[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         CODE NAME ``GERONIMO''

  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, just last week, the U.S. military 
carried out a covert operation that ended in the killing of the most 
wanted terrorist on the planet, Osama bin Laden. The news of Osama bin 
Laden's death at the hands of our heroic Navy SEALs sent forth a wave 
of tremendous relief by the American people.
  However, Mr. Speaker, we also learned that the U.S. military and the 
CIA used the code name ``Geronimo'' for the operation to seize and kill 
Osama bin Laden. The first reports of the details of the raid stated 
that Osama bin Laden had been identified as ``Geronimo''--enemy killed 
in action.
  Mr. Speaker, I would strongly suggest to all my colleagues in the 
House that you should go and see the movie ``Geronimo'' and see for 
yourselves if the Chiricahua Apache warrior Geronimo was a terrorist 
and murderer of thousands of innocent men, women, and children like 
Osama bin Laden. On the contrary, Geronimo was one of the greatest 
American Indian warriors who fought against some of the most vicious, 
cruelest, and inhumane treatment and policies instituted by our Federal 
Government against his people.
  As a Nation--Mr. Speaker--I know we can do better than this. And with 
all due respect, I believe the President and CIA Director Panetta owe 
the Apache Nation an apology.

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