[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3659]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            HALABJA ATTACKS

  (Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because this week 
marks the 27th anniversary of the Halabja chemical attacks against the 
Kurdish people in Iraq.
  On March 16, 1988, Saddam Hussein's regime created one of modern 
history's most barbaric crimes. He ordered his forces to drop chemical 
weapons, including mustard and sarin gas, on the Kurdish town of 
Halabja.
  The brutal attack, which can only be described as a crime against 
humanity, resulted in painful, agonizing deaths of at least 5,000 
innocent men, women, and children, while leaving thousands more maimed, 
blinded, and otherwise permanently debilitated.
  More than two and a half decades later, the aftermath of this 
horrific atrocity is still apparent with the victims, many of whom have 
suffered long-term illnesses, paralysis, neurological effects, cancers, 
and even congenital malformations in children to this day.
  Since these atrocities, the Kurds have done a remarkable job of 
rebuilding. Today, the Kurds are one of America's most steadfast 
allies. Peshmerga forces continue to shoulder immense burdens while 
seeking to defeat and destroy our mutual enemy ISIS.
  As a uniquely democratic and stable haven amidst a region more often 
marked by instability and authoritarian rule, Kurdistan also hosts 
almost 1.6 million Internally Displaced Persons and refugees, including 
Christians, Yezidis, and other religious minorities.
  Today, we remember the unconscionable attack on Halabja, but we also 
celebrate the achievements and will of the Kurdish people to move 
forward.

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