
preliminary election, ABC News shows that three-fourths of the Iraqi 
people express confidence in these elections. That is good and 70 
percent approve of the new Iraqi constitution. In a country that has 
never done those kinds of things before, that is an excellent movement.
  We are talking about positive things, which does not mean everything 
is great, of course. But it does mean we are moving forward, and there 
is an unmistakable shift from tyranny to democracy that is taking 
place.
  As to the Iraqi forces, we all want them to shoulder a greater share 
of security efforts. In fact, that is happening. Now, I am also one who 
believes the system we have used, the military system, has to change as 
the situation changes. It was one kind of a military opportunity to be 
moving into Iraq to get rid of Saddam, and having troop movements, 
routine, normal military activities. Now the time has changed.
  I was very impressed with the conversation I had with a police 
officer from Cheyenne, WY, who was there on a contract to help train 
police who said: That has all changed now. Instead of having platoons 
and companies moving around, we are having two or three insurgents over 
here, and we need more of a police kind of a system rather than a 
larger military system. I think certainly that is true.
  And the Iraqis are moving forward. There are now 97 Iraqi army 
battalions conducting operations. Thirty-three Iraqi army battalions 
have assumed their own areas of responsibility. This is a good thing. 
The Iraqi navy is guarding its coastline and protecting offshore oil 
platforms. The Iraqi air force is moving supplies throughout the 
country. Iraqi border police are manning 170 border forts and 22 ports 
of entry.
  Certainly, there is a lot to do yet, probably more in the support--
the supply support, the management from the background--as there is in 
being on the front lines as far as the military of the United States is 
concerned. I hope and think that movement and that change of role is 
indeed taking place. There are some 68,000 police who are there. So we 
are making some progress.
  Again, some time ago, when I was there, I was real pleased. We would 
go down the road in a military vehicle and all the little kids would be 
waving their arms. We went to some schools. We went to some hospitals.
  Now we are getting a report that 762 out of 834 schools are back in 
place. That is a good move--not complete, of course, not perfect. It is 
also reported that 12 out of 29 hospitals are back in place; 5 out of 
12 major airports are functioning. So there is a great deal going on. 
It is reported that 144 out of 222 water treatment stations are 
functioning. There is still work to do, but, nevertheless, a 
substantial amount of work has been done.
  So the fact is, of course, the road from tyranny to freedom is not an 
easy process. It is a process that we have not always experienced in 
the past. So as we see new challenges, then we have to face them in 
different ways. Having been in the military, I know sometimes it is 
difficult to sort of change the methods the military is accustomed and 
trained to do. But these are different sorts of challenges. I am very 
proud of the military in doing what they have done.
  The al-Qaida terrorist leader has indicated that Iraq is a central 
battlefield for this war, certainly in terms of terrorism. And our 
people continue, of course, to do well in spite of the deadly 
insurgency. That is a tough thing. The insurgency is just people coming 
out of nowhere with bombs, roadside bombs in cars.
  So I guess really what I am trying to say is there is good evidence 
that things are going well--not as well as you would like, obviously. 
There are improvements being made. We are moving towards our goal. The 
goal is to be able to turn this back over to the Iraqis, to return our 
folks home as soon as possible. Everyone agrees with that: as soon as 
possible. There is always room for disagreement as to what is 
necessary, of course, to be able to do that.
  But despite the naysayers we hear here, the Iraqis are generally 
optimistic. A recent ABC News poll showed that 70 percent of Iraqis 
sampled said life in Iraq was ``good.'' So in addition to that, of 
course, the actions that are being taken are being felt in Egypt, 
Libya, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. So we are having some sort of 
an impact in that whole Middle East area, which is, of course, what we 
had hoped to be able to do.
  So these are some of the things that are happening there. I think 
there is a surprising amount of optimism about the living conditions 
improving. Time magazine and others did some analysis and showed living 
conditions were rated positively for 7 out of 10 Iraqis. I presume that 
is a legitimate sort of sample. At any rate, it certainly sounds so. 
Average household income has soared some 60 percent in the last 20 
months. It is only $263, but nevertheless that is substantially more 
than they had.
  So in any event, we have a challenge yet before us. I think there is 
increasing recognition that we are there until our job is finished; 
that our job is to turn it over to the Iraqis; that we ought to indeed 
move and continue to move towards doing that as soon as we can; that 
the reduction of our troops, as soon as possible, is the goal of all of 
us. I think the change in the role certainly is a goal as well. And 
that, too, is happening.
  So I guess the bottom line of what I have read here and what I am 
saying is that even though, for various reasons, it seems as if there 
is a great difference, I think you can see, as you hear about the 
difference in the parties here, and so on, that there is not that kind 
of a spread. Sure, there is room for discussion. But the fact is, the 
majority of people here want to stay until the job is done. The 
majority wants to turn it over to the Iraqis. The majority wants to 
remove our folks as soon as we can. And that includes the 
administration and the folks in opposition.
  So that is a good sign that we are moving forward. And I hope 
certainly we can continue to do that, we can continue to support our 
goal there and, maybe more importantly, support our men and women who 
are there committed to carrying out this goal and to helping provide 
freedom around the world and to protect freedom in our country.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

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  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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