Statement on first Anniversary of Iraqi Action
Statement on first Anniversary of Iraqi Action
March 17, 2004
Mr. Speaker,
I am pleased to speak on behalf of House Resolution 557. The US investments in the War on Terror and in Iraq are proving worthwhile and by making the world a safer place.
The State Department's Patterns of Global Terrorism report shows that since the start of the War on Terror in September 2001, the number of terrorist attacks and fatalities linked to terrorism have declined. 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, rights that have not been realized for over 20 years.
With the signing of the interim Constitution, Iraq is the seed for democracy spreading throughout the Middle East. As President Bush said, "The world has a clear interest in the spread of democratic values, because stable and free nations do not breed ideologies of murder."
I visited Iraq last October, and saw first hand 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.
The War on Terror has encouraged nations to protect their national security, track down and arrest known and suspected terrorists, and to make overtures 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 weapons capabilities. The 50,000 pounds of machine parts to enrich uranium is just a small portion of the material and information that we received from Libya. Not only did we receive the material, but the United States also uncovered the supplier and smuggling ring responsible for supplying Libya and other nations with the nuclear technology and components for creating a weapon of mass destruction. Ghaddafi himself has cited the fall of Saddam Hussein as a reason for Libya abandoning it nuclear weapons of mass destruction program.
Libya's decision is an example of the administration's tough line against states that sponsor terrorism and have unconventional weapons programs. The United States investments in Iraq are proving themselves effective. Iraq is a safer nation, as is the United States. I commend the Armed Forces of the United States and the Coalition forces for their service and I strongly support the resolution.
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/oh03_turner/fs_040317_iraq.html