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Congressman Boozman with Fort Smith Citizens Academy graduate Linsey Yates of Ramona Roberts Realty and Deputy City Administrator Ray Gosack View Photo
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Iraq

Thanks to the brave men and women in our armed forces, the regime that once terrorized Iraq in no longer in control of that country. In fact, most members of that regime have been captured, killed or have turned themselves into coalition forces. This includes Saddam Hussien, the tryant that ruled Iraq with an iron fist for over 25 years. The once powerful dictator was found cowering in a spider-hole outside of Tikrit, where he was captured by the American military. He has been turned over to the Iraqi people who are in the process of trying him for his heinous crimes.

Saddam Hussien is no longer filling mass graves. He is no longer torturing and terrorizing the people of Iraq. He is no longer holding the Iraqi people in a state of fear. In fact, the Iraqi people now have control their own country and their own destiny.

The Iraqi people have been liberated by our troops and our allies, who are now helping them build a stable, democratic society of their own. We turned control of the nation over to the Iraqi people, but must remain there until democracy takes hold and the Iraqi military can provide protection for their citizens. Once this mission has been accomplished, we will leave the region a safer and better place for the Iraqi people and the world.

Saddam Hussien continually violated UN resolutions regarding weapons inspections and his regime sponsored and supported terrorists. The military action there lead to the capture and the killing of Ansar al-Islam terrorists, an organization affiliated with al-Qaeda and the destruction of their training camps and weapons cache.

Today, terrorists are still making Iraq a home and it is crucial to our success in the War on Terror that we defeat them and allow the Iraqi people to taste true freedom. In fact, since the U.S. and our coalition partners liberated Iraq, Osama bin Laden has sought to defeat the efforts of the people of Iraq to transform their nation into a peace-loving democracy so he can turn it into a radical Islamic state where al-Qaeda calls the shots. The U.S. air strike that killed called the man he called “the prince of al-Qaeda,” Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has dealt his organization a crucial blow by eliminating the man he trusted to wage his jihad in Iraq. It is a major victory in the War on Terror.

The terrorists don't want a free Iraq to succeed as it will be a huge loss for Islamic fundamentalism. However, the people of Iraq truly want freedom and democracy. They have showed this by braving threats to vote in every election. In fact, the turnouts keep getting larger as more Iraqis excercise their voting rights with each successive election.

Our troops have done a magnificent job deposing Saddam's regime and thwarting terrorist attacks in Iraq, but our work there is not done. I have traveled to Iraq eight times now - most recently in August of 2008 - and I have seen firsthand the extraordinary job they continue to do under very diffcult circumstances. As long as our brave men and women are in Iraq, I will continue to ensure that they have everything they need to make their mission a success.

Congressional Research Service Reports:

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is part of the legislative branch of the federal government. CRS, which is a department of the Library of Congress, works exclusively as a nonpartisan analytical, research, and reference arm for Congress.

CRS Reports are in PDF format. In order to view these files, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your PC. You can download the free reader from Adobe's website. These files may be rather large and may take a few minutes to download.

Iraq: Elections, Government, and Constitution

Iraq: U.S. Regime Change Efforts and Post-Saddam Governance

Iraq's New Security Forces: The Challenge of Sectarian and Ethnic Influences

Iran's Influence in Iraq

Post-War Iraq: Foreign Contributions to Training, Peacekeeping, and Reconstruction