On the Iraq Vote

ON THE IRAQ VOTE -- (House of Representatives - October 17, 2005)

(Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, the Washington Post has done it again for us. They ran an article on the retirement of Turkey's ambassador to the United States, and I was struck by a comment that the ambassador made regarding Iraq and our efforts to reshape that country in the Middle East.

This is what he said: ``Pessimism debilitates you. Don't ignore the facts, but be optimistic. Some of the apparent clumsiness is democracy in the making.'' Democracy in the making.

Mr. Speaker, too many in this body and in the media have fed the pessimism. Those of us standing with the President and our military in Iraq are not playing Pollyanna on this. We know it is going to be a tough, tough endeavor. But we believed and we still believe that failing to act was a poor long-term solution to the fundamental crisis of terrorism that exists in the Middle East.

Today, we should all take a moment and praise our troops, our leadership, and the Iraqi people for voting on a constitution last Saturday. Nearly 63 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot. That is tremendous, and it should be cause for celebration both here and around the world.

Again, to quote the ambassador, ``Pessimism debilitates you.'' Let us celebrate this success.

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