[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 509]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  IRAQ

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the attached 
Wall Street Journal article, ``Iraq's Future, Our Past,'' be printed 
into the Record. This article was written by Mr. Rastislav Kacer, Mr. 
Petr Kolar, Mr. Janusz Reiter and Mr. Andras Simonyi, respectively, the 
Slovak, Czech, Polish and Hungarian Ambassadors to the United States.
  I applaud the Ambassadors' leadership and the work of the Visegrad 
Group, a partnership of their four countries. Emerging out of a shared 
history of dictatorship, these Central European countries strive for 
cooperative and democratic development. They deeply understand the 
challenges of an emerging democracy but champion its ultimate rewards. 
Their vision and experience are strong examples for the country of Iraq 
and they stand ready to lend a helping hand.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

             [From the Wall Street Journal, Dec. 16, 2005]

                        Iraq's Future, Our Past

  (By Rastislav Kacer, Petr Kolar, Janusz Reiter, and Andras Simonyi)

       When it comes to tyranny, we believe we can offer some 
     personal experience. After all, it was only a short while ago 
     that our countries emerged from Soviet oppression. During the 
     decades of dictatorship, our peoples' attempts to restore 
     freedom and democracy were crushed. Who would have thought in 
     1956 in Hungary, in 1968 in Czechoslovakia, or in 1980 in 
     Poland, that we could get rid of the dictatorial regimes in 
     our lifetimes and shape our own future?
       The memories of tyranny are still alive in the minds of 
     many Czechs, Hungarians, Poles and Slovaks. We also remember 
     the challenges we faced early in our democratic transition. 
     It is a testament to the resilience of our peoples that we 
     are where we are now--members of NATO and the European Union, 
     and strong allies of the U.S. We got here by believing in the 
     transformational power of democracy and a market economy. But 
     we needed others to believe in us, too. We could not have 
     made it alone. We needed the perseverance and support of 
     Western democracies for freedom finally to arrive.
       The attainment of our immediate goals of stability and 
     prosperity could have made us complacent. It has not. We feel 
     that as free and democratic nations we have a duty to help 
     others achieve the security and prosperity that we now enjoy. 
     That is why we have been part of the coalition to help 
     democracy emerge in Iraq.
       Establishing democracy in Iraq was never going to be easy. 
     Yet it is essential for the political and economic stability 
     of the entire Middle East--and also vital for the security of 
     our countries. We are convinced that for Iraq to become a 
     vigorous partner in the war on terrorism, the Iraqis will 
     need our continuous help for rebuilding their country, as 
     well as for establishing democratic institutions and a market 
     economy. The good news is that we are not alone; it's a truly 
     international partnership, based on a U.N. mandate. More than 
     30 nations are on the ground with the coalition and NATO, and 
     more than 80 have signed up for the ``new international 
     partnership'' with Iraq. European countries work closely with 
     the U.S. on strengthening stability and democracy in Iraq, 
     and the U.N. is providing key support to achieve our goals.
       The Visegrad Group, which includes our countries, has been 
     one of the most effective regional partnerships in Europe 
     established after the changes of 1989. With our vast 
     experience in transitioning from dictatorship to democracy, 
     we can be of special help. Although the Central European 
     reality is quite different from Iraq, we offer our assistance 
     in building democratic institutions as well as civil society. 
     We can share the successes and challenges of our transition 
     with the Iraqis, as we all know that freedom comes at a 
     price. The experiences from the area of responsibility of the 
     Multinational Division Central-South prove that 
     transformation in Iraq can be completed with success. Right 
     now we are transferring more power and responsibilities to 
     the local Iraqi authorities, which, thanks to our assistance, 
     are capable of securing their future.
       Democratic transition is a long, painful process. It 
     requires sacrifice. But, more than anything, it requires a 
     belief that democratic values will prevail and people will 
     have a better life as a result. We had that belief to guide 
     us during the most difficult years of transition and we want 
     to keep that belief alive in the people of Iraq. Maybe it 
     takes countries with vivid recollections of tyranny to serve 
     as the institutional memory of a larger community of 
     democracies. If so, we are ready to fulfill that role.

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