[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 103 (Friday, July 12, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7813-S7814]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          SAUDI ARABIA BOMBING

  Mr. KERREY. Mr. President, I rise to comment on a disturbing trend I 
see arising in the aftermath of the terrorist killing of our military 
personnel in Saudi Arabia. I am concerned because I believe we may be 
developing a response that plays right into the terrorists' hands.
  I frankly question some of the responses coming out of the Congress. 
Some of these responses neglect answering the fundamental question: Why 
did the terrorists choose to kill Americans in Dhahran on June 25, 
1996? This question is fundamental because if you answer it, you will 
immediately

[[Page S7814]]

reach some conclusions about the right and wrong response to the 
bombing.
  I say to my colleagues, in order to understand the next steps we 
should be taking as a nation, you must try to put yourself in the mind 
of the terrorists to determine what they want. Based on all of the 
rhetoric and the history of terrorism in this region, there are, in my 
view, as least three things the terrorists want to have happen as a 
result of their attacks. First, they want to divide Saudi Arabia from 
the United States. Second, they want to force the United States out of 
Saudi Arabia. Third, they want to make it more difficult for the United 
States to deploy its forces overseas.
  If these are in fact the goals of the terrorists, and I believe they 
are, some reactions in Congress and the media are playing right into 
the terrorists' hands. I have heard implications that cast doubt on the 
competence of the military chain of command to protect the troops. I 
have heard doubt cast on the sincerity and willingness of an important 
ally to cooperate with the United States. I have heard speculation 
about the stability of the government of that important ally. If I were 
the terrorist, I'd be pleased at these reactions and be confident that 
one more spectacular attack might just be good enough to finish the job 
and drive the Americans out of the region.
  I say to my colleagues, these are not the appropriate responses when 
we are at war. And believe me, whoever they may be, the terrorists have 
declared war on the United States. And I think we can all agree, when 
we are at war, the appropriate response is not to do what your enemy 
wants.
  The appropriate response is to support our military and its 
commanders. The appropriate response is to praise the airmen at Al 
Khobar Towers for the dedication and alertness which prevented greater 
casualties in the attack. The appropriate response is to pile on all of 
the intelligence and war-fighting resources we can marshal so as to put 
the perpetrators out of business and to punish their state sponsor, if 
we find one. The appropriate response is to be sure our troops enjoy 
the maximum protection consistent with the mission. The appropriate 
response is to continue with our vital mission in Saudi Arabia.
  Mr. President, we should be making it clear, right now, the United 
States is angry. But we are not angry because a barrier was too close 
to a building. We should be making it very clear we are angry because 
someone attacked us. That someone should understand they are the focus 
of our anger, not our military commanders. We should be confirming our 
commitment the United States will not leave Saudi Arabia. We should 
make sure our enemy understands they will be punished and their 
organization will be destroyed. And this will happen to them no matter 
how far we have to go our how long it takes.
  We Americans proved during Desert Storm that we will support a 72-
hour war. We now need to prove we will support a war that lasts 72 
weeks--or however long it takes to defeat this enemy.
  The nervousness over vulnerabilities, the second-guessing of the 
chain of command, the search for an exit strategy should be going on in 
the terrorists' lair--not in the United States. Let's focus the anger 
where it belongs.

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