[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11399]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  POLITICAL PROGRESS CONTINUES IN IRAQ

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, in only 3 years, the world 
has watched the nation of Iraq transform from a brutal dictatorship to 
a promising democracy. Saddam's torture chambers and mass graves have 
been replaced with democracy's voting booths and legislative 
referendums.
  Today Iraqi citizens are working tirelessly to secure their freedoms. 
By participating in the election of the transitional assembly in 
January of 2005, the drafting of an approval of the Constitution by 
October and the national elections in December, they have demonstrated 
that they refuse to allow terrorists to determine the fate of their 
country. Last month, Iraqis achieved another historic victory when they 
announced their new unity government.
  U.S. troops, coalition forces and Iraqi citizens continue to face 
challenges in establishing a civil society in Iraq, which protects 
American families by destroying terrorist training camps in the central 
front of the global war on terrorism.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget 
September 11.

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