[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 116 (Thursday, September 23, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9557-S9558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  REMARKS OF SENATOR DANIEL K. INOUYE

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, there are times when one reads a speech 
that has been given by another Senator and reaches a conclusion and 
says: I could have given that speech.
  Today I was given a copy of the statement made by my Senate brother 
from Hawaii, Senator Inouye, at the David Sarnoff Award Banquet last 
night. I came to the floor to commend that speech to Members of the 
Senate. I do think if Senators read it, some of them at least might 
change their position on some of the issues that are going to come 
before us next week.
  This is a very thoughtful speech that Senator Inouye made. This David 
Sarnoff Award, as we all know, is named after the founder of the 
Association of Communications, Electronics, Intelligence and 
Information Systems Professionals, a group of people who have devoted 
their lives to improving the technology for our people who are engaged 
in the intelligence-gathering system of the United States.
  This is an award that has been given to many distinguished people in 
the past--former Secretary Bill Perry, Secretary of State Colin Powell, 
former Senator and Vice President Al Gore, our current Vice President, 
Dick Cheney. It is an award anyone would be proud to receive, but as a 
practical matter, I bet those people did not expect the speech of the 
type they heard. It is one that I think, as I said at the beginning, 
demonstrates what we say from time to time: That the two of us think 
alike and speak alike.
  I commend this speech to Members of the Senate and hope Members will 
read it and understand it. I ask unanimous consent that Senator 
Inouye's speech be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

   Statement of Senator Daniel K. Inouye at the David Sarnoff Award 
                      Banquet, September 22, 2004

       Admiral Browne, General Renzi, distinguished guests, I want 
     to thank you for bestowing this great honor upon me. I am 
     pleased to accept the David Sarnoff Award, named after your 
     founder of the Association of Communications, Electronics, 
     Intelligence and Information Systems Professionals.
       Moreover, I am humbled to be included with such notables as 
     Bill Perry, Colin Powell, Al Gore, and Dick Cheney in 
     receiving this award.
       David Sarnoff was a visionary who provided so much to the 
     communications industry.
       Rising from humble beginnings to become a powerhouse in the 
     radio and television business, he is indicative of the 
     American success story. As one who has served in government 
     most of my adult life, I especially admire Mr. Sarnoff for 
     his goal of fostering a partnership between government and 
     industry.
       This partnership between the communications, electronics 
     and information technology business has been critical to our 
     Nation's security and to the advances in our defense and 
     intelligence capabilities. So, I thank you most sincerely for 
     this award.
       My friends, we live in interesting and very dangerous 
     times. Many felt with the collapse of the Soviet Union we had 
     entered into a new era of global peace. Today however, we 
     recognize that we face a new enemy, one that knows no borders 
     and operates beyond the norms of civilized society.
       Much of what you in the AFCEA Association do helps to fight 
     this new threat and we thank you for that. Your hard work 
     pays great dividends for our Nation's security every day. 
     Through your efforts we have made tremendous improvements in 
     command and control and communications and in information 
     technology. These improvements are so critical to our 
     Nation's defense and its intelligence capabilities.
       I often remark that we have the greatest military in the 
     world, perhaps in the history of mankind. Our young men and 
     women who put on the uniform of this country serve us all 
     magnificently.
       Let me remind you that it is only one percent of our 
     citizens who serve in our armed forces to protect the 
     remaining 99 percent of us. We are truly in their debt.
       It is for them that I strongly encourage our leaders to 
     approve a robust budget to strengthen defense every year.
       Your members also help to strengthen our defenses by 
     improving electronics, communications and information 
     technology programs. Your work helps every day to protect 
     these young men and women and enable them to perform their 
     mission more efficiently and effectively.
       I would like to note tonight, in addition to our military, 
     our Nation is lucky to be served by the men and women in our 
     intelligence community. They truly represent the best in 
     public service. And your work means a great deal to their 
     success.
       Today in Washington we are focused on intelligence, 
     specifically on the intelligence community and the need for 
     further improvement. The tragedy of 9-11 and the faulty 
     intelligence which had many believing that Iraq had weapons 
     of mass destruction led the 9-11 Commission and many others 
     to call for reforming intelligence.
       The Commission contends that we had an intelligence 
     failure, that it was a systemic problem as opposed to several 
     mistakes being made by our intelligence community. They blame 
     it on a failure to connect the dots and a lack of 
     imagination.
       In their analysis, they note that several terrorists met in 
     Malaysia and that a few proceeded from there to the United 
     States and took part in the attack on 9-11. They conclude 
     that the CIA should have recognized that these terrorists 
     were linked to the bombing of the USS Cole and should have 
     informed the FBI and the State Department about the meeting.
       It is this type of error which they say necessitates an 
     overhaul of our intelligence infrastructure.
       We all wish that our analysts would have been prescient 
     enough to recognize the relationship among these terrorists, 
     and their connection to the Cole bombing, and the importance 
     of the Malaysian meeting.
       We all wish that these same analysts would have made that 
     information available to the FBI and State Department where 
     there exists a possibility that it would have triggered an 
     investigation of their movements here. But I for one believe 
     it would have taken a lot of luck for that to have happened--
     more than simply connecting the dots or having better 
     imagination.
       Consider this point. It has been 3 years and 11 days since 
     the attack on our Nation. In that time, we have devoted 
     billions of dollars and we have sacrificed many young lives 
     in the war on terrorism, but as far as we know, Osama Bin 
     Laden remains hidden from view directing the far flung al 
     Qaeda network.
       Would anyone seriously claim that we have not worked hard 
     enough to connect the dots?
       Let's assume we capture Osama soon, somewhere in Pakistan. 
     When we then learn how he escaped from Tora Bora and made his 
     way to Pakistan will we blame faulty intelligence for letting 
     him slip through our grasp?
       I fear in today's environment some will offer that 
     critique.
       Ladies and gentlemen, intelligence is a tough business. 
     Many of you, perhaps most of you have been involved as 
     providers or users of intelligence in your distinguished 
     careers. I am not telling you something new.
       You have witnessed and in some cases taken part in the 
     advances in communications and in command and control which 
     have revolutionized intelligence. You know the incredible 
     progress we have made through information technology. But, 
     with all the highly sophisticated tools in our arsenal we 
     still can't find Osama.
       So I ask you, is then a failure of our intelligence system? 
     I think most, if not all of you would agree it is not.
       As you know, as ranking member of the Defense 
     Appropriations Subcommittee, I have access to virtually all 
     of our Nation's secrets, including those in the Defense 
     Department and in intelligence programs as well.
       I am well aware of what happens day to day in our 
     intelligence business.
       But, because of the necessary secrecy of intelligence, most 
     Americans never hear about the success in intelligence.
       If the CIA breaks up an al Qaeda cell in southern Europe or 
     western Africa, it is not reported.
       If a ship transporting raw materials for the construction 
     of weapons of mass destruction is stopped in port before it 
     reaches its destination, the world is unaware. You know, 
     sometimes I just shake my head when I hear those in the media 
     and even some of my colleagues criticize our intelligence 
     capabilities because all they can see are the failures.
       Over the past 3 years my committee has been informed of 
     multiple threats most of which have never been publicized. 
     The intelligence community must treat each warning with 
     utmost care. They must research and investigate each one to 
     determine its veracity, and then respond appropriately to 
     those incidents which are deemed credible.
       In many cases what some call connecting the dots is really 
     like searching for a needle in a haystack. And, just to make 
     it more difficult, there are many haystacks to examine and in 
     some cases the needle looks exactly like hay. Sure the 
     needles are there and theoretically they could be found, but 
     should we really expect our analysts to find them every time?
       My friends, intelligence is tough business. Our experts are 
     working round the clock on these issues.
       Furthermore, I want everyone to realize that we are not 
     standing still. The intelligence community has come a long 
     way in improving intelligence cooperation.
       We created the terrorist threat integration center to bring 
     analysts from various parts of the community to work 
     together. The enactment of the PATRIOT Act brought down

[[Page S9558]]

     a wall which had previously blocked information sharing 
     between various parts of the intelligence community and the 
     FBI.
       Our leaders have successfully worked to break stovepipes 
     and to ensure that information sharing is working.
       The American communication and electronics business has 
     been instrumental in assisting this effort. You have provided 
     the technology to allow us to share information across 
     agencies.
       You have invented new ways to protect certain sensitive 
     issues while still allowing many analysts to see essential 
     data. Certainly more improvements are needed in intelligence 
     cooperation and in new technology to improve information 
     sharing. Together that partnership that David Sarnoff talked 
     about a half century ago can help make this work. With your 
     assistance I am confident we will succeed.
       Ladies and gentlemen, our Nation has the finest national 
     security apparatus--defense and intelligence--in the world. 
     It's not perfect and it never will be. Some areas can be 
     improved. But it is a critical capability. Our warfighters--
     our young men and women who, as we speak, are serving in 
     harm's way--depend on seamless intelligence. Many of you help 
     provide that capability to them. It is our solemn duty to 
     ensure that we can continue to provide them the best.
       You who represent the providers of these systems, you who 
     are responsible for the revolution in information technology, 
     I offer you my most heartfelt thanks for what you do. I say 
     this because you provide the tools that protect our military.
       You provide the tools to our first responders and homeland 
     security managers that will help them hopefully deny and 
     certainly defeat any additional terrorist activity. We are 
     grateful for all you have done to improve our Nation's 
     security.
       And to those that want to rush to change our intelligence 
     system and congressional oversight I urge caution. I would 
     urge all to remember the old medical adage, first do no harm.
       Again, I thank you for inviting me here to join you this 
     evening and to receive the David Sarnoff Award. I wish you 
     all the best. Thank you.

  Mr. STEVENS. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cornyn). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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