[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 31, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H9472-H9473]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    THE DEFENSE NEEDS OF OUR NATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maine [Mr. Longley] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LONGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I recognize that the hour is late and I 
will only speak but for a few minutes, but I was in my office listening 
to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, and was very struck by his remarks, 
and felt that it would be appropriate to perhaps follow along with what 
the gentleman from Pennsylvania has been saying. He is a fellow member 
of the Committee on National Security, but he is making some very 
important points. It was a masterful summary of the provisions of the 
defense conference report that we will be discussing in the House 
tomorrow, but, more importantly, the focus on the reality of the 
problems, the threats that confront us as a Nation, and the issues and 
how they affect our defense and national security could not have been 
better stated.
  I want to particularly make reference to his comments in the light of 
the unfortunate incident of barely 2 weeks ago, the downing of TWA 
Flight 800. I think that we are all greatly sorry that that aircraft 
was downed in the manner that it was. But I have to say very honestly 
that I think we do know what caused the aircraft to come down, and I am 
very concerned that we seem to be somewhat afraid of actually stating 
the reason.
  From all circumstances, and again I have no particular knowledge, but 
from all the circumstantial evidence it appears very clear that this 
aircraft was taken down by an act of sabotage.
  Again, it has not been proven yet, but the suggestion is very strong 
that it was some form of an altitude detonated device that sent 230 
innocent men women and children to their deaths in the Atlantic off of 
Long Island.

                              {time}  2300

  To the extent that that is true, I think as a Nation we need to be 
looking at our defense bill, not only in the context of that terrible, 
tragic accident, but also in the context of the prior bombing of the 
Dhahran barracks barely another 2 weeks prior to that, where another 19 
or 20 young Americans lost their lives in Saudi Arabia, and then going 
back to last November in Riyadh and the attack, again, on innocent 
Americans, the five that were killed in that maintenance facility in 
Saudi Arabia.
  One of the things that is becoming very clear about the previous two 
attacks is that they were well-planned and very sophisticated and 
required a high level of training and expertise to be carried out. I am 
advised, for instance, that the bomb that destroyed the facility in 
Riyadh was timed to detonate at precisely noon, or roughly during the 
time of noon prayer, when any non-American personnel were likely to be 
at the nearby mosque for noon prayers; or that the bomb that detonated 
the barracks in Dhahran was actually a very sophisticated mix of 
military and commercial grade explosives, well over 5,000 to 10,000 
pounds of explosives, again, that were structured in a highly 
sophisticated and detailed manner designed, in effect, and executed by 
professionals.

  Again, we do not know yet the answer to TWA Flight 800, but it is 
very clear that many of the terrorist groups in the Middle East who 
have taken credit, small or large, for the prior attacks are also 
invoking their name in the context of TWA Flight 800.
  To that extent, it is a serious, serious issue that I hope this 
Congress will demand very honest and candid answers to; because to the 
extent that there is a connection between these three incidents, to the 
extent that they document a very serious threat that is being mounted 
against this country, then I think that while it is appropriate that we 
be engaging in a discussion of what security measures are appropriate 
and how we might best protect ourselves as a Nation, as a group of 
innocent people, concerned with the danger that might be raised against 
innocent men and women and children, then it is also appropriate that 
we consider, to the extent that it is possible to do so, from whence 
these attacks have arisen; what is the cause, who were the 
perpetrators, why are innocent men and women and children and American 
servicemen and women being targeted in the manner they are being 
targeted?
  I also say this with reference to my service in Desert Storm and as a 
veteran of that conflict. I am very much aware of the fact that 95 
percent of our seaborne traffic, our military support that supported 
American troops in Desert Storm and Saudi Arabia, transited into the 
Persian Gulf through the Straits of Hormuz, past the three islands that 
are currently occupied by the country of Iran, islands that have been 
fortified with chemical weapons, islands that have been fortified with 
antiship and anti-air missiles, and islands the sovereignty over which 
has been claimed by a country that openly proclaims its intentions of 
driving the United States from the Middle East, driving the United 
States from the Persian Gulf, and in effect, asserting control over the 
tremendous oil resources of that region and threatening the economic 
lifeblood of the western and free world, including the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, I have tried to raise several very important questions. 
I think they are very serious in the context of the prior tour de force 
that was conducted by the gentleman from

[[Page H9473]]

Pennsylvania, Mr. Weldon, relating to our defense needs and the method 
in which we have attempted to address them in the upcoming conference 
report.

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