[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12] [House] [Pages 16177-16183] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]{time} 2015 GENERAL PETER PACE The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. This evening, we have heard some talk about the war that we're engaged in, the fighting in Iraq, the fighting in Afghanistan, this long war against Islamist extremists that we're engaged in. And tonight I am very pleased I am joined by a number of my colleagues here this evening to talk a little bit about that military action, to talk about that war and to talk about the military leaders that we are so blessed to have in this country. I think sometimes we sort of forget that there are people who have devoted their entire lives to serving this country and to providing exemplary leadership to our young men and women as they fight for us in Iraq and Afghanistan and around the world. We have some new officers in the lineup, and we will talk very briefly about those tonight, I suppose. We have a new commander of Central Command, Admiral William Fallon. We have, of course, General David Petraeus, named by the President to be the senior U.S. commander of the multinational forces in Iraq and confirmed unanimously, I might add, by the Members of the Senate. Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, and other fine officers that are leading our young men and women. I know some of my colleagues would like to talk about one of the officers who is going to be leaving that chain of command, the very fine Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first Marine Corps officer ever to hold that position, my good friend and a great American, General Peter Pace. I would like to afford a few minutes to my friend and colleague from South Carolina who I know has some words he wants to say about my friend, Pete, and give us a little idea of what his biography is. I yield to the gentleman. Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Congressman Kline, thank you for your leadership tonight. And particularly I want to thank you for your family service, your service in the Marine Corps, your son's service, who is in the central front himself, having served in Iraq. We are very grateful for your family's service. I am here tonight really indeed to point out the extraordinary service, 40 years of service, of General Peter Pace. I think it's extraordinary, and I hope the American people indeed look at this record of service. The perspective that I am here is that I served 31 years myself in the Army National Guard, the Army Reserves. Really, the reason I served so long is because I have such great appreciation for the confidence and capabilities and the patriotism of the military of our country. Additionally, I have the perspective of being a parent. I have four sons who are currently serving in the military of the United States. In particular, I am very grateful my oldest son served for 1 year in Iraq. I know firsthand of the bravery of our troops, the success of our troops in protecting America by keeping the terrorists and stopping them overseas. I am also grateful, I have a son who is a doctor in the Navy. We are very proud of his service, and his wife, and what they mean to our country. Additionally, I've got a third son who is a signal officer who has served in Egypt with the Army National Guard, and a fourth son who has just joined the Army ROTC. He will be participating in the simultaneous drill program of the National Guard. I give all my credit to my wife, Roxanne, for training these four guys. But I will point out that a reason that we have such faith in their service is because I have such faith in people like General Pace. I have entrusted my four sons to the leadership of the American military, which by every poll, every time it is done, I am afraid lawyers don't come out too well, politicians don't come out too well by standards, even the media suffers when it comes time to judge the level of perception of a profession, even ahead of the clergy is the military of the United States, and I believe they deserve it. The final perspective I have as a Member of Congress. I have been here 5 years. I serve on the Armed Services Committee. The communities I represent, Fort Jackson, Paris Island, the Marine Air Station in Beaufort, the Beaufort Naval Hospital, but the greatest highlight that I've had is to visit with our troops overseas. I have been to Iraq seven times. I have been to Afghanistan three times. I've visited probably 30 different countries. When we visit, we visit with the generals; we visit with the diplomats; we visit with the top American and foreign officials. But one of the real highlights is that we have the opportunity to go into a dining facility. And of course, they make it pretty simple for Members of Congress; they have a little flag identifying our home State. And we will go and we will find junior officers and enlisted personnel. And that's where you find out the extraordinary quality of the young people serving our country. Indeed, I believe it is the new Greatest Generation, people who don't whine, who understand that our Nation has been attacked. On 9/11, it was attacked. Beginning back in 1979, with the seizure of our embassy in Tehran, we have had multiple attacks until we came to 9/11/01. And we've learned a lesson. And these young people are protecting our country. Indeed, it was just three weeks ago today that I was in Baghdad and had the great opportunity to meet again with General David Petraeus. I have great faith in his leadership and what he's doing, protecting American families by creating a level of stability in Iraq. Additionally, I had the privilege of visiting with the 218th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in Kabul, Afghanistan. This is the Army National Guard of South Carolina being very ably led by General Bob Livingston. I was in that unit, Congressman, for 25 years, so I know firsthand of the capabilities of the person serving that unit as they are training the Afghan police and training the Afghan Army. A sad reminder today with the heinous homicide attack on the Afghan police; 35 policemen were killed yesterday. It is a chilling but a sad reminder that, indeed, the police that are being trained in Afghanistan and being trained in Iraq, the armies being trained in both of those countries, they have been the primary focus of attack of the terrorists because we are making [[Page 16178]] progress in training people to provide stability in their own country. Now, when I think of General Pace, it's really incredible that he has had a 40-year record of service. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1967. He was sworn in as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on September 30, 2005. And what is particularly meaningful is that he is the first Marine to serve in this position and also the first Marine to serve as Vice Chairman---- Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Will the gentleman yield? Could you say that again? Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. And I knew this would get your interest, being the Marine, Congressman Kline, that you are, and indeed, I want to commend you. If anyone ever doubts, I want to point out that you wear a U.S. and Marine flag everywhere you go, without fail, with your congressional pin. And if anyone mistakes the pin as the People's Republic of China, I want them to know that indeed it is the Marine Corps of the United States of America. Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. I thank the gentleman. Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. General Pace was born in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey. He holds masters degrees in business administration from George Washington University, attended Harvard University for the Senior Executives Course in International Security. He also is a graduate of the Infantry Officer's Advanced Course at Fort Benning, Georgia; the Marine Corps Command and General Staff College at Quantico, Virginia; and the National War College at Fort McNair in Washington. In 1968, upon completion of The Basic School at Quantico, General Pace was assigned to the Second Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division in the Republic of Vietnam, serving first as a rifle platoon leader, and subsequently as assistant operations officer. He was later assigned to the Marine Barracks in Washington, DC, where he served a number of billets, to include Security Detachment Commander at Camp David, White House Aide, platoon leader and Special Ceremonial Platoon. General Pace has held command at virtually every level and served in overseas billets in Nam Phong, Thailand; Seoul, Korea; and Yokota, Japan. While serving as president of the Marine Corps University, then Brigadier General Pace also served as Deputy Commander of Marine Forces, Somalia, from December 1992 to February 1993, and as the Deputy Commander, Joint Task Force, Somalia, from October 1993 to March 1994. After his assignment as the Director of Operations, (J-3) Joint Staff, Washington, DC, then Lieutenant General Pace served as the Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Atlantic/Europe/South. He was promoted to General and assumed duties as the Commander in Chief, United States Southern Command in September 2000. As the Vice Chairman from October 2001 to August 2005, General Pace served as the Chairman of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, Vice Chairman of the Defense Acquisition Board, and as a member of the National Security Council Deputies Committee and the Nuclear Weapons Council. General Pace's personal decorations include: Defense Distinguished Service Medal, with two oak leaf clusters, Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with Combat V, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with gold star, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V, Navy Achievement Medal with gold star, and the Combat Action Ribbon. General Pace and his wife, Lynne, have a son, Peter; a daughter, Tiffany Marie; and a daughter-in-law, Lynsey Olczak Pace. Colonel Congressman Kline, again, I want to thank you for bringing many of us together tonight to pay tribute to a great hero, an American hero who has served our country for 40 years, who has served the last 2 years as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, a person that I know and respect; I know that the military respects. I just want to thank you again for your efforts this evening. I yield the balance of my time. Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. I thank the gentleman. I thank him for his comments, and certainly for his service and for the service of our sons. I know that the South Carolina National Guard is held up by the Wilson family, and we are grateful. I know that all the people of South Carolina are grateful to their service to the National Guard, and for your service in the Guard and here in Congress. And I know that General Pace appreciates your kind remarks. Pete and Lynne Pace were next-door neighbors for Vicky and I when I retired from active duty in the Marines in 1994. He is not only a fine man and a fine officer, but a good neighbor. I understand that we are joined now by my colleague from Missouri, who had some words that he wanted to share with us concerning General Pace's forthrightness; is that right? I yield to the gentleman. Mr. AKIN. Thank you, Congressman Kline. And thank you for providing this opportunity for a number of us to make several points. The first that I would make would be to show a respect for General Pace for his 40 years of service. I have two sons who are graduates of the Naval Academy, one who is returning from his second visit to the Middle East as an officer and as a Marine, and another who is just going off to his basic school this July. And I have a third son at the Naval Academy who hopefully will be graduating in another couple of years, and he might also choose the Marines as well. So I have a respect for the Marines just from what I have learned from my own sons, and particularly as a Congressman, having watched and had a chance to observe General Pace's leadership. We are here partly this evening, in talking on this subject, because General Pace is not being renominated by Secretary Gates and the President. And he is not being renominated primarily because of concerns about his political correctness. In fact, a certain prominent Democrat in the other body has criticized Pace because he is ``not in touch.'' Now, that is a significant concern to me. My own personal background, while I was in the Army some, has been more in the business world. But any organization can atrophy if the organization makes an effort to fill the organization with yes-men, with people who don't have the courage to speak up and to speak their opinions. Now, throughout America's history, we have had generals, some who don't even speak up very delicately, but do express their opinion and have had to pay a political price. And I think that history in many cases has shown that while what these men may have said may not have been popular in their day, yet it was accurate. I think particularly of people like General Patton, who, when he had finished his business of crushing Naziism, said, Let me after the communists and the Russians and the Soviets because they are no different than the Nazis. Well, looking back historically, we realize what he said was absolutely right, but he was not politically correct. He wasn't a yes-man. But it's my opinion that the reason the First Amendment is the first amendment is because Americans appreciate somebody who will speak in a forthright, straightforward manner and can give their opinion respectfully, but still with some level of force. {time} 2030 I think that General Pace has done that and is now going to pay the price politically for not being a ``yes'' man or lining up with somebody's preconceived political notions. I think it is a sad day in America's history where we don't have more respect for the first amendment and have way too much respect for political correctness and trying to go along and get along and just be a ``yes'' man and keep everybody happy. I think that one of the great things about our generals is that they do take a look at the details, they analyze the situation, and they say what is right, what is wrong, and what their opinion is. I think it is a shame that this general should be penalized for that particular situation. [[Page 16179]] I would be happy to yield back to my good friend, Congressman Kline. I appreciate your giving me a chance to say that I think that our organizations need to have room for people who don't always necessarily agree. I think we are better Americans, we are stronger Americans, when we can look each other in the eye and say, I love you, brother, but this is my opinion on this subject. Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Again, I thank the gentleman for his service and his son's service and obviously the good parenting job that you have done, having your sons go into the Marine Corps. My son went into the Army. I have got to tell you, I am so proud of him sometimes I just bust out, but occasionally I wonder where I may have gone wrong in that upbringing thing. But I know you are proud of your sons and I of mine and Joe of his and all of our sons and daughters who are serving so well and so bravely in this war and in wars past. I want to just remind my colleagues and those who may be following this discussion tonight what is at the core of the fine men and women who are leading our men and women into combat, and I go back to the very, very famous words of General Douglas MacArthur after he retired and he went back to West Point, his alma mater, and gave a speech. In that speech, I am just going to read a paragraph of it here, he said some words that strike to the core of these men and women that we are talking about tonight. This was back on May 12, 1962. General MacArthur said, ``For all eyes and for all time, it is an expression of the ethics of the American soldier. That I should be integrated in this way with so noble an ideal arouses a sense of pride and yet of humility which will be with me always. ```Duty,' `Honor,' `Country,' those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you want to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.'' I think it is important for us to understand, and a little bit later this evening I am going to talk about some of those values and some of the fine young men and women who go to these service academies and provide the outstanding leadership that we have. Of course, tonight we are talking about that leadership and quite a bit about General Peter Pace, the first Marine Corps Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the man who is going to be retiring here in the coming months after he has served us so well in so many years. I am joined now by my friend and colleague and classmate, I guess, we came to Congress together in the 108th Congress, Dr. Phil Gingrey. I yield to the gentleman. Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, my friend from Minnesota, not just Representative John Kline, but Colonel John Kline of the United States Marine Corps. Representative Kline, you mentioned a number of great leaders. I consider you among them. It is fitting that we do this during this hour tonight to pay a special tribute to General Peter Pace and General Petraeus, Admiral Fallon and General Odierno, all of those you have mentioned. This is our chain of command. These are the brave men and women that we talk about, as you just referenced, when we go to those service academy days and we look at those youngsters in the 10th or 11th grade and they are with their parents and thinking about a service academy. And I am saying to them, as I am sure my colleagues tonight in this colloquy have done, you say, ``You know, young man, young lady, you could be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or you can be the Central Commander.'' It is just when you look and you say that, you want to feel that they know that they are going to be respected, and that Members of Congress are not going to denigrate them in a public way. I think that is a very, very disappointing thing that has been occurring, Mr. Speaker. In fact, a Member recently was quoted as saying that this Member felt that General Pace was guilty of dereliction of duty because of his support for the Bush's Iraq policy. Now, President Bush, like him or not, is the Commander in Chief, and if General Pace did not support the Commander in Chief, then that, I think, Colonel Kline, you can explain it better than I can, you talk about a dereliction of duty, but I am proud to be here tonight. I thank the gentleman for giving me a little bit of time. I know we have other Members who are colleagues on the Armed Services Committee. We have already heard from a couple of them who are veterans and who have sons that are serving. I wish I could say that I was a veteran. So I am very proud of my colleagues. I am proud of these leaders of our military. Especially I want to say to General Pace, Mr. Speaker, you know, one of my favorite country songs by Garth Brooks is ``Some of God's Greatest Gifts Are Unanswered Prayers.'' If the General was praying to get reconfirmed as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, maybe this will be God's answer to him: ``General, you have served 40 years. You are a four-star general. You have done a great job for this country, and we salute you.'' Tonight I want to salute General Peter Pace. I yield back to the gentleman from Minnesota. Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his kind remarks and for his service here. You have been a great colleague and a great champion for our men and women who are serving so bravely and so well all around the globe. It is not just Iraq, as my friend knows, and here shortly I will be recognizing another colleague to talk about this threat that we face. But first, I want to recognize my friend and colleague on the Armed Services Committee and a great American himself, the gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Hayes. Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the colonel for yielding. I appreciate Congressman Kline for his diligence in bringing this important matter to the floor. You and I have been friends for years. I have been here a little longer, but I say without reservation that probably the main motivation that you and I serve, aside from our specific constituents in our own districts, is our love for the military and our desire to do anything and everything we can to support them at all levels of service. I represent Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Joint Special Operations Command, U.S. Army Special Operations Command at the epicenter of the universe in Fayetteville, North Carolina. And as I have spent time with these young men and women in all parts of the world, I am continuously astounded, amazed, and incredibly appreciative for what they do every day and every night of the year to keep us free. I say that simply as a little bit of a background to pick up on what Colonel Wilson and Dr. Gingrey have said in tribute to General Peter Pace. For 40 years, Pete Pace has absolutely signified, has identified, has personified, the greatest qualities of the American citizen-soldier- marine that anybody could absolutely personify. He served in virtually every theater for 40 years. He has exemplified Semper Fi. He has been faithful beyond belief to our country. He would still be serving, were it not for political correctness and cheap-shot politics, that has unfortunately become a part of what we do. I think General Pace said it better than anyone. When given the opportunity to resign, he said, ``Why would I leave my men on the battlefield? If you tell me my job is done, then my job is done.'' General Pace, your job has never been done. It will never be over, because the memory of your service will be extremely strong in all of our minds. Colonel, I would like to add a few more remarks. I feel it is highly inappropriate that the Senate majority leader would make disparaging remarks about General Pace and General Petraeus, the commander of our troops in Iraq and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. [[Page 16180]] Mr. Speaker, General Petraeus and General Pace have had a tough job, and now they should not be fodder for political gain with a group of left-wing liberal activists, or anyone else for that matter. Gentlemen, scholars and warriors, they have devoted their lives to serving our Nation, and have done it well. What is most puzzling is that the Senate majority leader put his endorsement behind General Petraeus and trusted him to carry out our objectives in Iraq when he was confirmed on January 26 of this year. Obviously he felt General Petraeus was more than competent when he voted to confirm him. Mr. Speaker, I don't think anyone is content with the existing situation in Iraq, neither General Petraeus nor General Pace. General Petraeus, the commanding general, has cautioned it is too early to judge the success of Baghdad's security and stability. He informs us that the new security effort is just beginning to reach the full number on the ground, because they still have an additional brigade just coming into Iraq, General Petraeus is now in his third tour of duty in Iraq. Mr. Speaker, the majority leader and others have visited troops serving as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I have been there. I think it is good that lawmakers see the situation firsthand. But there is real arrogance in saying that someone with a commander's-level experience and General Pace's experience is out of touch with the situation in Iraq. As I said, I have visited Iraq many times and recognize General Petraeus as a military commander and as the expert he is on this issue. As he makes determinations regarding the security situation in Iraq, I will ask tough questions. If you are going to declare that he is out of touch or incompetent, then you have already made up your mind. You have already determined the outcome is going to be labeled a failure. Mr. Speaker, what message are we sending our troops when the leadership of the other body has already declared that their effort in this new security strategy is a failure before they have really begun? The 82nd Airborne from Fort Bragg in my home district is currently deployed to Iraq as part of the troop surge. These servicemembers and others are there at the tip of the spear. It is time for everyone to put partisan politics aside and stand together in solid support of our men and women in uniform. General Pace has had an incredible, distinguished career, serving in every capacity, and he deserves much better. His record merits thanks and a second term as chairman. Instead, he becomes another victim of the campaign of personal destruction. General Pace, thank you for Semper Fi. You have always been faithful. Nobody wants their troops to return home sooner or more safely than I do. They should not stay in Iraq one day longer than necessary. While we have soldiers on the ground fighting the war on terror for us over there, we should have no patience for cheap-shot political gamesmanship on this critical national security issue here at home. Colonel Kline, again, thank you. General Pace, thank you, and Lynn, and your family. We are ever grateful for your service. Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his words and for his strong support of our men and women in uniform. I know the people down in North Carolina are very proud to have you serve. There is no greater champion for our Special Operations Forces than you are and for all those fine soldiers down there, and I know that General Pace appreciates your support. So I thank the gentleman for joining us this evening. Mr. Speaker, I was thinking about the kind words that have been said tonight about General Pace. I certainly add to those. I mentioned earlier that I thought that General Pace was a fine man and a fine marine and a fine commander and a great neighbor when he and Lynn lived next door to Vicky and I down at the Marine Base at Quantico. I just have to share another story with my colleagues standing here. There was another time when General Pace and I were neighbors, and it was not such a nice location as the Marine Base at Quantico and the fine quarters there up on the hill. We were serving together in Mogadishu in 1992 and 1993 in the rubble of that country, in some pretty tough times and bad weather and bad conditions and starving people. We had some folks who were intent on shooting each other and shooting us. {time} 2045 I remember going into the building one time and General Pace was sitting there, sort of an old, bombed-out room of the Embassy. I said, ``General, how is it going?'' He said, ``We are here, we are serving our country and we are in the Marines.'' He was a fine friend and fine neighbor, whether he was in the idyllic hillside down in Prince William County or bombed-out rubble in Mogadishu. You couldn't have a finer man with you. I am very proud to have known him and served with him, and I am very grateful for his many years of distinguished service, living by those ideals we discussed earlier. There are some more commanders that we want to refer to later tonight, but we want to put this in the context of this terrible war we are fighting. We are fighting an evil and adaptive enemy, and I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp). Mr. WAMP. Colonel, it is an honor to join you tonight and my colleagues on the floor. Anytime I have the privilege to stand and honor our men and women in uniform, I try to begin with what John Stuart Mill said about war. He said, ``War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which they are willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and who has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.'' Those better persons that Stuart Mill referred to are the people we rise tonight to honor, the men and women in uniform of our Armed Forces. They understand from time to time it is necessary for people to put themselves between a threat and our civilian population, and they know that freedom, every time it has been extended from one generation to the next, it has been by those people who have been willing to put themselves and their lives, everything they have, their whole measure, between the threat and our civilian population. Tonight, Colonel, I come to the floor to talk briefly about this threat because, unfortunately, the conversation revolves around one theater in this war and that is Iraq. We know mistakes have been made. We know it has not gone as well as we would have liked. Wars are that way. Stuart Mill said it is an ugly thing. I don't know of a war that has been perfectly executed. I know that the march to Baghdad was perfectly executed, but I know that intentionally the insurgents have wreaked havoc wherever they could, from bombing the Samarra mosque which initiated the last 16 months of internal strife within Iraq, by design, knowing that that would test our will to see if we were a ``paper tiger'' or if we were the strong and determined United States of America. I think a lot of people forget who it is that threatens freedom- loving people all around the world. They are called the jihadists, the Islamists, the radicals within Islam. The problem here is this is not just a religious issue, it is a political agenda. The call is for a Shariah, global Islamic rule. That's the truth. Read. I would encourage people to read ``Hatred's Kingdom.'' Read ``America Alone.'' Read ``Looming Towers.'' Read ``While Europe Slept.'' Read ``Londonistan.'' Read ``Epicenter.'' Read ``Knowing the Enemy.'' You will understand the history of how we got where we are. One slice, the Wahhabi movement, the most radical out of the Saudi Arabia Sunni sect. A man named Sayyid Qutb came to the United States about [[Page 16181]] the time I was born in the late 1950s, was educated at Northern Colorado State University, and went back and began to indoctrinate the Wahhabi sect that western liberalism, self-determination, freedom, would create apostasy and ungodliness and it must be stopped. One of his lieutenants was Osama bin Laden. One of the people that he taught at university was Osama bin Laden. These things didn't happen by accident. For years this has been brewing. It is a real threat. Unfortunately, the left has a propaganda campaign in this country to cause people to believe this is all just Iraq, if we would just leave Iraq, if we had never gone we wouldn't have a problem, or that life would just return to normal or that everything would just be okay. It is just simply not the case. We were not in Iraq before September 11. We weren't in Iraq before 1993. They hit us over 40 times since 1979. You have to study the history of it all. When the Wahhabis took Mecca in the late seventies, the Saudi Arabia Kingdom made a deal with them that they would start spending money in this country. Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. I couldn't agree with you more in your explanation of what we are up against; but it strikes me the differences we hear on the floor of this House. This evening some of our colleagues were saying we have to get out of Iraq now. We have to end the war. If we bring our troops tomorrow, say they, we will end this war. And presumably, then, everything will be fine. And that simply doesn't track with the history that the gentleman is describing. It does not describe the enemy that was willing to hijack planes and fly them into buildings and kill women and children. Every day we see the stories in Baghdad of people blowing up women and children. Our just bringing our troops home doesn't, wouldn't, couldn't, signal the end of this war and of the determination of that enemy. It strikes me the difference that we see in this body. Mr. WAMP. The words we hear in Washington run almost in denial of the words of our enemy, of Zarqawi when he was still alive, of Zawahiri about expanding the caliphate, reestablishing the caliphate, from Morocco to Indonesia, this huge part of the world, to come back with Islamic rule. And this is dangerous because they don't believe in a theocracy as we do. They don't believe in pluralism. They don't believe in the freedom of religion. We believe everyone should have the right to worship as they please. This is a Shariah. This is Islamic law they are calling for. This is Islamic rule they are calling for, and this is where politics, the military and religion all come together. And we didn't do that, they are doing it. That's the truth. Frankly, the left has misled and twisted and distorted and run a PR campaign that is driven by politics, denying even the weapons of mass destruction realities. Hans Blitz said, Where did the 8,500 liters of anthrax that we knew were in Iraq go? Two tractor-trailer loads. Probably Syria. I have news for you, those are weapons of mass destruction. For people to say over and over again there weren't weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is one of the greatest lies ever told in this country. He gassed his own people. They came running out with their eyes bleeding out of their face. Weapons of mass destruction were in Iraq. The threats were real. Over half the Democrats of the United States Senate voted to remove Saddam Hussein by force, almost half the Democrats in the House voted, and now it is convenient to say we should retreat, we never should have gone. This was a misguided war. These men and women in uniform, they know that these threats are real and we have to stand up and face these threats. I pay tribute tonight to the Guard and Reserve from my State, the 181st where my nephew is at Fort Bliss training to go to Iraq right now. And the 278th that just came back, the might battery of the Marine Corps Reserve; Colonel Brett Hale who just commanded the Dragonslayers in Iraq for a year, my constituent, my patriot, my hero, who says in the public square in Chattanooga, Tennessee: I have been there and I have seen what we are doing. I know that it is important. These are the people who have been. These are not the people at home saying things about the ones who have gone. Eight brave men from my district have given their life in defense of our freedom; and when some people say they have died in vain, it makes me angry because they didn't die in vain, nor has any patriot who has ever given their life in defense of freedom for this country died in vain. Freedom comes with a huge price, and these men and women are willing to put their life on the line for us, and we come to the floor tonight to honor them so they know we stand behind them. And there is widespread bipartisan support for our troops. But our troops are in harm's way on our behalf. You can't say they shouldn't be there, we are not for them; and then say, oh, we are for them. It is a paradox. It is just wrong-headed sometimes for the leader of the United States Senate to say the war is lost while they are in harm's way fighting for what they believe in. They know these threats are real. We can leave Iraq tomorrow and this threat is not going away. This threat is a greater threat to freedom in the world than Nazi Germany ever was. It is growing all over the world. Read these books. If you haven't read to understand the threat, there is no way you could be there to know what is happening in Europe and all across the country. The radical elements of Islam have infiltrated through the mosque and trained people up all over the world. That is the truth. And they are in this country. Nobody wants to hear it because it is not politically correct, but that is the truth. I hope, I hope that God showers us with his grace so we don't get hit hard again like we did on September 11, but the threats are real. I come to the floor tonight and say ``thank you'' to the men and women in uniform on our behalf. All of them. We came to honor General Pace tonight, but every one of those Guardsmen and Reservists whose families didn't know that they were going to have one or two or even three deployments, thank you families for allowing your son or daughter or husband to go, or wife to go, on our behalf. Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. I thank the gentleman very much for his insight and certainly his passion on this issue. I, too, want to thank all of the men and women in uniform. And certainly we are here tonight talking some about the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Peter Pace, who will be retiring this fall, but we are also here to talk about the other leaders and the values that are at their core. Minnesota is like other States in the Union. We have members of our National Guard who have deployed, and deployed again in some cases. We have 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard serving in Iraq now as members of the Red Bulls, and we are so proud of them and looking forward to them coming back this summer. The sooner the better. That is an issue that has been mentioned by Members on both sides of the aisle that there have been mistakes made, and there certainly have. One of the early mistakes was not building up the size of the active forces and relying so heavily on these men and women in the reserve component, the reserves that the gentleman from Tennessee mentioned, and the members of the National Guard from all over having to go, having to leave their civilian jobs and leave their families and go and serve, and they do so willingly and bravely and well. And then they come back and have to resume their civilian lives, and we have to do a better job of reintegrating them in this body. We need to not let up. But I want to thank you, Mr. Wamp, for coming down here and helping us understand what it is that we are fighting. You put it so well. I know the gentleman remembers way back when the 9/11 Commission came out, and in that report they said we are fighting Islamist extremists. They didn't say we were just fighting al Qaeda. Certainly we are fighting al [[Page 16182]] Qaeda. And it seems so long ago now, and as you pointed out, it is even clearer now that this enemy that we are fighting is very, very determined. It is the jihadists in that moment that are at the core of this, and they are not going to quit. {time} 2100 America's a great country, greatest in the world with great people. But we're an impatient people, and it's difficult; no, it is impossible for us to understand what's in the minds of people who are not only willing but apparently eager to strap bombs to children and blow them up and kill innocent, innocent men, women, and children in the name of their cause and reestablishing that sharia law and that caliphate and then moving on to the world. And so like you, I am just grateful for the men and women in uniform and for all they have done and for their leaders. And before we wrap up here this evening, I want to mention briefly some of the other leaders that we don't sometimes talk so much about, but they are part of this fight, and they're an integral part. We just got a new commander of Central Command, Admiral William Fallon, a new leader, will bring new ideas and a new face. We've been ably led in the past, but it's important sometimes that we get a change of face and a new idea, get a new team sometimes. And Admiral Fallon is bringing some new insights into this fight. He was a naval aviator, a graduate of Villanova University in 1967, came through the Naval ROTC program, as I did. I have a lot of good things to say about the service academies. I think they do a terrific job, but there is no question that we get fine officers, men and women, who come through our other commissioning programs like the Naval ROTC program. Admiral Fallon served as an aviator in Vietnam, has had a very distinguished career. He is going on now to take overall command of everything in Central Command which, of course, includes all of Iraq and the surrounding countries, and we're glad to have him. General David Petraeus has been mentioned this evening, a really fine officer, graduate of the West Point Military Academy, has a PhD., very distinguished career. I've had the pleasure of sitting and talking with General Petraeus on two previous trips to Iraq. He was the commander of the 101st Airborne Division and Operation Iraqi Freedom One, and when I went over there, my first trip to Iraq, he was the commanding general up in Mosul. I had a chance to go and talk to him, and I was impressed then with his intelligence and his determination and his leadership. What a fine job the 101st did, not only in winning the initial combat but in starting to establish some local government and progress amongst the people of Mosul. And I thought at the time, what a fine officer, and all my colleagues who traveled over there, Republicans and Democrats, came back with glowing reports of General David Petraeus. It was later my son became a member of the 101st under a different commander and has gone to Iraq and served for a year and come back and served well, and General Petraeus left that division in good shape. General Petraeus went back to Iraq and served as the man in charge of training the Iraqi security forces, and so he was able to see firsthand what the difficulties were and what we needed to do there. And then he went on to become probably the Nation's foremost authority in unconventional warfare, ideally suited to his job. And so when the President nominated him to be the senior American commander in Iraq, he was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate. And under him is Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, another fine officer with previous service in Iraq and a graduate of the United States Military Academy. All of these officers, too many awards and decorations to name. My point this evening is that we are ably led by fine men who hew to an ethic of, as General Douglas MacArthur said, ``Duty, Honor, Country,'' but the core values seen at the Naval Academy and the United States Marine Corps of honor, courage, commitment, all of these men exemplify those core values, and they provide firm, steady, well- informed leadership to the men and women who serve us so well in all the corners of the world. And they're doing a good job. I just want to share with you a couple of quotes that I've got here about things that are going on in Iraq. Goodness knows we see plenty of bad news, and there is certainly some to share. And every time there's an explosion and our soldiers are killed or wounded, it pains us deeply. And when civilians are killed, it's a tragedy. But we're fighting against an enemy that is fierce and determined, as my colleague Mr. Wamp from Tennessee outlined so well. This is a tough enemy and we need tough soldiers to fight them, and all of us recognize that you cannot win this only militarily, that you need economics and you need politics and you need diplomacy. And I would say that these leaders that we've talked about tonight, Admiral Fallon, General Petraeus, General Odierno and certainly the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, understand that very well. But they're attending to the first order of business first. They want to make sure that our men and women are well-led. They're fighting to win. We in this body, my colleagues, need to make sure that we're giving them every chance to win. And I just notice some quotes that have just been in the news in the last couple of days. U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker says, ``It is noteworthy that violence is down in the two areas where the surge is focused, Anbar and Baghdad.'' And our friend from the other side of the Capitol, Senator Joe Lieberman says, ``Our troops have succeeded in improving security conditions in precisely those parts of Iraq where the surge has focused.'' We can't win it all in a day. It's going to be a long fight. The men and women serving and fighting understand this. We need to understand this and make sure that we are, in fact, being true to ourselves and true to them. I want to share just a brief story about the fine leadership that we have, not just these men that we've talked about tonight, but the fine young men and women who are stepping up to lead our Armed Forces today. One of the great things we get to do as Members of Congress is nominate these fine young students to go forward to the academy. We're always thrilled when one is selected to go, and the joy that they have and the pride that their families feel is certainly moving. In my first year here as a Member of this body, my niece graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Vicky and I went up for several days of ceremonies and to share with my sister and brother-in- law and nieces their joy and pride in my niece's accomplishment. She, by the way, now Captain Stroecker, is serving in the United States Army. She served a year over in Kuwait. She served in Germany, and she's the kind of officer that makes us proud. But while we were there at West Point, we were surrounded by these young cadets, some of them just getting ready to be commissioned. And we were there when the second lieutenants' bars were pinned on, but I remember sitting with Vicky in the audience and witnessing a ceremony that I found to be very moving. It was a very impressive thing to watch. This is a ceremony where the graduating class turns over command, turns over command to the brigade, to the rising seniors, the juniors rising to be seniors, and you see the long gray line march out in that ceremony. Movies are made about the long gray line, stories written, and it's moving to watch it, and they march out, and they pass command from one class to the next. And I remember thinking as that ceremony was going on and looking at those fine, fine young men and women, I remember thinking, no wonder, no wonder that the United States has the finest Armed Forces in the world and no wonder that we're the best we've ever been, with all apologies to the [[Page 16183]] Greatest Generation, my father's generation, an Army World War II veteran, but today's Army and today's Marine Corps and Navy and Air Force and Coast Guard are the best they have ever been, all volunteer, all eager, all determined. They understand that enemy that my colleague, the gentleman from Tennessee, was describing. They know that what they're doing is important, that without their success we are in great danger. But as you look at those fine young men and women and when you are there, when they move on to become second lieutenants, you just can't help but notice that that's the reason why our men and women in uniform today are led by very, very fine leaders. Well, I see that we're nearing the end of the time for this Special Order. I'm sure there is more to be said about the fine men and women who are leading our military, and that's what we were about this evening, to talk a little bit about the conflict we're involved in, the importance of that leadership and the people who are leading and certainly to talk about General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pete, I think it was my colleague, Robin Hayes, who said, we love you, and we thank you, and we wish you all the best. And I know that sometimes you thought about these words, I certainly have over the years, President Ronald Reagan said way back in 1985; he said, some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world, but the Marines don't have that problem. And Pete Pace has never had that problem. He has been a great leader. He is a great leader. We're looking forward to his leadership in the closing months of his tour as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We thank him for everything that he has done, that he is doing and that he is going to do. ____________________