[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2785]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      CODEL TO THE CENTRAL FRONTS

  (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, last week, I participated 
in a congressional delegation to visit troops and fact-find in Kuwait, 
Iraq, Bahrain, and Afghanistan. Immediately upon arrival, we were given 
an optimistic assessment of democracy in the region by Ambassador 
Deborah Jones in Kuwait.
  America's team in Baghdad, ably led by General Lloyd Austin and 
Ambassador James Jeffrey, confirmed the transition to an Iraqi lead is 
working with the professionalism of the Iraqi Army and police. A 
highlight for me was to meet with the 151st Expeditionary Signal 
Battalion led by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Wholey of the South 
Carolina Army National Guard to thank them and their families for their 
service.
  In Bahrain, we met top officials who assured us the reformist Crown 
Prince is leading negotiations to reduce conflict in this dynamic 
Persian Gulf ally where we visited the U.S.S. Lake Champlain's capable 
sailors.
  In Afghanistan, we saw firsthand in Kandahar the success of President 
Obama's surge where a surge of 30,000 U.S. troops last year motivated a 
surge of an additional 70,000 Afghans to fight terrorism. The Kabul 
team of General David Petraeus and Ambassador Karl Eikenberry are 
successfully denying terrorists a safe haven to attack American 
families.
  Godspeed to Danielle Simonetti Mauer, a Washington and Lee graduate, 
as she departs from House service for a new career.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget 
September the 11th in the global war on terrorism.

                          ____________________