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Washington, DC – Congressman Bill Shuster attended a joint session of Congress where Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki delivered a speech to members of the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Congressman Shuster, a member of the Armed Services Committee, released the following statement after Maliki delivered his speech:
"Prime Minister Maliki was elected by the Iraqi people, which is an example of how far Iraq has come in a short period of time. It has not been easy, but Iraqis are now providing more than 90 percent of their own security, they’ve held free and fair elections, and their economy is growing at unprecedented rates. Maliki reiterated today that Iraq is the frontline in the War on Terror, but America has Iraq as an ally and Iraqis do not want us to cut-and-run. In today’s speech he laid out a plan to continue bringing stability to his country, to continue unifying Iraq’s government and to expel the foreign terrorists who want to a tyrannical dictatorship instead of democracy."
"And today, yet again, our democracy exemplified to the world what it means to be free. A protester supporting the Democrat’s cut-and-run Iraq policy unsuccessfully tried to start an anti-war chant during Prime Minster Maliki’s speech. Because our courageous soliders, Marines, airmen and sailors have preserved our democracy and liberties for over 200 years, she was simply escorted out of the House Chamber by Capitol Hill Police for causing a disturbance. In Iraq, these freedoms are beginning to take shape after years of torture, murder and fear under Saddam Hussein’s rule, and this is a glaring example to the world that American democracy continues to provide a beacon of hope." |
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