[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 6, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H24-H25]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   DAYS OF THE OLD WEST HAVE RETURNED

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, it looks like the days of the Old 
West have returned and are being played out in the Middle East between 
Israel and Hamas.
  Innocent Israeli civilians have been targeted by Hamas terrorists. 
These terrorist outlaws have fired over 8,000 rockets and mortar shells 
at Israel since 2000, and they still won't quit. These extremists call 
for the total destruction of the nation of Israel. They are shooting at 
Israeli civilians in southern Israel with the help of Iranian-made 
long-range rockets.
  Self-defense is a basic human right, Madam Speaker. It is a principle 
that goes back to the Wild West: If you are

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getting shot at, you have the right to shoot back to defend yourself. 
And Israel is fighting back. Israel has the moral right and duty to 
protect its people from Hamas militants waging war against them.
  Hamas is nothing more than a ragtag gang of terrorists intent on 
kidnapping, killing and terrorizing as many Israelis as possible. These 
attacks cannot go unanswered. The United States must stand with Israel.
  Hamas doesn't want peace. They want a war of destruction against 
Israel. In the face of such hate, Israel is left with no other choice 
but to defend its people and its sovereign territory from these 
murderous outlaws.
  And that's just the way it is.

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