[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 164 (Friday, November 30, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H8743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           FOR THE LONG HAUL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, in the pre-dawn hours of April 12, 1861, 
Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard gave the order to fire on Fort 
Sumter. After 34 hours of bombardment, a white flag ended the first 
battle of the Civil War.
  The only casualty was a Confederate horse. Later a Northern 
Congressman predicted that we could, ``wipe up with one handkerchief 
the blood that would be spilled in putting down the rebellion.'' He was 
wrong.
  As the Northern Alliance supported by our bombers and Special Forces 
roll across Afghanistan, I fear the same overconfidence taking root 
here in Congress.
  In the words of the poet, ``We have miles to go before we sleep.'' So 
it is with the war on terrorism.
  Many ask me what will come next. The answer is embedded in the 
question. We all know that there will be a next. It is important that 
those who advance terrorism not know when.
  It is important that we understand that the coming phase probably 
will not be as painless in defeating the Taliban. Other countries do 
not offer ready-made freedom fighters like the Northern Alliance. We 
must also brace ourselves for potential news blackouts. I pray that any 
future deployments of our Special Forces into other countries will not 
be announced on CNBC. SEAL teams do their best work away from the glare 
of Klieg lights.
  Our commander in chief has made it clear from the very beginning, 
this will be a long war involving many countries that harbor terrorism.
  It began at a time of their choosing. It will end at a time and under 
the terms that we decide. We must not become overconfident. It will 
take many handkerchiefs. There will be casualties, both American and 
innocent civilians. But I have no doubt that we will prevail. And in 
the end, we will leave to future generations a much safer planet. To 
victory.

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