[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 12, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9289-S9300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TERRORIST ATTACKS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES--Continued
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from
Virginia is recognized for up to 10 minutes.
The Senator from Virginia.
Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, my fellow Members of the Senate, this is a
very sad day as we witness all of the implications and tragedies and
lives lost from yesterday's dastardly terrorist attacks on the United
States.
Yesterday's attacks were attacks not just on the United States and
our particular Commonwealth of Virginia or State of New York, it is an
attack on freedom-loving people and everything we stand for as a unique
and great nation.
On Monday afternoon, Senator Boxer and I were ready to introduce a
resolution condemning the suicide bombings in the Middle East. We would
have introduced that resolution on Monday, but wanted to include
another clause recognizing the attacks in Israel on Sunday. We now see
with great shock and horror, that the United States is obviously not
impervious to these suicide bombings and such attacks.
What we need to do now is coalesce, coalesce as a people with our
shared beliefs, coalesce to comfort those who have lost loved ones and
then also determine where we need to go to move forward to try to
prevent such acts from occurring in the future. Our goal and focus
right now must be on the rescue, hoping there are those who are still
alive. Secondly, we need to find as many details and information as to
how our security was breached so as to hopefully prevent it in the
future. And thirdly of course, hold those who are responsible
accountable and bring them to justice.
We are hearing stories just in the first day of great heroes. Heroes
in New York. People who knew that the building was going to collapse,
but nevertheless stayed there trying to usher people out. On C-SPAN
this morning, one of those who was just a volunteer helper knew what
was going on, where those who were emergency and federal FBI agents
were as well, knowing that the building was going to collapse, staying
there knowing those were the last minutes of their life trying to save
people.
The same was happening in Virginia where we have lost many lives,
untold numbers, as of yet, at the Pentagon as well as the passengers on
flight 77 flying from Dulles, VA, that was hijacked and crashed into
the Pentagon.
There are great stories of bravery, with people going above and
beyond what is expected, and that should give us comfort as a nation.
This tragedy has affected many lives, and we still don't know how many
lives. It will probably take a week if not weeks to determine how many
lives have been lost. Even in the small neighborhood where we live,
where my daughter goes to middle school, children were crying because
their parents work at the Pentagon. Others work at Fort Belvoir and
there was worry that Fort Belvoir was being hit. There's only maybe a
couple of dozen houses in our development, but a youngster--who came by
our house to get to know my children, his father was on Flight 77.
So, as the days go forward, we are all going to be learning these
stories of innocent people whose lives have been lost and the families
that will forever be scarred with the loss of that loved one. Our
thoughts and prayers must be with those families. Whether they're in
New York or people who are from Connecticut or New Jersey, people from
Virginia, here in the D.C. area, I'm sure there are folks from Maryland
and the District, clearly people from Massachusetts were on the
hijacked flight from Boston. Clearly a lot of people from California,
since the destination of all of those flights was to be California.
This is truly a day that will live in infamy. History will record
these as the most violent, insane, cowardly acts that have ever been
perpetrated on our homeland in the United States of America. We need to
be united, coalesced as Americans, but also with our allies in our
resolve, our resolve to pursue these cowardly conspirators who
perpetrated these murderous acts.
In our response to justice, we need to be sure, we need to be swift,
and we need to be severe. In my view, we have allowed terrorism to go
on too long, thinking that we could be immune from it. But
nevertheless, we need to recognize that we're going to have to wage
warfare.
These people have struck against the symbol of American strength and
power. They are not, though, going to be able to weaken the will of the
people of the United States. We will stay united, defending our
interests and our principles. We will also stick together, not just as
Virginians and New Yorkers, but as Americans aiding and helping the
families who have lost loved ones in whatever they can do.
The senior Senator from Virginia, John Warner, and I will work
together to make sure that for those Federal employees that the
Government is doing all they can as well as for the civilian employees.
And it is not just as Virginians. I know that the Presiding Officer,
sitting there from Florida, cares just as much as anybody else does.
And so we are all going to stick together in that regard. We do need
to learn from this, though. And as we learn, we must make sure that as
we learn the facts, we do not allow these attacks to succeed in
tempting us in any way to diminish what makes us a great nation. And
what makes us a great nation is that this is a country that understands
that people have God-given rights and liberties. And we cannot--in our
efforts to bring justice--diminish those liberties.
Clearly, this is not a simple, normal criminal case. This is an act
of war, and those rules apply. But at home and domestically, we need to
make sure that we are not tempted to abrogate any civil rights such as
habeas corpus or protections against unreasonable searches and
seizures, or the freedom of expression and peaceable assembly, freedom
of religion. And just because somebody may come from an ethnic
background, that means nothing. They are American citizens. And so
let's make sure that in our anger and in our efforts to bring justice,
we remember our basic foundational civil liberties and do not abrogate
them.
We are a nation of laws, of good-hearted people, of loving people.
And so I would say in closing, Mr. President, let's make sure we pray
for and comfort those who have lost loved ones.
Let's get the facts, move swiftly and properly. But most importantly,
as Americans, let's stay strong. Let's stay resolved, and let's keep
moving forward. Because, indeed, all the world is watching, not just
the Senate; they are watching the United States and Americans. What
will their response be? Let's keep moving forward. We are the beacon
for freedom-loving people in the world, sticking together we will
persevere. We will bring justice. And we will come out safer and
stronger in the end.
Thank you, Mr. President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware, the manager of the
resolution.
Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I yield myself up to 10 minutes to speak.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized.
Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I cannot think of any other legislative
body in the world where we would hear the speech we just heard by the
junior Senator from Virginia, where his heart is aching, many in his
constituency have died. Part of the building in his State is still
burning.
In the ultimate American way, he called at the end of his speech for
not abrogating the basic cherished liberties that this Nation has. I
doubt whether one would hear that in any other assembly in the world
after such an attack, and I compliment him for it.
My heart and my sympathy go out to our colleagues from New York and
Virginia in particular, but all those who
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have had their fellow citizens and their constituents victimized by
this act. This is a time to mourn but not to despair, a time for
resolve but not remorse, a time for sober investigation and not
recrimination, and a time to unite, not to debate.
Some have said yesterday and today that all has changed, all has
changed for America. I know what they mean by that, and I respect their
view, but I pray that is not true. I pray that is not true. I pray my
junior colleague from Virginia is correct when he says the one thing we
cannot allow to change is the values upon which this country is built,
for if that were to occur, then they would be able to declare victory,
genuine victory.
I predict one thing has changed, though. I respectfully suggest the
way of life of present and future terrorists has changed forever. The
future of organized terrorist cells is about to welcome the 21st
Century in a way they never anticipated, for in this dastardly act they
may have done what no other group of people could possibly have done,
and that is to unite the civilized world, unite our allies in Europe
who share our values, unite our Russian friends, our Chinese friends,
unite the world, because that image of that plane smashing into the
second tower has reverberated around the world and every leader in
every country can picture the same thing happening in their nation.
I recently visited China with three of my colleagues. They have
buildings in China as tall or taller than the World Trade Center. I can
picture the President of China sitting there envisioning the same thing
happening. So I do not think all of a sudden there has been a
conversion of democratic zeal on the part of those who are not often
thought of as our allies to resolve with us to fight worldwide
terrorism, but it is a reflection of the reality that the world has
changed in a way that we all are vulnerable.
A further reality is that no one could have undertaken this very well
planned, and regrettably well executed, terrorist act without an
extensive network, without a place in which to plan it that was within
earshot and eyesight of some country, without some people who, by their
inaction at a minimum and their complicity, allowed this to occur.
There will be very few places to hide, I predict, from this moment on,
for these are not the acts of a single man or a single woman. They are
and they were and they will, if they try again, have to be well
planned, well funded, and widely supported by dozens upon dozens of
individuals and individual leaders.
In speaking to the President, the Secretary of State, and other
leaders in the administration, they are impressed by what they believe
to be the heartfelt, sincere, and resolute offers of support to deal
with terrorism that not only come from expected quarters such as
England, France, Germany, Italy, and our European allies but from
unexpected quarters.
The word should go out to those who pretend they wish to be our
friends that they are going to have to make some very difficult
choices. Pakistan in particular is going to have to make a very
difficult choice, very soon, for we are counting. We are counting and
we are looking. Words will not be sufficient. Actions will be demanded.
All of us say we will never let this happen again. Well, the act of a
single individual strapping explosives to their body is probably
something no one can ever guarantee will not happen, but dealing with
well organized, well-funded, well-coordinated, massive actions is
something that can be done only in a multilateral way, only
internationally.
No matter what we do, if we fail to lead the world in a multilateral
unity of absolute resolve, I say to you, sadly, that this could happen
again. But I am convinced it will not.
Today, as it has for 212 years, the U.S. Congress has convened. Two
miles down Pennsylvania Avenue, President Bush sits in the Oval Office
leading the executive branch and the country in a wide-ranging
investigation to find those who committed these barbarous acts. Around
this city and around New York, dedicated public servants are back at
their desks in Federal office buildings doing the people's business.
New York--the city that never sleeps--has worked around the clock in
search of survivors, and they will find some. Around the Nation,
citizens of every age, every race, and every religion grieve for their
fellow citizens. But they stand united. They stand united in support of
our Nation, which has endured over two centuries against all enemies,
foreign and domestic. They stand united in readiness to answer the call
for their fellow neighbors. As Senator Clinton and Senator Schumer
pointed out, they lined the blocks in New York City to give blood. I
would be dumbfounded if you did not see black faces, Asian faces,
Hispanic, every race, and every religion standing in that line. They
stand united in support of the President of the United States, as do
all of us here in the Senate.
Much will be said today and in the days ahead about the appropriate
responses to these heinous acts. But for now let me just say this. This
is not a struggle over ideology. This is not a struggle over religion.
This is a struggle between civilization and barbarity.
Let there be no doubt that the United States and civilized nations of
the world will unite and win this struggle. Our enemies will not, and
can not, defeat us. This country will go on, deeply wounded by the loss
of so many but strengthened by our resolve and our commitment to
sustain this great democracy.
I see in this cataclysmic tragedy the beginning of the end of
organized and legitimized terrorist activities.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire, the Republican
manager of the resolution, is recognized for 10 minutes.
Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I yield 10 minutes to the Senator from
Pennsylvania, Mr. Santorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania is recognized
for 10 minutes.
Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Delaware. I
want to say to the Senator from Delaware, those are very eloquent and
appropriate and I think appropriately forceful remarks. I am in
agreement with every word he said. I think you are going to see today
the U.S. Senate in agreement. Everyone is standing up in support of
each other and in support of the President and the people. We are here
for them. We are meeting today. We are meeting for them. I think it is
an important sign that this beacon of freedom is open and that the U.S.
Senate, the greatest deliberative body in the world, is meeting,
talking, and I hope acting today, tomorrow, and for the weeks and
months to come this year.
My wife, Karen, and I, and our whole family, watched television
yesterday, just in amazement, in grief, in sorrow, and in tears. We
went to church and prayed. We didn't know what else to do but go to
church and pray that somehow and in some way people would survive this
horrible tragedy.
It has been a very difficult time for a lot of us. It has been a
horrible time for the people of New York and the people in northern
Virginia.
We are committed, as you heard the President say today, to do
everything we can here in Washington, DC, to help those who are
struggling and to support those who are doing heroic things in
Pennsylvania trying to recover what is left of the plane that crashed
in Pennsylvania. And of course in New York as well, there are
incredible stories of heroism, and at the Pentagon in northern
Virginia. Our sympathies and our support go out to all of those men and
women and their families.
I think it is important for us to know, as the Senator from Delaware
said, that things should not change here in America. I could not agree
with him more. Things must not change with respect to our freedom and
our democracy. But there are certain things that must change. I think
the Senator from Delaware hit the nail on the head when he said that
our actions towards terrorists must change.
What happened yesterday was not merely a hijacking of a domestic
airline flight. What happened yesterday was an enemy missile loaded
with explosives--11,000 gallons of jet fuel--that exploded into targets
here in the United States of America. It was an act of war. It was an
enemy missile that was directed at our country. We must respond
accordingly to this act of war--to those who perpetrated it. We are at
war with terrorists and with those nations that harbor them, that
finance them, and that in any way encourage and support them. I think
it is important that we say so here in the
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United States Senate, at some point, that this is war with the forces
of evil that attacked this country.
This is not--and I can't stress this more strongly--a time merely to
bring people to justice. It is a time to wage war and win a war against
those who committed this act, and against those who harbor those who
committed this act, and against those who support and encourage those
who committed this act.
In the U.S. Senate, there are things we can do, sensible things we
can do, to support our President and to support the American people.
First, as I mentioned before, we can support the American people
right now with the resources they need to try to find survivors and
repair the damage that was caused in this country.
Second, we need to bring up the Defense authorization bill and the
Defense appropriations bill right now. We need to make sure we have the
necessary tools in place to be able to defend our country. We need to
look at the intelligence and counterintelligence operations of this
country and determine soon whether we should enhance that capability,
which is obviously insufficient. We here in the United States Senate
must do something about it. We must do something about it now. It is
important for us to come together at a time of national crisis and
emergency, when our country is threatened, to pass the necessary bills
for our Government to fight the war in which it will be engaged during
the coming weeks, months--and maybe longer.
We need to make sure we have the diplomatic representation to
represent us, as the Senator from Delaware said, and I agree with him
100 percent, we need to form an international coalition. We need a U.N.
Ambassador. We do not have an Ambassador to the United Nations. I
cannot think of a more important time since the U.N. was created that
we need an Ambassador to the United Nations. And we don't have one.
That nomination is sitting in the Foreign Relations Committee. I hope
we can get that nomination to the floor as quickly as possible so we
can begin the very important work the Senator from Delaware has laid
out in building a coalition necessary to fight this terrible scourge
that has attacked this country.
Finally, we need to do something about our energy needs. Members have
told me about places in America where they were charging $3 to $5 a
gallon for gasoline yesterday. Yes. Energy will be a very important
issue for this country, and very soon. We need to consider this bill.
Particularly if we are engaged in fighting terrorism around the world,
we need to have more domestic security. We need domestic energy
security.
These are the kinds of things I hope we in the Senate can join
together to pass measures that are important and to prepare ourselves
for the war ahead. This is a time for us to begin to put the building
blocks in place so we can engage in a war against those who attacked
this country. I am hopeful, in fact I am confident, that we can do so
in a bipartisan way, in a way that will lend great honor and
credibility to this great institution.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I yield to the Senator from Connecticut.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut is recognized for
10 minutes.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I thank the chairman.
I want to begin by thanking my colleague from Delaware for not only
his managing this resolution but also for his eloquent remarks a few
moments ago.
I also commend the distinguished majority leader, Senator Daschle,
and the distinguished minority leader, Senator Lott, and their
respective leadership teams for the dignity and manner in which they
conducted business in this body yesterday. I also commend the President
of the United States for his very eloquent remarks last evening to the
Nation.
I commend Don Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense for his efforts
yesterday and for staying on the job while the Pentagon was burning. I
know there were probably those on his staff and elsewhere who urged him
to leave. I presume they made a good case for it. But I admire the fact
that Don Rumsfeld stayed on the job yesterday to be with the men and
women who were there--the injured, those who lost their lives, not to
mention those who are fighting the blaze and trying to bring that
incredible scene under control.
This is a very sad time. It has been said by others here this
morning, and it will be said repeatedly this afternoon. There are no
words I can utter in these next few moments that will serve to lessen
the sense of loss that all of us feel as Americans. There is a sense of
poignancy to all of this, obviously, if you are from New York. If you
had a loved one who worked at the Pentagon, there is a special
dimension. And, if you had a loved one on one of the four aircraft
yesterday that left Newark, Boston, or Dulles there is a special hurt
today. Truly, there is a human dimension to this that we don't have the
ability to understand yet.
It is a God-given blessing during moments such as this that human
beings are incapable of fully understanding and appreciating the depth
of loss immediately. It will take days--or longer.
Oftentimes what we see with families when a person very close to them
is lost, is that in the immediate hours and days after that loss, they
function because they have to in order to manage affairs. But the true
impact of loss is sometimes not felt for days and weeks afterwards. I
think our country is in that state this very day.
So, I want to take a few minutes to talk about that human dimension.
There will be plenty of time for us to debate bills on the floor of the
Senate and to discuss the priorities we ought to have and who should be
held responsible. But the human dimension of all of this is something I
haven't been able to get my hands around in these last 24 hours. I just
can't imagine what it must be like to be one of the victims of these
terrorist acts, or to know that there is a loved one trapped somewhere
in those buildings in lower Manhattan, or to be the family of a service
man or woman who knows that just a few blocks from here their husband,
wife, father, sibling, child, or neighbor is lying in the rubble of the
Pentagon, or to be the family of one of the passengers on the planes
hijacked yesterday. I can't begin to imagine.
I want to start by telling those families that every one of us here
in Congress wishes there were some way we could express our sense of
grief for you. In the days and weeks to come we will try to do that in
ways that are meaningful.
I would also like to mention the firemen and policemen. We were told
last evening that we don't know what the numbers of emergency personnel
lost are. There may be several hundreds who lost their lives as they
raced into those 110-storey buildings while trying to bring relief to
others only to lose their lives in the collapse of those buildings.
Again, for those of you who watched the tragedy last year in Wooster,
MA, or other places where firemen and emergency services people have
given their lives, I suppose in one sense it is not a surprise that the
dedication we saw yesterday is seen so frequently around the country,
but particularly because of the magnitude of the events yesterday, we
are struck by it. And as Senator Biden, Senator Schumer, Senator
Clinton, and Senator Warner mentioned in their very fine remarks this
morning, the people who donated blood and who are offering services
deserve our respect and admiration. So I express my gratitude to all of
them.
We have to respond to yesterday's events, and we will. I have no
doubt of this. However, building the kind of international cooperation
necessary to do so is awfully difficult. Indeed, if there is a slight
glimmer of a silver lining to this tragedy, it may be in the responses
our President received yesterday from almost every civilized head of
state around the globe--responses of support. Maybe in all of this
tragedy and rubble, the possibility that the kind of response the world
has been seeking for so many years may emerge like a phoenix from these
ashes, and we will be able to forge the kinds of relationships that
allow us to stamp out this cancer that has been with us for far too
many years in Beirut, in the Marine barracks in Saudi Arabia, and other
places. I saw the list of victims of past terrorist attacks the other
day. It
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is many pages long--not of the magnitude we saw yesterday, but
nonetheless, cumulatively hundreds and thousands of people lost their
lives at the hands of fanatics who believe the loss of innocent life is
a justifiable means to achieve their extreme ends.
So maybe--just maybe--if there is any solace we can offer to the
families of the people who have lost their lives, out of this we will
begin to deal effectively with the scourge of terrorism. I hope that is
the case. I hope the President will work on that, and I know we here in
Congress will. It will be important that in the context of being in a
rush to respond to this--and there is a passion we all feel that makes
one want to strike out and grab somebody and make them pay for what
they did that we temper our anger. I hope we have enough sense now to
know that when we strike, it needs to be right because the coalition
that we need to build to respond to this requires that we act smartly,
intelligently, and correctly. If we don't, we run the risk of
fracturing the very kind of coalition that will be necessary.
These terrorists had a remarkable success yesterday. They utilized
American planes and American fuel to use as their bombs. That they went
into three major airports, 15 or 20 people, I am told, in teams of 3 or
5, and commandeered 4 aircraft and attacked 2 major sites, economically
and militarily, and apparently had a target of a third, politically, is
a stunning, stunning set of circumstances. We need to get some answers.
Today may not be the day to get them, but I know my colleagues and
millions of Americans have questions on their minds. People will have
to answer how this could occur in the country.
Yet, I come back to the notion of the human element of all of this,
and the human element also requires that I speak to those who are
Muslims in our country. There has been a lot of chatter over the last
24 hours of who is responsible here--Islamic fundamentalists, Islamic
extremists? I don't know if that is right or wrong. I am not privy to
that information. But I urge those who want to provide answers to this
question to be careful. You only had to listen to the words of Dan
Inouye to understand why we should not vilify all members of an ethnic
group for the sins of a few individuals. You only need to walk a block
away from here to a monument commemorating the imprisonment of
thousands of people of Japanese descent 60 years ago. We have wonderful
citizens here who are Muslims and practice the Islamic faith. I fear
that sometimes in our momentary passions we can indict some wonderful
Americans, wonderful people, innocent children in this country who were
raised in a very proud and serious religion. So we need to be cautious
about the rhetoric we use and the fingers we point before we have the
facts before us.
Lastly, I say this. I see my friend and colleague from Texas on the
floor. On Monday afternoon about 4 o'clock I got a call from a former
colleague of ours, Bob Kerrey. He called me from a delivery room in New
York to tell me that an hour and a half earlier he became the proud
father of a young man named Henry. My colleague from Texas and her
wonderful husband have taken on a magnificent responsibility--recently
adopting the great love of their lives, Bailey Hutchison. I am going to
leave here momentarily and go with my wife to Arlington to see her
doctor. We are expecting a new arrival. I can't tell you how proud I am
of that blessed event.
I want to end on this note and say to young Henry and to Bailey and
to my yet unborn child that we are going to build a world for you that
is deserving of the kind of place you ought to have. Previous
generations did it for us. Certainly, those of our colleagues who
served in World War II, Vietnam, Korea, made it possible for us to live
in a land of peace and democracy. Our responsibility is no less to
future generations. The words ``an act of war'' have been used. I agree
with that. We need to respond to this and to build the kind of society
to sustain our democratic values, which we have embraced for more than
200 years, through trials and tribulations. To Henry, Bailey, and to
this yet unborn child of mine, we commit to you that you will live in a
peaceful world. That is our common goal. I thank the Senator.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I yield up to 10 minutes to the
distinguished Senator from Texas.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas is recognized up to 10
minutes.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I cannot think of a more appropriate
way to end a speech than the ending that was just given by the Senator
from Connecticut--talking about my daughter, talking about his future
daughter or son, talking about our former colleague Bob Kerrey's new
son.
Every time we reflect upon World War I or World War II or the Korean
War or Vietnam or Desert Storm, I am reminded that it is our
responsibility to keep the zeal for freedom alive, which was paid for
by the blood of so many. I certainly will be committed, along with
Senator Dodd and everyone in the Senate, to making sure that my
daughter, Bailey, has the opportunity to live in the same wonderful
country that I have been able to grow up in and love.
In the coming days and weeks, we are going to be talking about
specifics on how we deal with this tragedy. In fact, there are some
things coming out now to show that we are acting decisively. I was very
proud of the President in giving the order immediately to shut down air
traffic in New York, and then throughout America, within minutes of the
second terrorist act on the World Trade Center it was then clear that
it was terrorism. We shut down every airport and grounded every plane
in America. I believe that was exactly the right thing to do and it was
only the first response.
Today, the FAA issued an order banning all knives from air crafts
brought on by passengers or in carry-on luggage. It used to be you
could take a knife on an airplane that was shorter than 4 inches, like
the kind many people carry on keyrings. That will no longer be allowed.
I am glad the FAA took that immediate action because we know from early
reports that those were the weapons used by these terrorists. The FAA
has also ended curbside baggage checks. Everything they are doing is
right for our country right now.
Later this week I am going to introduce legislation to reinstitute
the random sky marshal program. Reinstitution of this program will have
U.S. law enforcement personnel randomly assigned to flights to help
ensure our safety. These are some of the many things we will address.
I was talking to Senator Warner and Senator Allen this morning about
legislation that would allow the vesting for retirement purposes of
military personnel who have died in the line of duty such as the many
victims at the Pentagon yesterday.
I think their surviving spouse should receive survivors retirement
benefits commensurate with the number of years they have served, which
is not presently the law. Senator Warner is going to push that bill
through the Armed Services Committee because of his great leadership
position and because his constituents are so affected.
Many people are in dire straits right now, not knowing what their
future is because of the number of people we lost yesterday serving our
country in the Pentagon. We are going to see some measures coming
forward in the next few days and weeks and months to try to address the
many issues that are now occurring because of yesterday's tragedy.
Today, however, is more of a solemn moment. It is a moment of horror,
a moment of grief, a moment of tragedy, and a moment for reflection. It
is a moment which really can't be described, but we all understand
because we feel.
It was once said that ``democracy is based upon the conviction that
there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.'' We saw that
yesterday--for evil and for good.
Yesterday's attack stunned our Nation, shocked a people, and
destroyed lives and buildings. The blasts and collapse were felt across
our Nation, both physically and emotionally. But they did not destroy
our spirit, they did not destroy our faith, and they will never destroy
our belief in freedom.
Yesterday was filled with images of horror and unspeakable evil, but
also of the American spirit, as individuals and a nation rose to the
occasion, met the crisis head on, came together to rescue fellow
citizens, and also to show
[[Page S9293]]
a united front to those who are trying to intimidate us.
Ronald Reagan once said, ``No crisis is beyond the capacity of our
people to solve; no challenge too great.'' We are proving that to be
true. Already we are being touched and inspired by the actions of
ordinary people rising to the extraordinary circumstances and proving
that they are heroes.
To those who did this and to those who support them: No, we will
never give up. We will never back down. And we will never let anyone
destroy our spirit. Freedom is too great--protecting freedom transcends
all other of our duties.
That is why we, the Congress, present to you to the Nation and to the
world a united front. A front united by grief, horror, and a firm
resolve to do our job to provide for the common defense. It is our
constitutional obligation, but it is also our personal determination.
As we, the Members of Congress, stood on the Capitol steps last
night, my colleagues and I were of one mind and one heart. We will
remain so.
Just one person started singing ``God Bless America,'' and every
Member of Congress just joined in spontaneously.
We are one with those who are struggling desperately to survive, with
those fighting courageously to rescue others, with those waiting
hopefully for news of loved ones--and with those committed to punish
those responsible.
This is not just an official resolve; it is also personal, and every
one of us is going to have a personal story.
Yesterday I spent hours on the telephone calling hospitals. Each one
of my staff members had a different hospital to call every 30 minutes,
looking for the husband of one of my staffers whose office was located
in the Pentagon at the exact impact point of the crash. He finally was
able to get through to her, and he was OK. He was one of the lucky
ones.
But there were those who were not so lucky, such as my friend, whom I
loved dearly, Barbara Olson; that courageous young woman who had so
much spunk, who called her husband Ted from the airplane that hit the
Pentagon with a cell phone, and gave us our first indication of what
was happening and how this was unfolding.
Hope is the strength of an individual; it is the strength of a
nation. Though nothing in our history compares to this horrifying
event, nothing in our character will let us lose hope or let us be
consumed by fear.
We are the very beacon of freedom for the entire world--and we will
not let cowards extinguish that light. Through the darkness, through
the debris, through the clouds of dust, that light still shines, and
from it, freedom and hope will continue to reign across the world.
I thank the Chair and yield back my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Lincoln). The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, I yield to Senator Dorgan, who is next on
our list.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota is recognized
for up to 10 minutes.
Mr. DORGAN. Madam President, I listened to my colleague from Texas
and I share her sentiments. There are unique moments in history, that
are too often born of tragedy, when Americans stand together with a
relentless determination to combat the forces of evil, and to reaffirm
that our freedom is secure. This, regrettably, is one of those moments.
Cowards struck innocent men, women, and children yesterday, but
really all of America was their target. It was clearly an act of war,
committed by madmen, directed against our country.
Our hearts are broken, but our spirit is not. And the world should
know that we will not give in to terrorists.
Last evening, when I drove home from the Capitol at about 11 in the
evening, clouds of black and gray smoke billowed from the Pentagon
where one of those acts of terrorism occurred. This morning, when I
come back to the Capitol at about 7 a.m., smoke still rose from the
ashes of the Pentagon.
Only F-16s and F-15s flew over our country's capital and in the
airspace above New York City.
All of America is affected by this deed in a very dramatic way--from
young folks to old folks.
Last evening, when I arrived home at about 11 o'clock, my 14-year-old
son heard the door close, got out of bed, and came up to me and said:
Dad, what happened? Who did this?
I told my son--and all of us in Congress will tell America--that we
will search for, find, and punish those responsible for these acts of
terrorism. That is our pledge.
We must now wage war on terrorism. And we must ask all the other
countries in the world who believe in freedom as we do to join us in
this effort to eradicate terrorism.
Terrorist camps cannot be allowed to continue to train terrorists.
Countries that harbor terrorist camps must, as the President said, pay
a price for harboring them. We must rededicate ourselves to those
tasks.
Yesterday, I thought about the carnage that has occurred in our
country, and the thousands of people who have undoubtedly lost their
lives because of these acts of terrorism. It reminded me again of why
our country has such an enormous burden of responsibility to lead the
world, and especially why we need to lead the world in combating the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, in cutting the number of
nuclear weapons, and in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.
Yesterday it was a commercial airliner full of jet fuel. In the
future it could be a vial of deadly biological agents that can kill a
million people. Or it could be a suitcase nuclear device in the trunk
of a rusty car parked on a dock in one of America's largest cities.
If ever we must understand our world leadership responsibility to
stop the spread of nuclear and biological weapons, it is now.
Over a century ago, after the carnage of the Battle of Gettysburg,
Abraham Lincoln said:
. . . we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have
died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new
birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the
people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Today, in this time and in this place, we should let those words from
nearly 140 years ago again inspire our nation's steely resolve that
those who died yesterday did not die in vain.
America's response to the deadly crime that took them from us will be
dedicated to destroying the ability of terrorists to wage this kind of
war, and giving those who live a new birth of freedom from the fear and
the impact of terrorist acts.
Today the U.S. Congress says to those in New York, in Virginia at the
Pentagon, in Pennsylvania, and all around America--those who lost their
lives, those who loved them, their relatives, their friends--You are
not alone. Our country grieves with you. And our country reaches out to
you. You are not alone.
Finally, Madam President, Shakespeare wrote:
Grief hath changed me since you saw me last.
We are all changed. Yesterday changed all of us. Our world has
changed since yesterday. We all carry the heavy burden of grief, and we
all carry the responsibility today to ensure that our response is
swift, severe, and just. And we all carry the opportunity today to hold
high the torch of freedom, and to say to the world: Yes, America's
heart is broken, but America's spirit will not bend.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I yield to Senator Specter and will
reclaim my 10 minutes after him.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
Mr. SPECTER. Madam President, I thank my distinguished colleague from
North Carolina for yielding.
Madam President, today's resolution speaks in the strongest terms
condemning yesterday's cowardly act of terrorism. Tomorrow, we must do
more to bring the perpetrators to justice and take steps to see to it
that such terrorism never occurs again.
While there have been many public comments pointing to the so called
signature of Osama (aka ``Usama'') bin Laden as to yesterday's
terrorist attacks, we cannot, consistent with our values, make any
judgments until we know more. But what we do know is that Osama bin
Laden has been at war with the United States since 1989. We know that
in indictments returned by the United States District Court for
[[Page S9294]]
the Southern District of New York, going back to 1998 when Osama bin
Laden and his coconspirators in al Qaeda were indicted for killing 18
U.S. soldiers and wounding 73 others in Mogadishu in 1993. So Osama bin
Laden has been at war with the United States for a long time.
We know further that Osama bin Laden was indicted again by the United
States District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1998 for
the attacks on U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, where at least 213
people were killed, and in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where 11 people
were killed.
Prior to 1986, the United States did not have jurisdiction to try
terrorists in U.S. courts for acts committed overseas. But following
the murders of many people, including U.S. citizens in the Rome and
Vienna airports in December of 1985, I introduced legislation which
became the Terrorist Prosecution Act of 1986, an act providing for the
death penalty for anyone who assaulted, maimed, or murdered a U.S.
citizen anywhere in the world, which provided the legal nexus for
trying these defendants in a U.S. court.
Now, as a result of that legislation, these indictments have been
brought against Osama bin Laden and his terrorist group known as al
Qaeda.
For a fuller understanding of the way bin Laden has waged war against
the United States, I ask unanimous consent that the pertinent excerpts
of these very lengthy indictments be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(See Exhibit 1.)
Mr. SPECTER. Madam President, there have been many declarations that
what occurred yesterday with the trade towers and the Pentagon were
acts of war. And there is no doubt about that. Similarly, what bin
Laden did in Mogadishu in 1993 and in the Embassies in 1998 were acts
of war. At this time, while the Congress should never act
precipitously, I do suggest that consideration be given to a
declaration of war against the political entity which harbors and has
given aid and assistance to bin Laden's terrorist organization and bin
Laden and his coconspirators, based on the indictments which already
have been handed down, to which I have referred.
I do not propose to decide this issue today, but I do think it is
important that research and factual analysis should begin.
More needs to be done than the resolution of today, which is very
important, on condemnation of the terrorism of yesterday and the
expressions of sympathy to the victims and their families, those who
were on the planes, the passengers and the crew, and those in the
Pentagon and the trade towers. But where we do know, without prejudging
yesterday's events, that bin Laden's terrorist organization has been
indicted for acts of terrorism, murdering U.S. soldiers, blowing up our
Embassies, it is time to act.
Bin Laden is at war with the United States. It is time that we
reciprocate.
There is a legal issue as to the status of the Taliban in
Afghanistan, which we do not recognize as the government. The Taliban,
however, control some 90 percent of the territory. For purposes of a
declaration of war and for taking action, there is, in my legal
judgment, a sufficient nation-state entity so that we can act and we
should not be prohibited from acting because there is no so-called true
nation-state there at the present time.
While on a vastly different scale, when I was district attorney of
Philadelphia and we had outstanding indictments, a warrant of arrest
would be issued. We hunted down indictees. We brought them to court, we
tried them, we convicted them, and we punished them.
The United States of America has the authority, from the indictments
which have been handed down and the statement of our extraterritorial
jurisdiction in the Terrorist Prosecution Act of 1986, to take the
steps which are necessary to bring bin Laden and his coconspirators to
justice. We have the capacity, we have the capability, the military
strength, to do what is necessary.
When demands have been made on the Taliban for the surrender of bin
Laden and the Taliban or Afghanistan--or whatever entity we choose to
denominate it as being--declines on the grounds that bin Laden is a
guest, and yesterday there was a news conference where someone from the
Taliban appeared on international television trying to defend the
Taliban's position, it is time we act. Where we have faced the
extraordinary wounds from yesterday, and they may or may not be a
continuation of bin Laden's past attacks--time will tell--but in
accordance with our values on the presumption of innocence and not
rushing to judgment, we will await further developments as we find out
what the facts are and who the perpetrators were yesterday, even though
they do bear the so-called signature of bin Laden. But for the acts in
1993 in Mogadishu, for the attacks in 1998 on our Embassies in Tanzania
and Nairobi, Kenya, there is no doubt that we have the authority to
act.
That is why I think with these outstanding indictments, which have
pinpointed the evidence as to Osama bin Laden, that consideration
should be given to responding to acts of war against the United States
with the appropriate counterattack, to see to it that we take into
custody bin Laden, bring him to the United States for trial, for
conviction, and the potential of execution in accordance with the death
penalty which is provided by U.S. law.
I again thank my colleague from North Carolina. I thank the Chair and
yield the floor.
Exhibit 1
[United States District Court, Southern District of New York, 98 Cr.]
United States of America v. Usama bin Laden, a/k/a/ ``Usamah bin-
Muhammad bin-Laden,'' a/k/a ``Shaykh Usamah bin-Laden,'' a/k/a
``Mujahid Shaykh,'' a/k/a ``Abu Abdallah,'' a/k/a ``Qa Qa,'' defendant
count one: Conspiracy to Attack Defense Utilities of the United States
The Grand Jury charges:
Background: Al Qaeda
1. At all relevant times from in or about 1989 until the
date of the filing of this Indictment, an international
terrorist group existed which was dedicated to opposing non-
Islamic governments with force and violence. This
organization grew out of the ``mekhtab al khidemat'' (the
``Services Office'') organization which had maintained (and
continues to maintain) offices in various parts of the world,
including Afghanistan, Pakistan (particularly in Peshawar)
and the United States, particularly at the Alkifah Refugee
Center in Brooklyn. From in or about 1989 until the present,
the group called itself ``Al Qaeda'' (``the Base''). From
1989 until in or about 1991, the group was headquartered in
Afghanistan and Peshawar, Pakistan. In or about 1992, the
leadership of Al Qaeda, including its ``emir'' (or prince)
USAMA BIN LADEN, the defendant, an its military command
relocated to the
* * * * *
of Al Qaeda that the United States forces stationed in the
Horn of Africa, including Somalia, should be attacked;
k. Beginning in or about early spring 1993, Al Qaeda
members began to provide training and assistance to Somali
tribes opposed to the United Nations' intervention in
Somalia;
l. On October 3 and 4, 1993, members of Al Qaeda
participated with Somali tribesmen in an attack on United
States military personnel serving in Somalia as part of
Operation Restore Hope, which attack killed a total of 18
United States soldiers and wounded 73 others in Mogadishu;
m. On two occasions in the period from in or about 1992
until in or about 1995, Co-conspirator helped transport
weapons and explosives from Khartoum to Port Sudan for
transshipment to the Saudi Arabian peninsula;
n. At various times from at least as early as 1993, USAMA
BIN LADEN and others known and unknown, made efforts to
obtain the components of nuclear weapons;
o. At various times from at least as early as 1993, USAMA
BIN LADEN and others known and unknown, made efforts to
produce chemical weapons;
p. On or about August 23, 1996, USAMA BIN LADEN signed and
issued a Declaration of Jihad entitled ``Message from Usamah
Bin-Muhammad Bin-Laden to His Muslim Brothers in the Whole
World and Especially in the Arabian Peninsula: Declaration of
Jihad Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two
Holy Mosques; Expel the Heretics from the Arabian Peninsula''
(hereafter the ``Declaration of Jihad'') from the Hindu Kush
mountains in Afghanistan. The Declaration of Jihad included
statements that efforts should be pooled to kill Americans
and encouraged other persons to join the jihad against the
American ``enemy'';
q. In or about late August 1996, USAMA BIN LADEN read aloud
the Declaration of Jihad and made an audiotape recording of
such reading for worldwide distribution; and
r. In February 1998, USAMA BIN LADEN issued a joint
declaration in the name of Gamaa't, Al Jihad, the Jihad
Movement in Bangladesh and the ``Jamaat ul Ulema e Pakistan''
under the banner of the ``International Islamic Front for
Jihad on the Jews
[[Page S9295]]
and Crusaders,'' which stated that Muslims should kill
Americans--including civilians--anywhere in the world where
they can be found.
(Title 18, United States Code, Section 2155(b).)
Mary Jo White,
United States Attorney.
____
[United States District Court, Southern District of New York, S(2) 98
Cr. 1023 (LBS)]
United States of America v. Usama bin Laden, a/k/a ``Usamah bin-
Muhammad bin-Ladin,'' a/k/a ``Shaykh Usamah bin-Ladin,'' a/k/a ``Abu
Abdullah,'' a/k/a ``Mujahid Shaykh,'' a/k/a ``Hajj,'' a/k/a ``al
Qaqa,'' a/k/a ``the Director''; Muhammad Atef, a/k/a ``Abu Hafs,'' a/k/
a ``Abu Hafs el Masry,'' a/k/a ``Abu Hafs el Masry el Khabir,'' a/k/a
``Taysir,'' a/k/a ``Sheikh Taysir Abdullah''; Wadih el Hage, a/k/a
``Abdus Sabbur,'' a/k/a ``Abd al Sabbur,'' a/k/a ``Norman,'' a/k/a
``Wa'da Norman''; Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a/k/a ``Harun Fazhl,'' a/k/a
``Fazhl Abdullah,'' a/k/a ``Fazhl Khan''; Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, a/k/a
``Abu Moath,'' a/k/a ``Noureldine,'' a/k/a ``Marwan,'' a/k/a ``Hydar'';
and Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali, a/k/a ``Khalid Salim Saleh bin
Rashed,'' a/k/a ``Moath,'' a/k/a ``Abdul Jabbar Ali Abdel-Latif,''
defendants
introduction
The Grand Jury charges:
Background: Al Qaeda
1. At all relevant times from in or about 1989 until the
date of the filing of this Indictment, an international
* * * * *
with representatives of the government of Iran, and its
associated terrorist group Hezballah, for the purpose of
working together against their perceived common enemies in
the West, particularly the United States.
count one: The Conspiracy to Kill United States Nationals
8. From at least 1991 until the date of the filing of this
Indictment, in the Southern District of New York, in
Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen,
Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, the Philippines and elsewhere out
of the jurisdiction of any particular state or district,
Usama bin Laden, a/k/a ``Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin,'' a/
k/a ``Shaykh Usamah bin-Ladin,'' a/k/a ``Abu Abdallah,'' a/k/
a ``Mujahid Shaykh,'' a/k/a ``Hajj,'' a/k/a ``al Qaqa,'' a/k/
a ``the Director''; Muhammad Atef, a/k/a ``Abu Hafs,'' a/k/a
``Abu Hafs el Masry,'' a/k/a ``Abu Hafs el Masry el Khabir,''
a/k/a ``Taysir,'' a/k/a ``Sheikh Taysir Abdullah''; Wadih el
Hage, a/k/a ``Abdus Sabbur,'' a/k/a ``Abd al Sabbur,'' a/k/a
``Norman,'' a/k/a ``Wa'da Norman''; Fazul Abdullah Mohammed,
a/k/a ``Harun Fazhl,'' a/k/a ``Fazhl Abdullah,'' a/k/a
``Fazhl Khan''; Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, a/k/a ``Abu Moath,'' a/
k/a ``Noureldine,'' a/k/a ``Marwan,'' a/k/a ``Hydar''; and
Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali, a/k/a ``Khalid Salim Saleh
bin Rashed,'' a/k/a ``Moath,'' a/k/a ``Abdul Jabbar Ali
Abdel-Latif,'' defendants at least one of whom was first
brought to and arrested in the Southern District of New York,
together with other members and associates of al Qaeda and
others known and unknown to the Grand Jury, unlawfully,
willfully and knowingly combined, conspired, confederated and
agreed to kill nationals of the United States in violation of
Title 18, United States Code, Section 2332(a).
9. The objectives of the conspiracy included: (i) killing
United States nationals employed by the United States
military who were serving in Somalia and on the Saudi Arabian
peninsula; (ii) killing United States nationals employed at
the United States Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania; and (iii) engaging in conduct to conceal
the activities and means and methods of the co-conspirators
by, among other things, establishing front companies,
providing false identify and travel documents, engaging in
coded correspondence and providing false information to the
authorities in various countries.
Overt Acts
10. In furtherance of the said conspiracy, and to effect
the illegal objects thereof, the following overt acts, among
others, were committed:
The Provision of Guesthouses and Training Camps
a. At various times from at least as early as 1989, Usama
bin Laden, the defendant, and others known and unknown,
provided training camps and guesthouses in various areas,
including Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Sudan, Somalia and Kenya
for the use of al Qaeda and its affiliated groups;
The Recruitment of American Citizens
b. At various times from at least as early as . . .
* * * * *
counts two through two hundred twenty seven: the africa bombings
count two: bombing of the united states embassy in nairobi, kenya,
resulting in more than 200 deaths
The Grand Jury further charges:
11. The allegations continued in paragraphs 1 through 7 are
repeated herein.
12. On or about August 7, 1998, in Nairobi, Kenya, and
outside the jurisdiction of any particular state or district,
Usama bin Laden, a/k/a ``Usamah bin-Muhammad bin-Ladin,'' a/
k/a ``Shaykh Usamah bin-Ladin,'' a/k/a ``Abu Abdallah,'' a/k/
a ``Mujahid Shaykh,'' a/k/a ``Hajj,'' a/k/a ``al Qaqa,'' a/k/
a ``the Director''; Muhammad Atef, a/k/a ``Abu Hafs,'' a/k/a
``Abu Hafs el Masry,'' a/k/a ``Abu Hafs el Masry el Khabir,''
a/k/a ``Taysir,'' a/k/a ``Sheikh Taysir Abdullah''; Fazul
Abdullah Mohammed, a/k/a ``Harun Fazhl,'' a/k/a ``Fazhl
Abdullah,'' a/k/a ``Fazhl Khan''; Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, a/k/a
``Abu Moath,'' a/k/a ``Noureldine,'' a/k/a ``Marwan,'' a/k/a
``Hydar''; and Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali, a/k/a
``Khalid Salim Saleh bin Rashed,'' a/k/a ``Moath,'' a/k/a
``Abdul Jabbar Ali Abdel-Latif,'' defendants, at least one of
whom was first brought to and arrested in the Southern
District of New York, and others known and unknown,
unlawfully, willfully, and knowingly did maliciously damage
and destroy, and attempted to damage and destroy, by means of
fire and an explosive, buildings, vehicles and other personal
and real property in whole and in part owned and possessed
by, and leased to, the United States, to wit, the defendants,
together with other members of al Qaeda, an international
terrorist organization, detonated an explosive device that
damaged and destroyed the United States Embassy in Nairobi,
Kenya, and as a result of such conduct directly and
proximately caused the deaths of at least 213 persons,
including Kenyan and American citizens.
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 844(f)(1), (f)(3),
and 2.)
count three: bombing of the united states embassy in dar es salaam,
tanzania, resulting in at least 11 deaths
The Grand Jury further charges:
13. The allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 7 are
repeated herein.
14. On or about August 7, 1998, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania,
and outside the jurisdiction of any particular state or
district, Usama bin Laden, a/k/a ``Usamah bin-Muhammad bin-
Ladin,'' a/k/a ``Shaykh Usamah bin-Ladin,'' a/k/a ``Abu
Abdallah,'' a/k/a ``Mujahid Shaykh,'' a/k/a ``Hajj,'' a/k/a
``al Qaqa,'' a/k/a ``the Director''; Muhammad Atef, a/k/a
``Abu Hafs,'' a/k/a ``Abu Hafs el Masry,'' a/k/a ``Abu Hafs
el Masry el Khabir,'' a/k/a ``Taysir,'' a/k/a ``Sheikh Taysir
Abdullah''; Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a/k/a ``Harun Fazhl,''
a/k/a ``Fazhl Abdullah,'' a/k/a ``Fazhl Khan''; Mohamed
Sadeek Odeh, a/k/a ``Abu Moath,'' a/k/a ``Noureldine,'' a/k/a
``Marwan,'' a/k/a ``Hydar''; and Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-
'Owhali, a/k/a ``Khalid Salim Saleh bin Rashed,'' a/k/a
``Moath,'' a/k/a ``Abdul Jabbar Ali Abdel-Latif,''
defendants, at least one of whom was first brought to and
arrested in the Southern District of New York, and others
known and unknown, unlawfully, willfully, and knowingly did
maliciously damage and destroy, and attempted to damage and
destroy, by means of fire and an explosive, buildings,
vehicles and other personal and real property in whole and in
part owned and possessed by, and leased to, the United
States, to wit, the defendants, together with other members
of al Qaeda, an international terrorist organization,
detonated an explosive device that damaged and destroyed the
United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and as a
result of such conduct directly and proximately caused the
deaths of at least 11 persons, including Tanzanian citizens.
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 844(f)(1), (f)(3)
and 2.)
counts four through two hundred sixteen: murders in nairobi, kenya
The Grand Jury further charges:
15. The allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 7 are
repeated herein.
16. On or about August 7, 1998, in Nairobi, Kenya, and
outside the jurisdiction of any particular state or district,
Usama bin Laden, a/k/a ``Usamah bin-Muhammad bin-Ladin,'' a/
k/a ``Shaykh Usamah bin-Ladin,'' a/k/a ``Abu Abdallah,'' a/k/
a ``Mujahid Shaykh,'' a/k/a ``Hajj,'' a/k/a ``al Qaqa,'' a/k/
a ``the Director''; Muhammad Atef, a/k/a ``Abu Hafs,'' a/k/a
``Abu Hafs el Masry,'' a/k/a ``Abu Hafs el Masry el Khabir,''
a/k/a ``Taysir,'' a/k/a ``Sheikh Taysir Abdullah''; Fazul
Abdullah Mohammed, a/k/a ``Harun Fazhl,'' a/k/a ``Fazhl
Abdullah,'' a/k/a ``Fazhl Khan''; Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, a/k/a
``Abu Moath,'' a/k/a ``Noureldine,'' a/k/a ``Marwan,'' a/k/a
``Hydar''; and Mohamed Rasheed Daoud al-'Owhali, a/k/a
``Khalid Salim Saleh bin Rashed,'' a/k/a ``Moath,'' a/k/a
``Abdul Jabbar Ali Abdel-Latif,'' defendants, at least one of
whom was first brought to and arrested in the Southern
District of New York, and others known and unknown,
unlawfully, willfully, and knowingly did kill the persons
listed below during the course of an attack on a federal
facility involving the use of a dangerous weapon, to wit,
the defendants detonated an explosive device that damaged
and destroyed the United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya,
and as a result of such conduct directly and proximately
caused the deaths of:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Count Victim
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4......................................... Bontia Achola
5......................................... Samson Oduor Ahomo
6......................................... Margaret Akinyi
7......................................... Jesse Nathaniel Aliganga
8......................................... Sylia Ambasa
9......................................... Elizabeth Anyango
10........................................ Monica Apondi
11........................................ Patricia Atieno
12........................................ Allan Sabato Bando
13........................................ Rosetta Baraza
14........................................ Julian Leotis Bartley, Jr.
15........................................ Julian Leotis Bartley, Sr.
16........................................ Chrispine Bonyo
17........................................ Daniel Kiprono Cheruiyot
18........................................ Jean Dalizu
[[Page S9296]]
19........................................ Sheikh Fahat
20........................................ Eva Nyanjau Gacheru
21........................................ Jane Wangui Gacheru
22........................................ Alice Nduta Gachiri
23........................................ Raphael Johnson Gathumbi
24........................................ Agnes Wanjiru Gitau
25........................................ Lawrence Ambrose Gitau
26........................................ Joel Kamau Githumbi
27........................................ Benard Mugambi Gitonga
28........................................ Susan Wairimu Gitu
29........................................ Rosemary Njeri Gituma
30........................................ Hassan Hukay Guracha
31........................................ Burhan Aden Hanshi
32........................................ Molly H. Hardy
33........................................ Kenneth Ray Hobson
34........................................ Anthony Kihato Irungu
35........................................ George Irungu
36........................................ Jane Wangari Itotia
37........................................ Dorine Aluoch Jow
38........................................ John Karoki Kahuthu
39........................................ Geoffrey Kaleo
40........................................ Francis Kihara Kamuti
41........................................ Lawrence Gitau Kamuti
42........................................ Margaret Wanjiku Kangi
43........................................ Charles Mugo Karanja
44........................................ Lucy Nyawira Karigi
45........................................ Moses Kariuki
46........................................ Christine Wairumu Karumba
47........................................ Prabhi Kavaler
48........................................ Francis Kibe
49........................................ Jackline Nyawira Kibera
50........................................ Felistus Njeri Kimani
51........................................ Rael Mburi Kimani
52........................................ Stephen Maina Kimani
53........................................ Simon Kinuthia
54........................................ Joe Kiongo
55........................................ Arlene Bradley Kirk
56........................................ Frnacis Kabathi Kiu
57........................................ Dominic Kivuva
58........................................ David Ndula Koimburi
59........................................ Julian Kwali
60........................................ Peter Mbevi Kyelo
61........................................ Moses Muli Kyule
62........................................ Emmanuel Machambele
63........................................ Denis R. Madegwa
64........................................ Ann Mumbi Maina
65........................................ Frank Maina
66........................................ Lidiah Ndinda Maingi
67........................................ Cecelia Mamboleo
68........................................ Mary Louise Martin
69........................................ James Otieno Masea
70........................................ Anne Nyambura Mathenge
71........................................ Pity Mwihaki Mathenge
72........................................ Simon Peter Ngumo Matu
73........................................ June Mary Maweu
74........................................ Lydia Mukuri Mayaka
75........................................ Doreen Mbayaki
76........................................ Francis Mbogo
77........................................ Francis Ndungu Mbogua
78........................................ Rachael Kabendi Mboya
79........................................ Lucy Waruthi Mbunya
80........................................ Stephen Waweru Mburu
81........................................ James Mathenge Migwi
82........................................ Elizabeth Onyango Mito
83........................................ Ahmed Warko Mohammed
84........................................ Luciano Mugambi
85........................................ Justus Njeru Mugendi
86........................................ Gilbert Mugo
87........................................ Peter Irungu Mugo
88........................................ Josphat Mutua Muia
89........................................ Edward Mukaya
90........................................ Loise Njeri Mukoma
91........................................ Samuel Vondo Mulalia
92........................................ Francis Mukenye Muleki
93........................................ Thomas Mundanyi
94........................................ Benson Wathigu Muniri
95........................................ Caroline Mumbi Muraguri
96........................................ Tirus Muraguri
97........................................ Catherine Mureithi
98........................................ Frida Wambui Muritu
99........................................ Alice Waruguru Muriuki
100....................................... Mary Wanjiku Muriuki
101....................................... Robert Migwi Muriuki
102....................................... Ruth Mwkai Musyoka
103....................................... Wilson Kipkorir Mutai
104....................................... Florence Mwende Muthama
105....................................... Emmanuel Njaga Muthuria
106....................................... Daniel Maundu Mutinda
107....................................... Josphine Nzilani Mutinda
108....................................... Catherine Ndumi Mutua
109....................................... Caroline Karambo Mutuiiri
110....................................... Gloria Ngatha Mutuiiri
111....................................... Geofrey Munyiri Mutunga
112....................................... Patrick Kariuki Muturi
113....................................... Gabriel Mwandime
114....................................... Harrison Njuguna Mwangi
115....................................... Naftali Mwangi
116....................................... Roseline Wanjiku Mwangi
117....................................... Samuel Githua Mwangi
118....................................... Moses Aston Mwani
119....................................... Ann Mwaniki
120....................................... Isack Mugera Mwaria
121....................................... Pamela Mboya Mwenge
122....................................... Edwin Mungai Mweya
123....................................... Abdalla Musyoki Mwilu
124....................................... Nkruma Tonny Myizala
125....................................... Moses Namayi
126....................................... Mary Nyaga Ndirango
127....................................... Caroline Ndolo
128....................................... Martin K. Nduati
129....................................... Julius Ndulu
130....................................... Edwin Paul Ndumbi
131....................................... Ephrahim Kingori Ndungu
132....................................... Peter Njoroge Ndungu
133....................................... Joyce Njeri Ng'ang'a
134....................................... John Mwangi Ngaragari
135....................................... Peter Macharia Ngugi
136....................................... Abel Mugambi Njau
137....................................... Simon Mwangi Njima
138....................................... Catherine Wambara Njoka
139....................................... Agatha Njoki
140....................................... Jacinta Njoki
141....................................... Francis Ndungu Njoroge
142....................................... Grace Nyambura Njoroge
143....................................... William Waithaka Njoroge
144....................................... Godfrey Muchori Njuguna
145....................................... Patrick Njuguna
146....................................... Beatric Nyambura
147....................................... Michael Oduor Nyandeba
148....................................... Elizabeth Nyarotso
149....................................... Vincent Kamau Nyoike
150....................................... Janet Ndoome Nzioka
151....................................... Kimeu Nzioka
152....................................... Magdaline Mbithe Nzioka
153....................................... Joseph Ngove Nzwili
154....................................... Margret Atieno Obonya
155....................................... Joshua Aneah Obonyo
156....................................... Fredrick Ebra Ochieng
157....................................... Michael Ochieng
158....................................... Francis Olewe Ochilo
159....................................... Lawrence Olum Ochoka
160....................................... Ann Michelle O'Connor
161....................................... Duncan Odhiambo
162....................................... Emma Odhiambo
163....................................... John Odhiambo Oduor
164....................................... Maurice Okach Oholla
165....................................... Simon Otieno Olang
166....................................... Sherry Lynn Olds
167....................................... Kitalian Olotono
168....................................... Hanson Nyabera Omae
169....................................... Hindu Omari
170....................................... Edwin Omori
171....................................... Enock Omweno
172....................................... Lucy Onono
173....................................... Eric Obur Onyango
174....................................... John Ouko Onyango
175....................................... Caroline Opati
176....................................... Silvia Oriendo
177....................................... Godfrey Okoro Orono
178....................................... Elizabeth Achieng Orwa
179....................................... Evans Osongo
180....................................... Dominic Alango Otieno
181....................................... Elias Otieno
182....................................... Julius Otieno
183....................................... Mathew Walunya Otieno
184....................................... Rogers Otoro
185....................................... Elijah Ngito Owino
186....................................... Josiah Odera Owuor
187....................................... Rachael Pussy
188....................................... Margret Llello Rading
189....................................... Ruth Mukami Rungu
190....................................... Joseph Ondari Salamba
191....................................... Timothy Odhiambo Sande
192....................................... Uttamlal Thomas Shah
193....................................... Hassan Jarso Soka
194....................................... Shadrack Nyaga Thito
195....................................... Samuel Mbugua Thuo
196....................................... Phaema Vrontamis
197....................................... Gloria Wangechi Wachira
198....................................... Shadrack Mwangi Maganyu
199....................................... James Mwangi Wainaina
200....................................... Teresia Kiongo Wairimu
201....................................... Sabena Walter
202....................................... Adams Wamai
203....................................... Rachel Wambui
204....................................... John Gitau Wamutwe
205....................................... David Soita Wanabacha
206....................................... John Amos Wangai
207....................................... Sharon Wangechi
208....................................... Gladys Wangui
209....................................... Margaret Wangui
210....................................... Mercy Wanjiku
211....................................... John Mwangi Wanyoike
212....................................... Margaret Wasike
213....................................... Margret Njeri Waweru
214....................................... Fredrick Maloba Yafes
215....................................... Ann Mumo Zakayo
216....................................... Unidentified male
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 930(c) and 2.)
Counts Two Hundred Seventeen Through Two Hundred Twenty Seven: Murders
in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
17. The allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 7 are
repeated herein.
18. On or about August 7, 1998, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania,
and outside the jurisdiction of any particular state or
district, Usama bin Laden, a/k/a ``Usamah bin-Muhammad bin-
Ladin,'' a/k/a ``Shaykh Usamah bin-Ladin,'' a/k/a ``Abu
Abdallah,'' a/k/a ``Mujahid Shaykh,'' a/k/a ``Hajj,'' a/k/a
``al Qaqa,'' a/k/a ``the Director''; Muhammad Atef, a/k/a
``Abu Hafs,'' a/k/a ``Abu Hafs el Masry,'' a/k/a ``Abu Hafs
el Masry el Khabir,'' a/k/a ``Taysir,'' a/k/a ``Sheikh Taysir
Abdullah''; Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a/k/a ``Harun
Fazhl,'' a/k/a ``Fazhl Abdullah,'' a/k/a ``Fazhl Khan'';
Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, a/k/a/ ``Abu Moath,'' a/k/a/
``Noureldine,'' a/k/a/ ``Marwan,'' a/k/a/ ``Hydar''; and
Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali, a/k/a/ ``Khalid Salim
Saleh Bin Rashed,'' a/k/a/ ``Moath,'' a/k/a/ ``Abdul
Jabbar Ali Abdel-Latif,'' defendants, at least one of whom
was first brought to and arrested in the Southern District
of New York, and others known and unknown, unlawfully,
willfully, and knowingly did kill the persons listed below
during the course of an attack on a federal facility
involving the use of a dangerous weapon, to wit, the
defendants detonated an explosive device that damaged and
destroyed the United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania, and as a result of such conduct directly and
proximately caused the deaths of:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Count Victim
------------------------------------------------------------------------
217....................................... Abdulahaman Abdulah
218....................................... Elisha Paulo Elia
219....................................... Hassan Siyad Harane
220....................................... Ramadhani H. Mahundi
221....................................... Mtendeje Rajabu Mbegu
222....................................... Abdallah Mohamed
223....................................... Abas William Mwila
224....................................... Almosaria Yussuf Mzee
225....................................... Shamte Yusuph Ndale
226....................................... Bakari Yusuph Nyumbo
227....................................... Dotto Seleman
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 930(c) and 2.)
* * * * *
. . . stated to a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation that he had never heard that ``Abu Ubaidah al
Banshiri,'' a military commander for Usama Bin Laden, had
died when in truth and fact WADI EL HAGE knew that ``Abu
Ubaidah al Banshiri'' had died in Kenya in 1996.
(Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001.)
count 238: false statements
38. On or about August 20, 1998, in Dallas, Texas, and
Arlington, Texas, the defendant Wadih el Hage, a/k/a/ ``Abdus
Sabbur,'' a/k/a/ ``Abd al Sabbur,'' a/k/a/ ``Norman,'' a/k/a/
``Wa'da Norman,'' in a matter within the jurisdiction of the
executive branch of the government, to wit, a criminal
investigation based in the Southern District of New York,
unlawfully, wilfully and knowingly, did make materially false
statements and representations, to wit, the defendant falsely
stated to a Special Agent of the Federal bureau of
Investigation that he did not know Mohamed Sadeek Odeh and
did not recognize his photograph when in truth and fact el
Hage knew Mohamed Sadeek Odeh.
(Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001.)
Mary Jo White,
United States Attorney.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. BIDEN. I yield to the Senator from Vermont, Mr. Leahy.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I applaud the Senators from Delaware and
North Carolina for leading the debate on this resolution and, of
course, our leaders, Senator Daschle and Senator Lott, for bringing
this resolution before the Senate.
Most Senators will speak on the floor about yesterday's tragedy. It
perhaps is impossible for the men and women of this body to say all the
things that can be said and should be said. The 100 of us, though, are
given the duty and the honor to speak for over 260 million Americans. I
know in my case my wife Marcelle and I, like all Vermonters, pray for
the victims of these heinous
[[Page S9297]]
acts. We also pray for their loved ones who remain behind.
The heart of every American aches for those who died or have been
injured. Think how the families and friends feel. I know that in my own
State, the head of the Roman Catholic diocese, Bishop Angell, has been
leading his congregation in prayer while his heart aches knowing that
his brother and his sister-in-law died on one of the hijacked planes.
Can you imagine the grief?
All day yesterday, last night and this morning, I have heard from my
fellow Vermonters by phone and by Internet. I hear from my friends and
members of my staff of the losses they have suffered of family and
friends. I think of my own children, each one of whom were trying to
call Washington yesterday when all the phones were jammed, to find out
where their mother and I were. You can replicate that for hundreds of
thousands of people around the country.
We have tried to answer those calls. We have tried to get the answers
for them and so often the answers are terrible ones.
I listened to the news a little after 5 this morning. I heard the
name of a friend of mine who went into the World Trade building to help
with the rescue and the building came down--and he died with hundreds
of New York firefighters, police and FMS personnel.
I have said for so many years that in a democracy like ours,
terrorism should not be our Achilles heel. It is clear that now more
than ever we have to concentrate on the terrorist threat.
I applaud the Democratic and the Republican leaders of the House and
Senate for bringing us back into session today.
As our Capitol was evacuated yesterday, as I stood out here on the
plaza and saw people coming out of our buildings, I said: Lord, let us
get back in there as soon as possible for if we let terrorism shut down
our democracy, then terrorism wins. We had to say to the American
people that we were here today, including our loyal and brave staff.
I was proud to be in my seat representing Vermont when we opened the
Senate and this building today. We know that quite possibly this
building was the target of the plane that crashed, but we know that
this building must be opened because the people's business is done
here. No country, and no terrorist, no matter how evil, no matter how
twisted, no matter how diabolic can close the symbols of U.S. democracy
or what we do. Just as the brave men and women of our Armed Forces will
not stop because of this dastardly attack on the Pentagon. And, just as
the people in New York City who make up the fiber of ingenuity,
innovation, economics, and learning in our country. The rest of the
country will pick up the torch.
Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was
attacked, ``a date which will live in infamy.'' Almost 60 years later,
Americans face such another day and challenge to our democracy. Just as
the people of this country became united in World War II, we must unite
against the cowardice of evil and terrorism. As our leaders said this
morning: We stand here not as Republicans or Democrats, we stand
together.
We will be supportive of our President, our institutions and of each
other because a challenge to our freedom is going to be answered by the
strength of our democracy. Trial by fire can refine us or it can
coarsen us. If we hold to our ideals, then it strengthens us. Our
people, our values, our institutions are strong. President Roosevelt
spoke of the arsenal of democracy. That arsenal--our ideals, our
values, our freedom, our community, our humanity--sustains us and
propels us forward. As much as our military weaponry these ideals are
the arsenal of democracy.
Let nobody outside our shores have any question about this: Americans
are united. All the free world, all civilized nations, all caring
people will join together at this difficult time. It has meant so much
to hear the calls from around the world.
Our values, our resolve, our commitment, our sense of community will
serve us well. I am confident that, as a nation, we will seek and serve
justice. Our Nation, my neighbors and friends in Vermont demand no
less, but we must not let the terrorists win. If we abandon our
democracy to battle them, they win. If we forget our role as the
world's leader to defeat them, they win. And we will win. We will
maintain our democracy, and with justice, we will use our strength.
We will not lose our commitment to the rule of law, no matter how
much the provocation, because that rule of law has protected us
throughout the centuries. It has created our democracy. It has made us
what we are in history. We are a just and good nation. We will remain a
just and good nation, but we are a nation capable of a terrible fury,
and our enemies must know that. Madam President, our enemies will know
that.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I yield myself 10 minutes, and I ask
unanimous consent that I be permitted to deliver my remarks seated at
my desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I have counted the number of today's U.S.
Senators who were around on December 7, 1941. There are not many of us.
Many present members of the Senate were not born. The Honorable Strom
Thurmond was indeed around, and bless his heart, I am so pleased the
able senior Senator from South Carolina is still here and active.
I remember that Sunday on December 7, 1941, when we came out of
church and heard the news about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As one of
the staff editors of the afternoon 6-day-a-week newspaper in Raleigh,
NC, we prevailed upon the then publisher of The Raleigh Times to
publish an ``extra''--and it was the last ``extra" newspaper published
in the State of North Carolina, to my knowledge. I recall that we sold
approximately 12,000, which pleased the management of the newspaper.
After the paper was put to bed, I walked up the street to the Raleigh
post office and into the Navy recruiting station to volunteer. I did
pretty well, but was turned down because of my hearing in my left ear.
I recall my disappointment. But over in the corner was a regular Navy
chief petty officer. Mr. President, I have never met a chief petty
officer of the regular Navy who didn't talk out of one side of his
mouth.
He said: ``Hey, boy, come over here.''
I went.
He said: ``You want to get in this man's Navy?''
I said: ``Yes, sir.''
He said: ``I have some friends in BUPERS.'' I did not know what
BUPERS was, but I later found it was Bureau of Naval Personnel in
Washington. I thought he was pulling my leg, but it turned out that he
was not, because about 2 months later, I received a waiver; I was sworn
into the Navy and went to San Diego for 2 or 3 months' boot camp.
Which is beside the point, except to say that the recruiting station
that Sunday afternoon, December 7, 1941, was filled with young men, all
wanting to defend their country. A lot of them did not know where Pearl
Harbor was or what Pearl Harbor was, but they came anyhow because they
realized that their country had been attacked unfairly.
Mr. President, that is the reason we won the war; that was a time
when the accepted and effective policy of the United States of America
was to seek out and find and, when necessary, destroy the leaders of
forces resorting to violent harm to the American people.
That policy was in effect, as I say, on December 7, but in the years
following, some in political circles decided to substitute only a vague
warning to those making threats by crashing airliners loaded with
innocent Americans.
Mr. President, I was encouraged to hear the President of the United
States last evening and again this morning say, in effect, we are going
to get them; they are not going to get by with it. That was the
attitude in 1941 when Franklin Roosevelt--and I am the only one present
in this Chamber at the moment who heard FDR say ``this is a day that
will live in infamy.''
Well, Mr. President, yesterday was another day that must live in
infamy. Not since the war of 1812 has the city of Washington been
attacked by a hostile adversary. The attack on Pearl Harbor, of course,
matched yesterday's cowardly actions in both surprise and
[[Page S9298]]
swiftness that occurred yesterday. The losses are perhaps more enormous
yesterday; in number in terms of innocent lives, than those
astronomical numbers in 1941 at Pearl Harbor.
The policy I have just mentioned--of going after adversaries of the
United States of America--was in effect on December 7, but somewhere
along the line it began to dissipate after World War II. The mind-set
in some political circles gradually was substituted for a two-fisted
warning to the mean, cruel terrorists who made their threats yesterday
by crashing airliners loaded with innocent Americans into public
buildings in New York City and Washington.
That was the kind of terrorists who created that disaster yesterday;
I hope I will live to see the day when it will once again be the
unmistakable policy of the United States of America to search for and
find that kind of sneaky slimy terrorist who created this morning's
headlines by crashing those airplanes and creating destruction and
disaster and bloodshed and loss of lives.
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison mentioned the young lady who called her
husband from one of the planes on her cell phone. All of us had seen
her many times on television and enjoyed her talent--and she will be
missed. But I hope Americans will again be two-fisted, standing
together.
President Bush laid down the bill of particulars, and I believe he is
going to say let us get back in the game and punish these cruel
terrorists.
I intend to do my best as a United States Senator to encourage and
supplement such a revival of a policy that once protected the lives and
property of innocent American people. FDR was right, December 7, 1941,
was a day of infamy, and yesterday, September 11, 2001, was also a day
of infamy.
We must stand together and vote together and never be deterred in our
efforts to put an end to this sort of thing, wherever it happens around
this world.
I yield back the remainder of my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, I say to my colleague from North
Carolina, we have on our side 10 minutes now, but one of our colleagues
has to go to California and one up to New Jersey because of so many
folks involved in the Trade Tower. If they can split their 10 minutes,
will it be all right to have them go in succession? I spoke with the
Senator from Mississippi about this.
Mr. HELMS. That is fine.
Mr. BIDEN. I understand the Senator from Mississippi has a statement
he wishes to make first.
Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I thank the Senator for yielding to me.
The resolution before the Senate should be considered by those who have
planned and perpetrated the heinous attacks in New York City and
Washington as more than a warning. It is a promise that will be kept.
We pledge today our whole hearted support for President Bush and his
commitment to hunt down those responsible for these atrocities and to
punish them in a way that is commensurate with their horrible acts.
At the same time we are committing ourselves to provide the resources
our government and our President may need as Commander in Chief to wage
a war to eradicate terrorism. I am pleased the Senate is united in this
resolve to help ensure that we will do all we are able to do to ensure
these tragedies are never repeated.
I thank the distinguished Senator.
Mr. BIDEN. I thank the Senator from Mississippi.
Madam President, I yield 5 minutes, or slightly more if he needs it,
to the Senator from New Jersey. I thank him for accommodating the
Senator from California as well.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
Mr. CORZINE. Madam President, I thank you for this opportunity to
speak. I am awestruck by the passion I feel among all of the Senators
in this Chamber.
Today, America's people in the civilized world join hands and hearts
to share our grief and our love and to steel our will. First for
victims, we share our grief. We share our love with the ones who are
the heroes of rescue, and we truly steel our will against the evil
actors of terrorism.
In my home State of New Jersey, there are unknown numbers of families
heartbroken with the horror of yesterday's tragedy. The personal
friendships and relationships affected in my own life are acutely
painful. As do all of my colleagues, from the bottom of my heart I
extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the
victims and to the courageous men and women whose life's work has been
to protect us, to rescue us in time of need.
In this moment of grief, we must and we will stand together as
families, as communities, as one Nation.
Yesterday, America came under attack in a manner none of us thought
imaginable. Our freedoms and liberties were challenged by cowardly,
faceless fanatics who thought nothing of killing innocent people, women
and children, hard-working men and women who dedicated their lives to
believing in the American promise, the American dream, the values that
we all cherish in a society.
In response to those attacks and this challenge, we need to be united
in purpose to move swiftly, surely, thoughtfully, to uncompromising
justice. I know we all recoil with horror as we think of those who died
in the destruction of the World Trade Center. It was a true symbol of
America's financial and economic strength, just as certainly as the
Pentagon represents our military strength.
I worked for many years in that neighborhood I saw buried under the
rubble yesterday. In fact, I commuted through that building for over 20
years, and I fear for the many whose paths I crossed there because of
potentially unspeakable horrors.
Equally shocking, it is just as difficult to imagine hijacked
airliners being taken from Newark International Airport, where I have
traveled literally thousands of times. But these shocks and
circumstances which are not only personal to me but to everyone cannot
allow us as a nation to weaken our resolve.
I boil with anger at what has occurred and share with my country men
and women the belief that we will leave no stone unturned tracking down
those responsible for these acts. I, too, join in a chorus that says we
must hold all accountable, including those who harbor these criminals
and give them aid and comfort. They have no clean hands.
Our Nation was born of strife and the horrors of war, but we built a
country with the brick and mortar of freedom and democracy. That is
what we have to defend. We have defended over the centuries the
fundamental liberties that make us so strong and, as spoken about so
eloquently, including the rule of law. We have become the world's lone
superpower, the world's beacon of freedom because of those bricks and
mortar that built the American dream.
It is our responsibility at this moment in time to stand strong on
those principles. It motivates us and moves us to be ever vigilant,
protecting our security and freedoms. We fought too hard and, frankly,
we care too much. Millions of men and women have sacrificed their lives
over time to secure those freedoms. Yesterday, others joined in that
sacrifice. We honor them, but we must not be deterred. Our resolve must
be strengthened.
I want to make sure we do everything we can to bring those who are
responsible to justice, but we must be just as strong to make sure we
rebuild and move forward in a sure and certain way.
I know one aspect of that in the financial world, and I am clear in
my own mind that we will not hesitate, that we will not step back and
we will marshal every resource to make sure things will move forward,
and they will.
As we move forward from this tragedy, we must capture and hold those
responsible, but the positive is where our hearts must be. But we will
never forget.
Yesterday, Lady Liberty stood in our harbor, the New York/ New Jersey
Harbor, and watched unspeakable horrors unfold, but today she stands
tall. And so shall we, Madam President. I thank you.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California is recognized.
Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I thank my dear friend, my eloquent
friend, my chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, for this
opportunity and for his eloquence, indeed,
[[Page S9299]]
his vigilance on this topic. I am proud to be on his committee and to
head his Subcommittee on Terrorism.
Today, I rise with pain in my heart and great emotion to offer my
prayers and my condolences for the people in this country who have been
directly hit by an act of war, people of my State of my birth, New
York, looking at that skyline, the people who work at the Pentagon
every day, who have chosen to work to protect our Nation, and the
people of California who were on those planes that were hijacked and,
of course, to every other individual who was directly affected, and all
of us will have our stories.
I first thank the people of California for their outpouring of love
and support for the people of this country. There were vigils, there
were prayer services in every denomination yesterday. There was an
outpouring of people giving blood.
People did not know what to do. The L.A. County Search and Rescue
Team somehow got a plane at 4 a.m. They boarded on that plane and they
are on the ground in Manhattan. Indeed, we are one country east coast
to west, north to south. I have never seen such unity.
One of our colleagues said we remember where we were when tragedy hit
this country. In my lifetime, I remember too many things--not as many
things as perhaps Senators who are older, but I certainly remember
where I was when I saw John Kennedy go down and Martin Luther King go
down, the Challenger disaster, and yesterday the image of our planes,
commercial American planes, four of them, going down crashing into
buildings, being used as lethal weapons against our people--an image
that has shaken us but has not shaken our resolve.
Once I was on a plane that was in some type of mechanical trouble. We
had to make an unscheduled landing. For an hour we really didn't know
if we were going to make it. In that time, passengers were consoling
each other and getting out their fears, attendants were reading the
crash landing manuals. I reached for the phone. I called my family. I
left a message. I thought: Did I tell them before how much they mean to
me? All I could think of yesterday was about the people on those
planes, every one of whom had a family. Basically, as I understand it,
they knew they were going to go down, and in many cases, as I
understand, were being told if they wanted to call their families, they
were crashing. The utter terror, the utter callousness of this, the
inhumanity of this, is unbearable, what our people went through on
those planes and then those innocent people working in the Pentagon and
the World Trade Center.
I am going to make a very strong statement. When we look back into
history and what happened in Bosnia, people suffered genocide because
of their nationality, and to the Holocaust, people suffered
annihilation because of their nationality. People were killed yesterday
because they were Americans. People were killed not because they were
bad people --they were good people--they were killed because they were
Americans.
It is time for us to say we will fight and stand up for them and
their memories. We will take a stand against inhumanity that occurred
on our own soil. We are resolved to honor those who died. We are
resolved to make our Nation as safe as it can be from those acts. We
are resolved to hold those who planned these attacks and who harbor
these people absolutely 100-percent accountable. We will hold them
accountable. They must pay because this is the test of a civilized
nation. We lead the civilized nations of the world. We will not back
down.
I stand proudly with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and
with our President. We will be resolved to do everything--and do it
well and do it right--to bring justice in the world.
Thank you.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, we have a long list. I ask unanimous
consent that the next person on the list be Senator Kerry to speak for
5 minutes and that we extend the recess for an additional 5 minutes.
Mr. WELLSTONE. Madam President, I was interested in the order.
Mr. BIDEN. The order after that is Hollings, Feinstein, Durbin,
Kennedy, Lieberman, Wyden, and Wellstone.
Mr. WELLSTONE. Thank you, Madam President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Massachusetts is recognized for up to 5 minutes.
Mr. KERRY. I thank the Chair. I thank my colleague.
Madam President, never in the time I have been here--and perhaps in
the modern history of the Senate--has any of us come to the floor with
such a weight as today, with our hearts literally heavy and aching with
the pain of what we have witnessed and what we know so many families
are experiencing today, and also with a sense of outrage at the loss of
every innocent citizen and every single person who went to work
expecting a normal day, every police officer who put themselves into
harm's way, every fireman who tried to save a life and lost their own,
and at the astonishing number of their loss with the experience of a
breach in their special brotherhood and sisterhood that can never be
healed, the loss of emergency personnel. These losses are felt by all
of us in a very special, personal, and searing way.
It is also fair to say that all of us have a deep feeling of outrage
and resentment for the killing of our innocent citizens, for the attack
against our country, for the fear and panic we saw in the faces and
voices of our people; children crying; parents, wives, brothers, sons,
and daughters waiting for word.
Yesterday I was on the phone to the husband and daughter of a woman--
a friend--lost in the second flight to penetrate the World Trade
Center. The pain and depth of loss in their voices was excruciating.
And the helplessness to do anything but to share that pain and offer
comfort brought an even deeper sense of anger and resolve for the acts
that occurred.
But it is also critical that all of us remember, as we talk about
responses, and war against terrorism, that our rhetoric be matched by
our actions. If indeed there is a war against terrorism, I remind my
colleagues that in a war the first shots are never the last, the first
strike is never the worst.
What happened yesterday was terrible and horrendous, but we must
prepare ourselves and steel ourselves for the possibility of worse
until we achieve our goal. And to do that we have to be more prepared
than we are today, and we have to take the fight wherever we need to,
and in ways that we are, frankly, not yet prepared.
I will say, from personal experience, when you are in a war, you do
not throw money at the enemy; it's bullets or other actions that are
real. We cannot guarantee that some fanatic is not going to find a way
to upset civilized order. But we can guarantee that anyone facilitating
or associated with such an act will pay the highest price.
There are few organizations that could achieve what happened
yesterday. We know who they are. We know who supports them. We should
demand that those people cooperate with us in turning them over to us.
Finally, it is important for the world to see that we will go back
immediately to the business of a great democracy. We must--all of us--
be back at the work of our Nation. We must show that our effort to
build a better country goes on, the mission of educating our children
for full citizenship goes on, the job of making our country stronger
goes on.
I believe one of the first things we should commit to as a country,
with Federal help, that underscores our Nation's purpose, is to rebuild
the towers of the World Trade Center and to show the world that we are
not afraid; we are defiant.
To those who might say, ``why create another target?'' The answer is
simple: If we are indeed at war with terrorism, there is no shortage of
targets in the United States. There is a White House, and a Capitol,
and countless other tall buildings. This is not a question of targets;
it is a question of strength and of our national resolve to stand up
and show our strength. That is the best monument we could build to
those who died yesterday.
In Massachusetts, Madam President, we particularly grieve and feel
the full measure of what happened yesterday. Two of those flights came
out of our airport. Many of those people on those
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flights--the vast majority of them--came from our State.
So to all of those who currently await word or those who know because
of the nature of the flights, we extend our deepest condolences and we
grieve together as citizens of Massachusetts and of this great country.
I thank the Chair.
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