Date: 2007-09-04
Speaker: DAVID DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Tennessee

Mr. Speaker. Id like to thank my friend from Texas for yielding and thank you for giving me the opportunity to visit Iraq. Being from Tennessee. the Volunteer State. I volunteered to visit the men and women in uniform in Iraq. I wasnt disappointed. Our troops are Well trained. well motivated. and successful. After the fall of Saddam. the Iraqi people had a choice to make. They have lived for decades under totalitarian rule. Over the past 4 years. theyve been divided and. quite frankly. confused about who their friends and allies really are. Is it the radical extremists such as al Qaeda or is it us? During my visit to Iraq. I visited Ramadi. which until a few months ago was a killing field. For the past 4 years. the people of Ramadi were caught in a decisionmaking battle of which group. us or the extremists. offered them the best chance for a normal and free future. The insurgent extremist chose to win the local people over with the use of force. force against their AmeriQan troops and against any local who did not support their radical agenda. Our troops. on the other hand. have reached out in friendship and support. The local people. seeing the difference. have chosen to have their lives returned t6normal and live in freedom. Therefore. Ramadi has gone. from a city of death and destruction to one of rebuilding and hope. I was able to see it firsthand during my visit in July. As I walked throughout the busy city market. it was very uplifting to see the local people interacting with our American troops in a very positive way. Now that the surge is under way. our troops are actually living in the city as trusted friends and allies. Were working with the local mayor and his directors to rebuild and totally rejuvenate the city. The city of Ramadi is located in al Anbar. a city that Chris just mentioned moments ago as being a lost hope at the end of the year. Of course. these relationships take time to develop. but the time and effort are worth it. Helping the Iraqi people secure their freedom helps us to defeat global extremists and. therefore. secure our own freedoms for generations.to come. We have to be successful as well. Ronald Reagan once said. "We win. they lose." If we choose not to succeed. that statement will be just the opposite: we lose. they win. You may ask. who are they and why does it matter to me anyway? They are not the Iraqi people. I had the opportunity to meet with some of them during my visit. The Iraqi people are really no different than any of us. They want to live in a secure and safe country. have a job to go to in the mornings. be able to clothe and feed their families. walk across the street without fear of being shot or blown up. find reasonable health care. and to worship freely. These are the same things that any American mother and father would want for their children. So who are our enemy in Iraq and other parts of the world? Theyre radical extremists who are willing to kill innocent men. women and even children to spread their ideology of hate. We. the American people. have been lulled into believing that this is the Presidents war on the Iraqi. people. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Iraqi people and the Iraqi Government see us as liberators from an oppressive regime. but they are just now learning how to live as a free people. Our common enemy do not want them to live free and productive lives. That would go against their ideology of hate. an ideology that they want to spread around the world. perhaps to a neighborhood near you. We cannot let that happen. We either win and they lose. or they win and we lose. That is too big a price to pay. This Congress owes it to everyone involved to succeed. from the Iraqi people to our brave men and women in uniform who are serving on the frontlines of battle. to the American people. We cannot afford to lose. The price is too high and the cost is too much. Freedom isnt free. It has to be earned. It has to be cherished. Were in a fight for the generations that will come after us. This battle isnt about a small hot desert land somewhere in the Middle East that most Americans will never visit or even easily find on a globe. This battle is about our future and that of our children and grandchildren. We want the same things for our children that Iraqi mothers and fathers do for their children. We want to live in a secure and safe country. to have a job to go to in the mornings. be able to clothe and .feed our families. walk across the street without having the fear of being blown up or shot. find reasonable health care and to worship freely. But our enemy. the radical extremists. want to deny us and our future generations those freedoms. They have proved it time and time again: for instance. the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979 where 52 Americans were held for 444 days. or the bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut where 241 marines lost their lives in 1983. or the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. or the attack on the USS Cole claiming the lives of 17 sailors. or the deadly attack on September 11. where almost 3.000 Americans died. We can either choose to fight and win the battle now or choose to lose the battle now and leave it for our children to fight. A sentiment relayed to me by a general in Iraq was very simple. and it drove this point home. Our men and women in uniform are not fighting only for the 8yearold Iraqi child and their security but also for the 8yearold American child and for their current and future security and freedom. We do not want them to grow up to have to fight this battle that we chose not to finish. As I mentioned. our enemy has proven theyre dedicated and willing to shed American blood on American soil. Do we really want to tie our hands to the point that we encourage failure over -success in Iraq in this global war on terror? Do we really want to live in an America where our future generations have to fear going to the park. going to the mall. going to school or to work? I dont think so and I sure hope not. The choice is ours today. The American people. when provided with the facts. will choose freedom and security every time. I say. we win. they lose. The cost to the American family is just too great to allow any other outcome. May God bless America and keep her strong and secure for generations to come.