The True Facts in Regard to Progress in Iraq
THE TRUE FACTS IN REGARD TO PROGRESS IN IRAQ -- (House of Representatives - July 26, 2006)
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Mr. GOODE. I thank the gentleman.
I would like to restate some of the comments that we heard earlier today from the new Prime Minister of Iraq and make some of the points he said about how Iraq of today is different than what the Iraq of a few years ago was.
He said, ``We have gone from a small one-party state ruled by a dictator and a small elite to a multi-party system where politics is the domain of every citizen and parties compete at all levels. What used to be a state-controlled media is now completely free and uncensored; something Iraq had never witnessed since its establishment as a modern state, and something which remains alien to most of the region. What used to be a command economy in Iraq we are rapidly transforming into a free market economy. In the past 3 years, our gross domestic product per capita has more than doubled, and it is expected that our economy will continue to grow.''
He went on to say, ``While small sections of central Iraq are unstable, large sections have remained peaceful but ignored for far too long. They were the most deprived areas of Iraq under the previous regime and have been the most valiant in Iraq's struggle for freedom. We need to make an example out of these stable areas as models for the rest of the country.
``Reconstruction projects in these areas will tackle unemployment, which will weaken the terrorists. They will become prototypes for other, more volatile regions to aspire to. Undoubtedly, reconstruction in these areas will fuel economic growth and show what a prosperous, stable, democratic, and federal Iraq would look like.''
Today, Saddam Hussein is in prison awaiting the end of his trial. Zarqawi, the leader of the al Qaeda in Iraq, was eliminated by United States troops. Iraqi security forces now number over 265,000 and are participating in more than 90 percent of all security operations in the country. Iraqi citizens are coming forth with tips about insurgents and terrorist activities. More than 70 percent of Iraqi citizens voted in a series of free and fair elections. Those figures are some that those of us in this country could be envious of.
The progress in Iraq has not been without cost. This past week, a citizen of the Fifth District of Virginia from Greene County, a little community of Ruckersville, was killed by an IED. He was Corporal Adam Fargo. He went to William Monroe High School. He volunteered for service in the United States Army. He, like so many of us who have volunteered on behalf of our country, has made the positive statistics and the statements and the changes in Iraq possible. But it is not just for the country of Iraq, it is for the United States of America.
We have indeed been fortunate in this country. Over the last 200 some odd years since our Nation was founded, rarely have there been attacks upon our homeland. Most of the fighting in World War II was abroad. All of the fighting in World War I was abroad. In Korea, the fighting was abroad. In Vietnam, the fighting was in Asia. And now, when we are in the Middle East, back in the Gulf War of 1990, 1991, the fighting was there. We liberated Kuwait. And now today, following September 11 when we were hit on our own soil, in Afghanistan men and women in our Armed Forces are standing up for America, and some have given their lives, have given their all for our Nation.
Our Nation is a beacon on a hill. It is the land of the free and the home of the brave because of those persons like Adam Fargo who have stood by our country and made those of us who are in the United States of America far safer and given us the ability to enjoy democracy and the greatest freedom in the world.
We need to thank all of our troops, and particularly those for whom we can never express enough gratitude for they have given their lives so that all of us may be free and that our democracy can be a shining light for the rest of the world.
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