Kenny Hulshof

“ Iraqi security forces are not ready to counter all of the threats that are facing Iraq and cannot secure their country on their own. If we made the ill-fated decision to turn our backs on the Iraqi people, we would doom their brief experience with democracy and risk creating a lawless safe-haven for terrorists. ”

“ Afghanistan was a haven for al-Qaeda, and the terror attacks on our own soil showed us that we can no longer rely on oceans and geography to protect our homeland :from attack. Thus, we must drain the swamps where terrorism breeds and take the fight to those who have, through their own words and deeds, declared war on us. ”

“ Now, let us remember that the intelligence community around the world continued to assert that Iraq under Saddam Hussein continued to pursue the means to produce and deploy weapons of mass destruction. ”

“ Three years ago when I addressed this House on the resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq, I said, "while I do not find sufficient evidence to establish a concrete link between Iraq and the al-Qaeda terrorist that committed the terrorist acts of September 11th, the fact remains that Iraq continues to sponsor terrorists with global reach." ”

“ Ultimately, success will be achieved when Iraq is a stable country that is no longer a threat to the region or global security, a peaceable country that respects the rights of its citizens and its neighbors. ”

“ Iraqi security forces are growing in number and taking more responsibility for internal security. We have now trained more than 240,000 security forces, and these men and even some women are now beginning to take the lead in the fight against terrorist insurgents. Indigenous personnel and intelligence assets played a key role in the successful mission that led to the elimination of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq.
Democracy is taking root in Iraq. ”

“ The Iraqi people have approved what is arguably the most progressive constitution in the Arab world, and last December, 75 percent of voting age Iraqis freely elected their new government. Iraq now has a new Prime Minister, Jawad al-Maliki, and the Prime Minister has filled all of the positions in his cabinet. The new government is a representative cross-section of Iraq's diverse religious and ethnic populations. ”

“ In the wake of September 11, the American people rightfully demanded that their elected officials make a commitment to aggressively combat terrorism. We went into Afghanistan to proactively stop further attacks on innocent Americans. ”

“ Things are moving forward on the economic front. In 2005, the Iraqi economy grew by an estimated 2.6 percent in real terms and the International Monetary Fund has estimated that it will grow by more than 10 percent this year. ”