To defend freedom in the 21" century, we need to root out the terrorists. We need to make clear to the world's terrorist states that defying 17 UN resolutions, filing false declarations with the UN, refusing to cooperate with UN inspectors, and refusing to disarm and prove to the world you have done so, has consequences. We need to help the now free people in Iraq and Afghanistan rebuild from the rubble of tyranny, and claim their places as responsible members of the community of nations.

A British author once declared: "If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too."

Is $87 billion a great deal of money? Yes. But can we afford it? Without question. Because it is necessary for the security of our nation and the stability of the world-and because the price of sending terrorist a message that we are not willing to spend what it takes or do what it takes-that we value comfort or money more than freedom-would be far greater.

Mr. LEWIS. I think, as you know, the Committee tries to use very little time by way of dialogue from this side of the podium, introducing this. I do intend to call upon Jack Murtha first for discussion or questioning, and my Chairman, Bill Young as well.

In the meantime, I know that General Myers has a statement. We welcome your statement. General.

SUMMARY STATEMENT OF GENERAL MYERS

General MYERS. You would like me to make a statement. It is relatively short.

Chairman Lewis, Representative Murtha, members of the Committee, I thank you for the opportunity to address the supplemental budget request for the war on terrorism. I would also like to thank you for your continuing tremendous support of our men and women in uniform, and I think your recent and previous trips, these are not easy trips, they are difficult in the kinds of environment you are in, but it is just one more example of that kind of support, and, I can tell you, we appreciate that very much.

With the help of our coalition partners, as the Secretary said, from more than 70 nations, our servicemen and women are, in fact, winning the war on terrorism and, of course, winning is the only option.

In my view, the stakes could not be higher. Defeat means destruction of our way of life that we forged over 24 centuries, and victory will restore the sense of security that was shattered on September 11, 2001.

INDICATORS OF SUCCESS

There is plenty of evidence of our success in the war on terrorism. We have toppled two brutal regimes, disrupted terrorist safe havens, destroyed their training camps, and seriously degraded Al Queda's leadership. But, just as importantly, two countries that were once breeding grounds for brutality and terror are building a future based on liberty and peace. The coalition is helping to lay the foundation for that future.

In Iraq there are, as the Secretary said, more than 41,000 Iraqi police and thousands more Iraqis recruited for duty with the new İraqi Army, the Civil Defense Corps, the Facilities Protection Service and the Iraqi Border Guards. The total number today is approximately 56,000 on duty, as the Secretary said, with many more in the pipeline to be trained.

These numbers highlight that the Iraqi people are willing to take on the responsibility and risk to ensure their own peaceful future. Iraqi police, among others, are already making significant contributions to preventing attacks, and some of these Iraqis have given their lives in the service of the new free Iraq.

In my view, the tide has turned against those who desire to return to the tyranny of the former regime. I am sure on your recent trip you saw the confidence that our troops displayed and the progress that they have made.

The funds in this supplemental budget request for Iraq will provide more training for Iraqi security forces and help set the condi

tions for economic and political progress as well, all of which are necessary for a secure future for Iraq.

The story in Afghanistan is similar. Ten Afghan National Army battalions, some 4,600 soldiers, have been trained and ANA forces have begun patrolling the borders of Afghanistan side-by-side with U.S. forces, Afghan militia and coalition forces and have engaged in combat operations and acquitted themselves very, very well. The Afghan people are very proud of their new Afghan Army as they should be.

STAYING THE COURSE

Osama bin Laden said some years ago he wanted to reduce the United States to a shadow of its former self and, by implication, the rest of the free world. He is simply not going to succeed. But winning this war is going to take patience on the part of the American people. It is a difficult enemy one that can't be defeated with just military might. We are winning, but we must stay the course.

Winning is also going to take our Nation's commitment. We have never been more focused or more committed to winning this war. Failure simply isn't an option. We have got to win.

Commitment comes at a cost. The price is paid from our national treasure, not just in dollars, but in sacrifices that our servicemen and women are willing to make for their country and freedom. Most importantly, besides patience and commitment, our country has to have the will to win. The terrorists have said and think they are going to win. They don't believe that we have the will to stick this out. In my view, again, they are absolutely wrong. We can't let them win, and we won't, as long as we have the continuing will of the American people, and for that matter, freedom-loving people everywhere.

In a recent article in the Boston Globe an Iraqi family talked about their gratitude to the United States and their hope for the future. The father said "the Americans did us a great favor by getting rid of Saddam. We owe them." he added, "I don't think they will abandon us."

We won't. We have come so far and our servicemen and women have sacrificed a great deal. But, as you saw firsthand, our troops understand what they are doing is important and they are committed to winning this war.

So we owe them our committed support, and owe it to the coalition partners who worked and sacrificed as well; and to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan working with us to help build a prosperous and democratic future. Most importantly, we owe it to the American people and people everywhere who want a better, more secure future for our children.

I ask you, sir, and the Committee, to support this supplemental budget request. It is an investment we cannot afford not to make. Thank you.

Mr. LEWIS. Dr. Zakheim.

Mr. ZAKHEIM. Thank you. I am fine.

Mr. LEWIS. Thank you very much.

Before I call upon Jack Murtha, I wanted to mention to you gentleman that while in Iraq we spent a good deal of time with military leaders, including Lieutenant General Rick Sanchez, and he

said something that kind of surprised me. He talked about the importance of the military piece of this supplemental. But the surprise came when he said in his mind's eye, the reconstruction piece, the $20 billion piece, was every bit as important for the interests that we are attempting to impact positively in Iraq. I would say the very security of our troops in Iraq is, in no small part, based upon the progress we made in terms of rebuilding the confidence and economy the people of Iraq.

Mr. Murtha.

JAMMERS

Mr. MURTHA. When I was in Iraq, I found a number of shortages, and I appreciate the letter I received, Mr. Secretary, saying you are taking care of those, and your personal commitment on the jammers, General, because today I just talked to a young woman who lost her eye. She walked up to a package in the middle of the street and saw wires from it, tried to turn, couldn't get away, she was wounded badly on the whole side of her face.

But I asked her about jammers. She said she never even heard of jammers. So the division I talked to was short. I know we are working with on it, and it is something we need a sense of urgency on. I saw it in the supplemental, which I didn't see before.

One thing you mentioned, Mr. Secretary. You said defense is 3.1 percent of our GDP. When Vice President Cheney was Secretary of Defense, he used to complain it was below 5 percent. Now, we are giving you everything you asked for. So you can't say to us 3.1 is below what it should be, because whatever you request we have put into the budget since you have been here. Cheney used to complain that we cut it back.

Secretary RUMSFELD. Absolutely. I didn't suggest that in the slightest. I just was pointing out while $87 billion is a lot of money, we can afford it, because we are down to 3.1, and it is exactly what the President requested.

MIX OF ACTIVE AND RESERVE FORCES

Mr. MURTHA. Let me talk about the Reserves, because it looks like to me you have got money for 130,000 all through the year. If I read the document right, we are going to have 130,000 people in Iraq through the rest of the year. That is the way the funding stream looks to me.

Now, as I also look at it, unless you change the mix, we are going to have more Reserve and Guard people over there. Right now we have 60 percent regulars and we have 40 percent Guard. It looks like to me we are going to have 60 percent Guard and 40 percent regular. Is this how you see it? Is this the way it is going to end up?

Secretary RUMSFELD. Dick may want to comment on this, but Dick Myers and I have been working with the services who, of course, have the responsibility for organizing, training and equipping the rotation, and it is not finally decided exactly how that will work. It could be, as you say, I suppose, but it may very well not be. Of course, it depends on the level there as well, and we can't predict what the level will be at the end of the year.

Mr. MURTHA. Well, what I worry about, Mr. Secretary, is I am starting to get serious complaints from the public, especially Guard and Reserve families. For instance, I saw a Smith Barney poll that showed defense spending support from the American public went from 50 percent to 30 percent in less than a month. Obviously, we react to those kind of poll figures.

There is no question, you know how I stand. I am for the reconstruction money, I am for the $87 billion completely. But what worries me is the Guard who is older, we find they are about 10 years older, from what I understand, a lot of problems, health problems which we didn't anticipate, some of them are not in as good condition as they should be in, because it is just the nature of being in the Guard as opposed to being in the regulars.

If we keep sending them over such an extended period of time, there is all the disruption to their life. I hope we can find a different way of doing it. I don't know what the answer is, but certainly we have got some Marine units out there, we got maybe some other ways of doing it. But when you get a mix of more Reserve and Guard people than you have regulars, I worry about that mix, and I worry about the support of the public.

I can see a difference in the people in the hospitals. I was just out to the hospital today. Ms. Pelosi asked me to go out with her. From the time I went out there when they first came in during the war, and the times I went out since then, I can see a difference from the families and so forth, and I just worry that there is so many Guards and Reserves out there, the employers are starting to get upset. So we are going to have an erosion, which we can't afford. We have to have the support of the American public or we are not going to get this job done, because it is such a tough job.

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM DONOR COUNCIL

The other thing, you know, we talk about the coalition forces. I think we have to be realistic. The last war we collected $60 billion. It went through this Committee, so I know exactly how much it was. This time, let me ask Dr. Zakheim, how much do you think we are going to collect from this Donors Council you are having? Mr. ZAKHEIM. I certainly cannot make that kind of prediction. But I can tell you though, Mr. Murtha, we have made it very clear in all our discussions with potential donors, that we have come to the Congress and asked for $20 billion, that Ambassador Bremer has identified a total need of $50 billion; to $75 billion; and that we are looking for donations that are in the billions rather than the millions. We have made that unequivocal.

Mr. MURTHA. I say $5 billion is unrealistic?

Mr. ZAKHEIM. I wouldn't hazard a guess. Whatever I say, there will be some that will say that is too much, there will be others that say we cannot do it. We just want to go after these folks and tell them, "people, don't think in the millions, think in the billions."

Mr. MURTHA. The reason I asked that question, I remember when you came for $6 billion and I asked you, is that enough money? You said it was enough money. It wasn't enough money, you knew it wasn't enough money. All of us knew it. So I would hope we are getting enough money.