[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 2 (Thursday, January 24, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S95-S96]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY
Mr. KYL. Mr. President, for over 200 years, our Nation has championed
ideas and ideals that have placed us in harm's way. In certain parts of
the world, our actions have at times made us the object of ridicule.
But liberty, toleration, and the inalienable rights of the individual
have been our strength, and that strength is undimmed by criticism of
the United States. We stand legitimately for freedom; for us it is not
a mere word employed in presidential speeches or diplomatic exchanges.
The concept of ordered liberty has been the foundation of our national
resolve, consecrated with the blood of our sons and daughters on many
fields of battle across the world, and now, tragically, in the wreckage
in New York, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon.
I rise to call my colleagues' attention to a speech that the senior
Senator from North Carolina delivered to the second annual Hillsdale
College Churchill Dinner on December 5, 2001, which I will ask to be
printed in the Record. This speech is a remarkably good statement of
our national character and our national purpose, drawing as it does
upon a wealth of knowledge and experience second to none. We need to
hear from statesmen like Jesse Helms at a time like this. In his
Hillsdale speech, he offers a powerful assessment of the state of
affairs facing United States policy makers who must develop a strategy
to combat forces that would seek to destroy us and our way of life.
As Senator Helms so ably explains, this is a task that we have faced
before. Though the names and the faces and even the tactics of our
adversaries change, the threat to us is the same. We must confront this
threat and we must defeat it. At the same time, Senator Helms
admonishes us to remain vigilant of those world powers that maintain
historic practices of hostility toward us, powers that are
strengthening their war-making capacities, and that might well seek to
lull us into a false sense of security as we pursue our campaign
against the terrorist networks.
The good Senator provides us with a thought-provoking analysis that
is sobering, but also hopeful. He urges us, at a time when the
geopolitical map of the world is in great flux, to remember and
reaffirm, in all we do, the principles upon which America was founded.
He remarks on how well we are bearing up under the worst assault we've
sustained since Pearl Harbor. ``They thought that their attacks would
frighten and divide us,'' writes Senator Helms. ``Instead, they have
drawn us closer to God, and to each other.''
I highly commend to my colleagues this Churchillian call to unity.
I ask unanimous consent that Senator Helms' speech be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From Imprimis, Jan. 2002]
Emerging Threats to United States National Security
(By the Honorable Jesse Helms)
The following is an abridged version of Senator Helms'
speech at the second annual Hillsdale College Churchill
Dinner, held at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., on
December 5, 2001.
America is the only nation in history founded on an idea:
the proposition that all men are created equal, and are
endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights to life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness. No other nation can
make such a claim. This is what makes us unique. It is why,
for more than two centuries, America has been a beacon of
liberty for all who aspire to live in freedom. It is also why
America was so brutally attacked on September 11.
The terrorists who struck the Pentagon and the World Trade
Towers despise what America stands for: freedom, religious
toleration and individual liberty. They hate the success with
which the American idea has spread around the world. And they
want to terrorize us into retreat and inaction, so that we
will be afraid to defend freedom abroad and live as free
people at home. They will not succeed.
a revived sense of vigilance
The terrorists we fight today are not the first aggressors
of their kind to challenge us. Indeed, at this moment of
trial, it is altogether fitting that we gather to honor the
memory of Sir Winston Churchill, whose courage, conviction
and steely resolve led the Allies to victory over Fascism,
and who went on then to warn us about the danger of the
emerging Communist threat and the Iron Curtain then
descending across Europe. Today we face a new and different
enemy--one who hides in caves, and who strikes in new and
unexpected ways. Yet in a larger respect, this new enemy is
no different from the enemy Churchill faced 60 years ago. And
as shocking as September 11 was, it should have come as no
surprise that our nation was once again challenged by
aggressors bent on her destruction.
Jefferson warned that ``the price of liberty is eternal
vigilance.'' And since our founding, Jefferson has been
proven right, time and time again. New enemies have
constantly emerged to threaten us. The lesson of history is
that to secure our liberty, America must be constantly on
guard, preparing to defend our nation against tomorrow's
adversaries even as we vanquish the enemies of today.
Over the past decade, America let down her guard. With the
collapse of the Soviet Union, our leaders assumed that the
post-Cold War world would be one of unlimited peace and
prosperity, and that our greatest security challenges would
be invading Haiti, or stopping wars in places like Bosnia and
Kosovo. The Clinton people slashed our defense budget in
search of a ``peace dividend,'' while sending our forces all
over the world on a plethora of missions that drained
America's military readiness. They put off investments needed
to prepare for the real energing threats to U.S. national
security. Instead of focusing on new dangers, they spent
their time and energy forging ridiculous new treaties--like
the Kyoto Protocol and the International Criminal Court--
while fighting desperately to preserve antiquated ones, like
the ABM Treaty!
In light of America's new war, it is almost humorous to
look back on some of the foreign policy debates of the 1990s.
Can anyone imagine Kofi Annan today declaring as he did two
years ago, that the United Nations Security Council is the
``sole source of legitimacy for the use of force in the
world''? Or former Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott
repeating his ridiculous assertion that all countries, ``no
matter how permanent or even scared [they] may seem,'' are in
fact ``artificial and temporary''?
``Within the next hundred years,'' Talbott went on to say,
``nationhood as we know it will be obsolete; all states will
recognize a single global authority.'' Let him tell that to
the policemen and firemen at the World Trade Towers. Let him
tell it to all the millions of Americans flying flags from
their homes and cars. Let him tell it to the thousands of
brave Americans in uniform, who at this very moment are
voluntarily risking their lives to defend our country.
In the wake of September 11, a measure of sanity has been
restored to debates over U.S. foreign policy. Awakened to new
dangers, our challenge is now twofold: First, we must win the
war on terrorism that took our nation by surprise. And
second, we must prepare now for the threats that could emerge
to surprise us in the decades ahead.
Beyond Afghanistan
Thanks to the outstanding leadership of President Bush, the
Taliban is in retreat and Osama bin Laden is on the run. But
the war on terrorism is far from over. Indeed, one could
argue that the most difficult challenge comes now, as the
Afghan campaign moves from the taking of cities, to a
cave-by-cave hunt for bin Laden and his terrorist network.
Ripping that network out by its roots will be long,
difficult and dangerous work. Moreover, President Bush's
greatest challenge may come after the Afghan phase of the
war is over.
The bin Laden terrorist network operates in dozens of
countries. Nor is it the only one that threatens America and
her allies. Terrorist networks operate across the world, with
the support of dozens of states. President Bush has made
clear that this war will not end until every terrorist
network with global reach is decisively defeated. He has also
made clear that the United States will no longer tolerate
states that support or provide safe haven to these
terrorists. That means, I am convinced, that the war on
terrorism cannot and will not end until Saddam Hussein
suffers the same fate as the Taliban.
While we do not yet know that Saddam was directly involved
with the tragic events of September 11, there is a mountain
of evidence linking him to international terrorism generally,
and to bin Laden's terrorist network specifically. We know
for a fact that Saddam attempted to assassinate former
President Bush. We know with certainty that he has chemical
and biological agents, and is pursuing nuclear weapons. We
know for certain that, days before coming to the U.S., one of
the September 11 hijackers met with an Iraqi agent in
Prague--and that soon
[[Page S96]]
after that meeting, this same bin Laden operative was in the
United States inquiring how one goes about renting a crop
duster. So the obvious next step in the war on terrorism is
the elimination of Saddam Hussein's tyrannical terrorist
regime.
Just as the United States teamed up with determined Afghans
who were ready, willing and able to overthrow the Taliban
with American support, there are Iraqis ready to overthrow
Saddam. But taking the war to Saddam will be no easy task. We
must accept the probability that many of the nations rallying
around us today will be nowhere to be found. Indeed, some are
likely to scream and yell and stomp their feet, demanding
``evidence'' of Iraq's involvement in the September 11
attacks. It is then that President Bush must patiently remind
them that the war on terrorism is a war against all
terrorists who threaten America, regardless of whether they
bombed the World Trade Towers, sought to murder a former
President of the United States, or threaten our people with
nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass
destruction.
We must proceed against Saddam with the same resolve with
which we have proceeded against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Once the world sees two terrorist regimes in rubble, I
suspect that support for international terrorism will dry up
pretty quickly. Dictators will begin to understand that
waging a war by proxy against the United States carries
deadly consequences.
While we prosecute the war on terrorism to its logical
conclusion, we must, at the same time, begin preparing for
the next threats to America--threats which could be quite
different from those we face today. The next challenge we
face may come from a rogue state armed with ballistic
missiles capable of reaching New York or Los Angeles. It may
come from cyber-terrorists who seek to cripple our nation and
our economy by attacking our vital information networks. It
may come from a country that has developed small ``killer
satellites'' capable of attacking our space infrastructure,
on which both our defense and our economy depend. Or it may
come from a traditional state-on-state war, such as a Chinese
invasion of Taiwan. In any event, it is essential that we
begin preparing now for all of these possibilities, by
developing defenses against a wide range of asymmetric
threats.
Distinguishing Friends From Enemies
We must also look realistically at who our potential
adversaries could be in the decades ahead. For example,
Communist China--a nation with no respect for human rights,
for religious freedom, or for the rule of law--remains both a
present and an emerging threat to the United States. Its
annual double-digit increases in military spending, its
virulent anti-American propaganda, and its aggressive arms
acquisitions are all very clear indications that China fully
intends to become a superpower--and, when it is able, to seek
regional hegemony in Asia and threaten our democratic friends
on Taiwan. Moreover, China has for years exported dangerous
missile technology to Pakistan--support that, according to
the Director of Central Intelligence, continues today
unabated. China has also supplied chemical weapons-related
equipment and technology to Iran. And earlier this year, U.S.
and British war planes had to destroy fiber-optic cables that
had been laid by Chinese firms in Iraq, as part of Saddam
Hussein's ever-improving air defense infrastructure.
Today, China is a thorn in our side. We must make sure
that, as China rises, it does not become a dagger at our
throat. Nor is China by any means the only nation that could
one day threaten us. Countries like Iran, Syria, Sudan, North
Korea and Cuba continue to provide aid, comfort and refuge to
terrorist elements that wish to harm the United States, and
several of them are seeking weapons of mass destruction and
the means to deliver them.
In times of war, the enemy of our enemy is often our
friend. During World War II, Churchill explained his wartime
alliance with Stalin this way: ``If Hitler invaded Hell,''
Churchill said, ``I would make at least a favorable reference
to the Devil in the House of Commons.'' But let us not forget
what happened in the aftermath of World War II, when the
Soviet Union went from wartime ally to Cold War adversary. We
must be careful that, in our zeal to build the coalition
against terrorism, we do not mistakenly turn a blind eye to
the true nature of certain regimes whose long-term interests
and intentions remain contrary to ours.
Of course we must, and should, take the opportunity to
reach out to nations that are willing to step up and take
concrete steps to help us in the fight against terror. Not
for several generations has the geopolitical map of the world
been so much in flux, as a variety of countries decide how to
respond to the events of September 11 and to President Bush's
ultimatum that ``either you are with us or you are with the
terrorists.'' President Bush is certainly to be commended for
the rapid transformation of our relationship with Russia,
whose long-term interests clearly lie with the West.
President Putin seems to have seized September 11 as an
opportunity to align Russia more closely with the United
States, and he should be encouraged in this regard. But we
must proceed with care. For example: The idea of giving
Russia a decision-making role within NATO--including a veto
over certain Alliance decisions (as NATO Secretary General
Lord Robertson suggested the other day)--is absurd. Russia
still has much to prove before being given de facto
membership in the Atlantic Alliance.
We must make clear--as President Bush has made clear--that
we want closer cooperation with Russia and a new relationship
that puts Cold War animosities behind us. But in building
that relationship, we must stand firmly behind our intention
to build and deploy ballistic missile defenses. If the United
States and Russia are to establish a new strategic
relationship based on trust, cooperation, and mutual
interests, then Russia must recognize that such missile
defenses, in protecting the United States and our allies
from mutual adversaries, will enhance the security of both
nations in today's new and dangerous world.
moral foundations of security
America is indeed the greatest nation on the face of the
earth, a beacon of freedom for the entire world. We have met
tremendous challenges to our freedom before September 11 and
defeated them. We will do so again. but in the long run, the
greatest emerging threat to America may not come from
without, but rather from within. As I have said often during
my years in public life, we will not long survive as a nation
unless and until we restore the moral and spiritual
principles that made America great in the first place.
On September 11, 4,000 innocent Americans were killed by a
foreign enemy. The American people responded with shock,
sadness, and a deep and righteous anger--and rightly so. Yet
let us not forget that every passing day in our country
almost 4,000 innocent Americans are killed at the hands of
so-called doctors, who rip those little ones from their
mothers' wombs. These are the most innocent Americans of
all--small, helpless, defenseless babies. For unborn
Americans, every day is September 11.
America was attacked by terrorists on September 11 because
of what America stands for--our dedication to life, liberty
and justice under God. As we defend those principles abroad,
let us also renew them here at home. As we go after the
terrorists who committed those unspeakable acts against our
people, let us, at the same time, get about the task of
restoring our nation's moral and spiritual foundations. No
matter how successfully we prosecute the war against
terrorism--no matter how brilliantly we prepare for the
threats of the future--we will never be truly secure if we do
not return to the principles on which America was founded,
and which made America great.
This is already taking place. In the wake of September 11,
flags are flying and church pews are overflowing. This great
patriotic and spiritual outpouring is proof that the
terrorists' plans have backfired. They thought that their
attacks would frighten and divide us; instead they have drawn
us closer to God--and to each other. We must encourage this
spiritual rebirth, and nurture it so that it becomes another
Great Awakening. We must instill in our young people an
understanding that theirs is a nation founded by Providence
to serve as a shining city on a hill--a light to the nations,
spreading the good news of God's gift of human freedom.
Thank you, God bless you, and, as Ronald Reagan always
said, God bless America!
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