Date: 2003-10-16
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Chairman. there are moments in history where we are aware that decisions we are making will affect the world in the future. Today we stand at such a moment. charged with the enormous task of helping to rebuild Iraq. We must be up to the challenge. Our own history offers us guidance about how to best rebuild a wartime adversary. After Worid War I. Germany was soundly defeated and the parties gathered In Versailles to negotiate the terms of surrender. The talks came to a question of who was responsible for the aftermath. Was Germany responsible? Should a country with a new government be burdened by the debts of a defeated regime? Should they be responsible for reconstruction and reparations? We all realize how the reparations Inflicted upon Germany at that time created an atmosphere of despair. We are also aware of how this atmosphere was exploited by the evil monster Adolf Hitler. Mr. Chairman. we know how this story ended in Germany and It could end up that way In Iraq: a leader. or a sect. seeks to rebuild a fractured national pride with acts of violence committed in the name of a downtrodden people. The assistance we are voting for today will significantly contribute to preventing an ending such as that. This assistance is for the defense of our troops abroad and our citizens at home. as we make the world safer for all of our friends and allies. A free and democratic Iraq will be a beacon for hope in the Middle East. It will show to the people of the region that democracy is possible that the United States does not impose Its will only the ability for peoples to decide their own destiny. Great challenges require courageous decision. The easy road has sometimes been taken in the past and we know Its disastrous consequences. The long and fiscally difficult road has also been tried by the United States of America. An alliance scarred by battle once again sat across from debt heavy and defeated nations and the alliance did not make the same mistake of 1918. The U.S. eventually formulated a systematic recovery program that became known as the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was not entirely made up of U.S. aid. it also called on the devastated European nations to eventually contribute to their own recovery. Yet the first Installment of $4 billion in aid required great political will. At the time $4 billion represented 13 percent of the entire budget. That act of Congressional courage helped to remake Western Europe into a subcontinent of strong economies. strong democracies. and thus strong allies. Again. we all know how the success of that plan contributed to the creation of a stable. free and democratic Western Europe. We all acknowledge there are many domestic issues that we must address as a Congress. Protecting our Homeland is perhaps the greatest mission before us. It is my belief that working for stability in Iraq and the Middle East is essential in order to protect our citizens at home. We do not set the correct example if we only support freedom and safety at home.. That is why I applaud President Bush for setting the course of reconstruction in Iraq. Encouraging progress Is already happening. schools are opening. electricity is turnIng on. new currency is being distributed today. but we have the ability to do so much more. As Iraqi people see continued progress in rebuilding. we help keep Americans safe at home. Mr. Chairman. the great American poet Robert Frost once wrote. "Two roads diverged In a yellow wood." We know that one road today leads to debt and internal strife. We know the harder road leads to reconstruction and reconciliation. In a section of the world that has already imperiled too many lives. in a country whose previous. savage regime caused too much suffering and too many deaths. we In Congress are obligated by the lessons of our history to support an emerging Iraqi democracy with our wisdom. our experience and our resources. The vote we are about to cast will have enormous repercussions. If this assistance has the same effect that the Marshall Plan funding had In Western Europe. it will help create a stable. democratic Iraqi government and a lifelong ally of the United States. My colleagues. today we must act with the same vision as our forebearers in this House. We must support our troops In the field and the reconstruction of Iraq.