[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 96 (Wednesday, June 26, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1180]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      BOMBING AT KING ABDUL AZIZ AIR BASE IN DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA

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                            HON. RANDY TATE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 26, 1996

  Mr. TATE. Mr. Speaker, today I rise both in great anger and in deep 
sorrow. Yesterday a truck bomb was exploded at a military compound in 
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia where United States troops belonging to the Joint 
Task Force Southwest Asia were housed.
  Twenty-three American service personnel were killed and more than 100 
were seriously injured. Twenty-two service personnel from McChord Air 
Force Base in Tacoma, WA, currently stationed at the base in Dhahran, 
mercifully survived.
  The terrorist bomb was so powerful that the front of an apartment 
tower 35 yards away was decimated and a crater 85 feet wide and 35 feet 
deep was left in its wake. Inside the apartment tower were 2,500 U.S. 
troops.
  Everyday in this country, mothers and fathers take great pride in the 
dedication of their sons and daughters serving in the U.S. military. 
Years of nurturing, love, sacrifice, and commitment have gone into 
producing men and women possessed of such a love for their country that 
they would volunteer to protect it.
  These brave men and women are not forced to serve--they ask to serve. 
They are not forced to stand guard against enemy forces--they ask to 
stand guard. They risk their lives in order to ensure that those of us 
here, in the comfort and safety of our own beloved country, may live 
free.
  Mr. Speaker, the greatness of our Nation is magnificently reflected 
in the greatness of our servicemen and women. Today, we stand firm with 
the families who have suffered an immeasurable loss and our Nation 
mourns with them.
  Let there be no doubt--the great and mighty force of the United 
States will descend upon those terrorists who dared to target our 
American service personnel. We will answer the families that cry out 
for justice and we will deliver to them those responsible for this 
vulgar act of cowardice.
  Let the terrorists who committed this cowardly act of murder tremble 
in fear for they will be hunted, they will be found, and they will be 
punished.

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