[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11192]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              AFGHANISTAN

  (Mr. KELLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I just returned from Afghanistan. I went 
there to personally thank our troops and to speak directly with 
President Karzai and our generals to see how things are going. They 
told me that the U.S. and Afghan forces are working successfully side 
by side against the Taliban fighters and al Qaeda terrorists.
  They are also working together to build roads, bridges, and schools 
to help change hearts and minds over the long term. As I rode down the 
streets of Kabul, I saw little boys and girls skipping on their way to 
school, carrying their American book bags. When the Taliban was in 
charge, there were no girls in school, and the country had an 80 
percent illiteracy rate.
  Now there are 6.7 million Afghan children in school. I met with 
several of the 68 women who were recently elected to Afghanistan's 
Parliament. They are excited about their new-found freedom and 
democracy. The Taliban are hoping that democracy in Afghanistan will 
fail so they can return to power. But the people there have tasted 
freedom and they like it.

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