Neal Dunn: “Mr. Speaker, for more than 20 years, Saddam Hussein used tactics of torture, brutality, and fear to terrorize the…”

“Mr. Speaker, for more than 20 years, Saddam Hussein used tactics of torture, brutality, and fear to terrorize the citizens of Iraq and neighboring countries. Exactly 16 years ago this week, Saddam Hussein unleashed weapons of mass destruction that killed 5,000 of his own Kurdish citizens. He encouraged Iraqi officials to rape and torture women. Men and women of Iraq were repressed, and they were isolated from the rest of the world. One year after the United States and coalition forces liberated Iraqi citizens, the people of Iraq are embracing this opportunity to build a new and free Iraq for their children. Last October, I saw firsthand the remarkable activities that are taking place on the ground in Iraq. There are now over 3,800 programs that offer immediate assistance to improve the quality of life for all Iraqi people. As reconstruction efforts continue to move forward, many essential services like water, sanitation, electricity, and telecommunication have been restored and even surpass prewar levels. In fact, public health spending is now 26 times as great as it was under Saddam's regime. Today I met with a delegation of Iraqi leaders to talk about the continuing advances in Iraq. This was a diverse delegation. It was men and women, Shi'ias, Sunnis, tribal leaders, doctors, members of the free press. They are dedicated to promoting and to teaching democracy throughout south central Iraq.”