[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 37 (Monday, March 5, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2570-S2571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       AMENDMENT NO. 313 TO S. 4

  Mr. DORGAN. Madam President, I want to talk briefly about an 
amendment I have offered to the underlying piece of legislation.
  I would like to ask it be considered in morning business as a 
separate subject.
  I have offered an amendment that is very simple. It calls for a 
report every 6 months by this administration on the subject of what is 
happening with respect to the search for Osama bin Laden and the 
leadership of al-Qaida. I hope I will get a vote on that amendment 
perhaps this afternoon, and if not, I hope by tomorrow. That amendment 
was one I offered last week. I want to show a couple of charts that 
describe why I have offered such an amendment.
  Mr. Negroponte was the Director of National Intelligence until about 
two weeks ago. He and the current leader of the intelligence service 
have said the same thing in open testimony before the Congress:

       Al-Qaida is the terrorist organization that poses the 
     greatest threat to U.S. interests, including to the homeland.

  He also said this:

       Al-Qaida continues to plot attacks against our homeland and 
     other targets with the objective of inflicting mass 
     casualties. And they continue to maintain active connections 
     and relationships that radiate outward from their leaders 
     from a secure hideout in Pakistan.

  Again, it says from their secure hideout in Pakistan. On September 
15, 2001, 4 days after 9/11, recognizing it was al-Qaida and Osama bin 
Laden and the al-Qaida leadership that attacked this country and 
boasted about it, the President said this:

       We will not only deal with those who dare attack Americans; 
     we will deal with those who harbor them and feed them and 
     house them.

  Two months later he said:

       As a part of our offensive against terror, we are also 
     confronting the regimes that harbor and support terrorists.

  Two months following that he said:

       Osama bin Laden has no place to train his al-Qaida killers 
     anymore. And if we find a training camp, we will take care of 
     it.

  Well, the head of intelligence for this country says he knows where 
the al-Qaida leadership is. We saw last week film clips on television 
of al-Qaida training camps. Yet somehow there is a giant yawn about all 
of this. In fact, the President later said, in 2003:

       I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really 
     don't care. It is not important, and it is not our priority.

  He also said:

       I am not truly that concerned about him.

  If the head of intelligence for this country says the greatest threat 
posed to this country by a terrorist organization is a threat that 
comes from al-Qaida, a threat to our homeland to inflict mass 
casualties, and they are in a secure hideout in Pakistan, and if, in 
fact, the President previously said as a part of our offensive against 
terror we are also confronting the regimes that harbor and support 
terrorists, and if Pakistan is our ally and al-Qaida is located there 
to train new terrorists, why on Earth are we not going after the 
leadership of al-Qaida? What explains that? It, frankly, escapes me.
  I have introduced a piece of legislation that does three things: 
First, every 6 months, there will be a report from this administration 
to the Congress--a classified report--telling us where is the al-Qaida 
leadership. If they now say they are in a secure hideout in Pakistan, 
they can reaffirm that; and, if not, where are they?
  Second, tell us each country where bin Laden, Zawahiri, and other 
leadership may be and whether the government of each country is 
cooperating with our attempts to capture them. If these countries are 
allies, are they harboring these terrorists, preventing us from the 
opportunity to go and eliminate the leadership of this terrorist 
organization?
  Third, this report will require the heads of our intelligence and of 
our Defense Department to tell us what additional resources they need 
to capture the leadership of al-Qaida.
  Today, it is 2,001 days--let me mark that--since the terrorist attack 
against our country which murdered thousands of innocent Americans. 
Osama bin Laden, Zawahiri, and others in al-Qaida boasted about being 
the perpetrators of that terrorist attack. That was 9/11/2001.
  Coincidentally, today is 2,001 days later. The perpetrators who 
boasted that they committed the terrorist acts against our country that 
murdered so many thousands of Americans remain, apparently, in a secure 
hideout in Pakistan and still taunt us. They send the television and 
the radio stations their videos and their voice tracks telling us their 
views of world events.
  I have said before on the floor of the Senate in recent weeks, if we 
have 21,000 soldiers to surge somewhere, I would much prefer those 
21,000 soldiers be surged to find the leadership and eliminate the 
leadership of al-Qaida. I don't understand why this administration 
says: We don't know where he is. I have no idea and really don't care. 
It is not that important. It is not our priority.
  That comes from the President. But his top intelligence chief says 
they are in a secure hideout in Pakistan. Even more important, I don't 
understand when the President says he is not concerned about him. The 
top intelligence chief said this is the greatest threat to our country. 
We better be concerned about him--the President and the Congress and 
the American people. We ought to be concerned enough to decide this is 
a priority; it is a priority for us to bring to justice those who are 
the greatest threat to our country, the greatest terrorist threat.
  That doesn't come from me. That comes from Mr. Negroponte and his 
successor who, in the last 2 months, both said the greatest terrorist 
threat to our country is al-Qaida. They continue to plot attacks 
against our homeland with the objective of inflicting mass casualties, 
and they radiate outward from their leaders from a secure hideout in 
Pakistan. It is unbelievable to me that 2,001 days later that we saw, 
according to the New York Times 2 weeks ago, ``Terror Officials See 
Qaeda Chiefs Regaining Power.''

       Senior leaders of al-Qaeda operating from Pakistan over the 
     last year have set up a band of training camps in the tribal 
     regions near the Afghan border, according to American 
     intelligence and counterterrorism officials. American 
     officials said there was mounting evidence that Osama bin 
     Laden and his deputy, al-Zawahiri, have been steadily 
     building an operations hub in the mountainous Pakistani 
     tribal area of north Waziristan.

  I don't have the foggiest idea how this is allowed to continue or to 
happen. In fact, my colleague and I--Senator Conrad and I--offered an 
amendment similar to this some months ago. It was dropped in 
conference. Senator Conrad joins me as a cosponsor of this amendment 
this time as well. Both of us believe there is something missing. When 
we offered it the last time, there was this enormous concern about our 
offering it. It seems to me that this just makes common sense--find out 
what is the most significant threat to our country and take steps to 
eliminate that threat.
  This country took its eye off the issue of Afghanistan. All of us 
understand that, regrettably. I worry about what might happen in 
Afghanistan this year. We took our eye off this issue. Osama bin 
Laden--you haven't heard his name around here for a long while. It was 
Osama ``been forgotten.'' Nobody talked about him. Even the President 
said: I don't know where he is. I don't care. It is not important, and 
it is not our priority.
  What on Earth is that? I don't understand it. This amendment is 
simple. We are asking for three steps. Every 6 months we would like a 
report. What are you doing? What is the progress in dealing with the 
greatest terrorist threat to this country? Don't tell us that we don't 
have time or resources to

[[Page S2571]]

deal with the greatest terrorist threat to our country. We must deal 
with that threat, and we must deal with it on an urgent basis.
  Madam President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, how much time remains in morning 
business?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning business extends until 3 p.m., and 
Senators may speak for up to 10 minutes each.
  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up 
to 15 minutes. I will yield back time if I don't need all of that. I 
also ask unanimous consent that Senator Webb be recognized following my 
remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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