The Iraq Theater of War

THE IRAQ THEATER OF WAR -- (House of Representatives - April 2)
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Mr. TURNER of Ohio. Mr. Chairman, I first want to congratulate you on your comments that you have made about the importance of our troops having the necessary equipment and protective gear. You have been a leader, as has our President, in making certain that they have the resources necessary in order to protect themselves, and that of course was not without opposition.

There has been significant opposition in supporting our troops and our funding, and our President has stood fast and so have you in making sure that they have had the correct armor, the Humvees had the correct armor, and that we work diligently to bring those supplies and equipment to our troops.

Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to travel to Iraq with the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton) of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities under the gentleman's committee. We had the opportunity to go to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and Kuwait.

Throughout our trip there was not anyone that we met with in any one of those countries who did not identify Iraq as part of the war on terror. They all reported that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the safety in the Middle East, safety to the United States and safety of the Western civilized world, and understood how important it was that the United States win this effort and stick to this effort of stabilizing Iraq and of the removal of Saddam Hussein.

Now, everyone has their stories of when they were in Iraq as to what they saw. One that touched me the most, I served as the former mayor for the City of Dayton and I had the opportunity to talk with some of the mayors that were emerging for some of the towns and cities in Iraq, and they were able to talk to us about the path to liberty. These were men who were absolutely committed to serving their communities, who had the challenges that every community does, in dealing with the areas of infrastructure and sanitary issues, sewer issues, their police, the safety of their people, but had a glint in their eye of the commitment, of the understanding of what was more important of what they were doing.

They were not mayors who were just concerned about the public services that a city provides, but they were concerned about the path to liberty, the support the United States was providing to them and their ability to stabilize their country.

Each of them was serving at a tremendous risk to themselves and their family, knowing that the idea that they were standing for, the beliefs that they were standing for, of liberty, was jeopardizing their life and the lives and the safety of their family.

Now, recently, I had someone ask me why did I think the conflict in Iraq was increasing currently. I think we all know that as we take a look at Iraq and its path to liberty that there are those that benefited from the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein. There are those who benefited from this brutal dictatorship and they do not want to see this path to liberty this country is taking. They would prefer to have a brutal dictatorship that delivers out power and benefits to the few instead of the country benefiting from the freedom of all.

I think the President's efforts in Iraq are best shown in the efforts that we have recently seen in Libya. We know that as a result of Iraq and the removal of Saddam Hussein, that Moammar Khadaffi has come forward and offered up his nuclear weapons program to the United States and other countries, indicating that he is abandoning his efforts of pursuing the weapons of mass destruction, particularly in the area of nuclear weapons and that he was much more advanced than what we had thought.

What we know is by pulling Saddam Hussein out of a spider hole, in Libya we have seen that Moammar Khadaffi and the Libyans have coughed up their nuclear weapons program again to the greater safety of the world and to the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the chairman's leadership on this issue and for continuing to focus on the issue of protecting our troops.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the chairman's leadership on this issue and for continuing to focus on the issue of protecting our troops.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to thank the gentleman for his great service in the Committee on Armed Services and his expertise to the markups we have had; also to his commitment to our people in uniform.

Let me ask the gentleman his ideas on the morale of our troops. I understand this is a tough and difficult time. What is your take?

Mr. TURNER of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, when I am asked this back at home about the issue of morale of our troops, I always tell everyone there are two components of morale. One is are you sure of your purpose? Two, do you want to come home?

Everyone I met with, of course, wanted to come home and had very compelling stories of the sacrifice they were making in being away from their families. But everyone was absolutely sure of their purpose, not just for the liberation of Iraq but for the absolute nexus of their work for their safety of the United States. They know they are on the front lines of the war on terror and the war on terrorism. They know the efforts they are doing is making America safer.

Every one of them when I asked about their commitment to being in Iraq, their desire to stay and finish the job, were absolutely committed to this, and from that I would say their morale was very high because they were doing what they love, which is defending our country and advancing the freedom and the safety of our country.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.

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