Message From the Senate
MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE -- (House of Representatives - June 15, 2006)
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Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give strong support to H. Res. 861. For more than three years, the man Osama bin Laden called ``the prince of al-Qaeda'' orchestrated terror attacks that killed thousands of Iraqis, American troops and coalition forces. Now, thanks to hard work and dedication of the U.S. military and our coalition partners, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's reign of terror is over.
Since the U.S. and our coalition partners liberated Iraq, bin Laden has sought to defeat the efforts of the people of Iraq to transform their nation into a peace-loving democracy so he can turn it into a radical Islamic state where al-Qaeda calls the shots. The air strike that killed Zarqawi has dealt bin Laden's organization a crucial blow by eliminating the man he trusted to wage his jihad in Iraq. It is a major victory in the War on Terror.
Mr. Speaker, as Chairman of the House VA Economic Opportunities Subcommittee, I feel strongly about coming to the floor today to honor our brave servicemen and women who are defending our homeland in the Global War on Terror. They have fought valiantly since the vicious unprovoked attacks of 9/11. They liberated the people of Afghanistan from the Taliban, an abusive regime that once harbored Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda leadership. The terrorists no longer have a safe haven and are on the run. Their hopes of creating a new Taliban-like state in Iraq has suffered a major setback with our military's latest success in getting Zarqawi.
Since the end of the initial operation in Iraq, many of my Democratic colleagues have called for a full withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. When the attacks on U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians intensified, so did their calls for us to pull out. If we had heeded those calls and not allowed our military to complete their mission, Zarqawi would still be alive and be making further strides toward turning Iraq into al-Qaeda's new home base.
Whether or not you supported the initial operation in Iraq, the fact of the matter is we have to see this through. Our troops deserve our support and all the resources they need to get the job done. And I am committed to giving them both.
Since the liberation of Afghanistan and Iraq, we have captured or killed thousands of suspected terrorists. Our servicemen and women have rooted terrorists out of hiding all over the globe. They deserve our utmost support and praise for keeping us safe and making the world a better place as they continue to fight the global war on terror.
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