Relating to the Liberation of the Iraqi People and the Valiant Service of the United States Armed Forces and Coalition Forces
RELATING TO THE LIBERATION OF THE IRAQI PEOPLE AND THE VALIANT SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES AND COALITION FORCES -- (House of Representatives - March 17, 2004)
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Mr. TURNER of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak on behalf of House Resolution 557. The U.S. investments in the war on terror and in Iraq are proving worthwhile and are making the world safer. As of February 2004, 44 of the 55 most wanted former Iraqi leaders are dead or in custody. The Iraqi people have created and signed an interim constitution guaranteeing basic freedoms, rights and protections to all Iraqis previously unrealized in Iraq.
I visited Iraq in October and saw firsthand that Iraqis are much better off than they were under the oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein. Children are able to go to school without being taught government propaganda. Small businesses are able to open. Iraqi citizens have access to health care formerly denied to them, and once neglected infrastructure is being rebuilt. No one who argues against this resolution can deny that Saddam Hussein was an enemy of the United States and an enemy of the Iraqi people. The war on terror has encouraged nations to protect their national security, track down and arrest known and suspected terrorists, and to make ovations to the international community in order to create a more peaceful and stable environment.
Last fall, the United States stopped a ship carrying nuclear components bound for Libya. Recently, Libya voluntarily turned over equipment from its nuclear weapons program to the United States. Had Libya kept these materials, they had the ingredients to create nuclear weapon capabilities. The 50,000 pounds of machine parts to enrich uranium is just a small portion of the material and information that they have turned over. Qaddafi himself has cited the fall of Saddam Hussein as a reason for Libya abandoning its nuclear weapons of mass destruction program. Can anyone have imagined a nuclear power as Libya?
Libya's decision is an example of the administration's tough line against states that sponsor terrorism and have unconventional weapons programs. United States investments in Iraq are proving themselves effective. Iraq is a safer nation, as is the United States. I commend our Armed Forces of the United States and the coalition forces.
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