Porter Goss: “Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 557, recognizing American and coalition forces in Iraq…”

“Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 557, recognizing American and coalition forces in Iraq and the liberation of the Iraqi people. The American people should know and believe that the President brought the U.S. into this war to oust Saddam Hussein and bring freedom in that part of the world with 34 coalition partners, and that was a good decision. Many of us supported the President and voted to provide emergency supplemental funding for military operations in Iraq. These were the resources that financed the capture of additional Saddam regime loyalists and Saddam himself and provided funding to protect our troops. As a matter of fact, the lion's share of the money went to the troops and the other went to rebuilding the country, opening schools, opening hospitals, putting electricity on line, opening businesses. The people of Iraq love America because of their newfound freedom, their newfound hope, and their newfound opportunities. Many of us voted for the war resolution because we believed it was the right thing to do, and many of us voted for the supplemental funding because we believed it was the right thing to do.”