Foreign Affairs

Securing the United States is the number one priority of our government. Congress is working to protect homeland and foreign intrestes from threats whether from terrorists or rogue countries abroad.

Iraq

The War on Terrorism covers many fronts: diplomatic, economic, intelligence and military force.Our efforts to fight terrorism include new initiatives to strengthen our homeland security and provide our armed services with the resources necessary to carry out their difficult missions.

Our ongoing mission in Afghanistan has resulted in the death and arrest of thousands of Al Qaeda’s most dangerous operatives. Simultaneously, a promising new democratic government is restoring basic freedoms and new hopes to the millions who suffered under government oppression.

In Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s continuing threat, reinforced by his long history of aggression and weapons development, justified a second allied front. Our military objective in Iraq, to remove Hussein and his regime from power and bring them to justice, was accomplished swiftly. As we have moved to restore order and stability to the region, our temporary presence has drawn thousands of Al Qaeda disciples to Iraq to capitalize on what began as a small and anticipated homegrown insurgency by Hussein’s most fierce loyalists. Iraq is now al-Qaeda’s center of gravity and we must do all that we can to secure and stabilize Iraq and its promising new government, defeating agents of terror on fronts abroad so they never again strike us at home.

The cost of freedom is tragically high. As our nation mourns those heroic men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice, we must honor their significant contributions by supporting the brave service of their comrades who continue our mission to restore political freedom and stable governance, establish regional security, train a self sustained Iraqi force to enforce a fair and just rule of law, and rebuild critical infrastructure to promote a strong independent labor force and economy. There is much progress to report in this effort.

• Iraq’s constitution was passed last month by a majority of Iraqi voters, guaranteeing the rights of all citizens under an equal rule of law. 63 percent of Iraq’s 15.5 million registered voters cast ballots in defiance of those who hoped to derail progress toward a representative government. A new parliament will be voted on in December, forming a four-year termed government scheduled to take office by December 31, 2005.

• As of October 24, 2005, a total of 206,500 Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) have been trained and equipped. This number includes 99,000 Ministry of Defense forces
• and 107,500 Ministry of Interior Forces including police and highway patrol. ISF control key cities where Coalition Forces battled last year.

• Multi-National Forces continue to uncover and destroy weapons caches, detain suspected terrorists, and capture or kill senior Al Qaeda members and associates of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

• Significant progress is being made to helping Iraq improve essential utilities and services such as electricity, water, sanitation, and transportation infrastructure. This includes hundreds of water treatment projects, road and power plant construction, school renovations. The majority of these projects are awarded directly to local contractors and local water authorities.

The stakes today in the war on terror, of which Iraq is a key part, are extraordinarily high. Establishing a democracy takes persistence, and the Iraqi people continue to prove that they are capable of this difficult task. If we are not successful in the global war on terrorism, our security, and our way of life itself, is at stake.

Middle East

The US and its European allies are working together to address security developments in Iran, particularly their refusal to discontinue work to establish a hostile nuclear infrastructure. The road map to peace is advancing with continued dialog among the U.S., Israel, and Palestine to establish a permanent peace.

We will continue to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the security of our people and a more stable Middle East. As this issue moves forward you can be assured I will keep your views in mind as we all continue to support those who wear the uniform of the United States Military.

Nuclear Proliferation

I participate in a bipartisan working group examining the risks of nuclear proliferation among countries and groups that have a history of threatening acts against the United States and our allies. This group, headed up by former Congressman and September 11th Commission member Tim Roemer is exploring ways to address this serious subject by recruiting Representatives and Senators from across the ideological spectrum to discuss solutions.

The United States and Russia recently marked a years long project to convert 10,000 nuclear warheads in Russia into non weapons grade material that can be used to produce up to 10 percent of the electricity we use in America.