[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 59 (Wednesday, May 4, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2661-S2664]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        Death of Osama Bin Laden

  I rise to speak on a different subject today, and that is about what 
happened in Pakistan and the aftermath.
  First, of course, the killing of Osama bin Laden, the evil mastermind 
of the world's bloodiest terrorist organization, was a thunderous 
strike for justice for the thousands of my fellow New Yorkers and 
citizens from all over the world who were murdered on 9/11. It took 
almost a decade, but the world's most-wanted terrorist finally met his 
fate 4 days ago. New York's heart is still broken from the tragedy of 
9/11, but at least this brings some measure of closure and consolation 
to the families and victims.
  When I spoke to the families, one of the things that they said galled 
them almost every day when they woke up was that their father or 
mother, brother or sister, son or daughter, husband or wife was gone 
and bin Laden still lived. That kind of galling knowledge is no longer 
in their hearts and minds because bin Laden, at least, has met his 
deserved fate.
  We owe a massive debt of gratitude to our military. They have done an 
amazing job. I sat in on the briefings. Your jaw drops at their 
professionalism, their excellence, their sacrifice, their courage, 
their dedication--unbelievable.
  That is also true of our civilian intelligence. The CIA, led by Leon 
Panetta, should be incredibly proud. We know they are. It is an agency 
that gets too little of the acclaim their accomplishments deserve.
  Finally, the job President Obama did should not be forgotten. His 
steely courage, his quiet courage was incredible. All one had to do was 
look at some of the films from the Situation Room and learn a little 
bit of the history to know what an amazing feat this was for our 
President. He could have taken the easy way out, in a certain sense. He 
didn't. The easy way out probably would have been an air bombardment, 
but we never would have known certainly that bin Laden is gone, and 
there might have been--probably would have been many unnecessary 
civilian casualties. The President chose the right path.
  I want to say something about this President. He is not a chest 
thumper.

[[Page S2663]]

He is not somebody who involves himself in a lot of rhetorical 
flourishes. He is serious, he is focused, he is factually driven. But 
let no one mistake the fact that he is fact-driven and often quietly 
contemplative for a lack of steel or a lack of courage or a lack of 
strength. This incident showed the true strength of the man. His speech 
Sunday night--modest but forceful, proud but understated--was President 
Obama. There has been a lot of talk of lack of determination or taking 
a side or focus. I think the people who do that mistake the President's 
steel--often low key, often fact-based, often without chest thumping or 
big slogans--for a lack of strength. They are so wrong. The actions 
show it. I think every American, regardless of political party, 
regardless of political attitude and conviction and ideology, should be 
proud of our military and of our country but also of our President.
  I want to say one more thing about this. I read today's newspapers, 
and there was a great deal of talk about how some of the facts that 
were reported in the early moments after this great victory were not 
exactly correct. There is certainly reason to correct facts, and they 
certainly are news, but they should not displace the importance of what 
happened. For critics to dwell on the early discrepancies and over-
exaggerate their importance would be an injustice to the magnitude of 
what really happened. It is only 2 days after we learned early Monday 
morning of what happened, and all of a sudden, it seems, oh, they 
messed up this or they didn't do that right or this and that. There 
were discrepancies and they should be made public, but to dwell on 
them, to listen to the morning news shows or to look at the headlines 
blaring, may have us miss the main point, which is that a superb, 
professional, well-practiced, and almost flawless military mission and 
civilian accompaniment got rid of the greatest terrorist in the world.
  Let's keep our priorities straight. Let's acknowledge, let's find the 
facts and watch as they come out, let's make sure some of the early 
comments that were not right are corrected, but let's not let that in 
any way detract from the greatness and magnitude of what happened. Our 
focus should be on the successful mission and on the message it sends 
to the world, which is, to those who would test the resolve of the 
people of the United States of America: Do not doubt our resolve. If 
you do us harm, we will find you, we will mete out justice, and we will 
prevail. That is where our focus should be and should stay.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cardin). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from Texas is recognized.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I would like to take a few minutes to 
acknowledge the steady efforts of our Armed Forces and our intelligence 
community to eliminate the leader of al-Qaida and to help bring some 
peace and relief to our Nation and to those who lost loved ones in the 
tragedy on
9/11.
  I have heard some people say justice has been done because the leader 
of this terrorist organization has finally been killed. I am not one 
who is going to say justice has been done. I do not consider taking out 
the leader of a terrorist organization who killed thousands of 
Americans who just went to work one day to do their jobs, to add to 
their quality of life and the lives of their families, an even trade. I 
do not consider it is enough. However, it is a first step to righting 
the wrong that was done by not only the leader of al-Qaida but all of 
those he trained through the years to give up their own lives in order 
to kill innocent people. He ruined the lives of so many Americans, and 
he also ruined the lives of so many young Muslim followers who gave up 
a productive life for one of terrorism and murder.
  I thank President George W. Bush for his relentless efforts to put 
this accomplishment in motion. He is the President who received the 
shock on 9/11, who had to deal with the immediate aftermath, and he put 
in place the organizations, the military control, and the intelligence 
gathering that have brought us to this point today.
  I commend President Obama for carrying these principles through to 
completion. As things are unfolding more and more we know President 
Obama made a very tough and very decisive and correct decision. I think 
both President Bush and President Obama deserve praise today.
  I also especially say I am proud of the Navy SEALs who knowingly went 
into harm's way to take down Osama bin Laden. Those are the troops who 
probably thought there was a chance they might not come back home, but 
they are among the most highly trained forces in the world. They 
operate in sea, air, and on land. Each and every day they volunteer for 
some of the most dangerous missions under the most difficult 
circumstances, and without recognition. Normally, it is something we 
never hear about that takes us one step closer to wiping out the 
terrorism we know in the world today. They are truly our Nation's 
heroes.
  While much praise, deservedly, goes to the two dozen Navy SEALs who 
raided the terrorist stronghold using surprise and lethal speed, we 
should not think that they went there alone because they did not. 
Shortly after the world saw the brutality of Osama bin Laden's savage 
plan unfold on American soil nearly 10 years ago, President Bush took 
the decisive steps to launch an aggressive campaign to hunt down those 
responsible, including Osama bin Laden.
  One such step occurred on October 26, 2001, when President Bush 
signed into law the PATRIOT Act. It provided the law enforcement and 
the intelligence community greater authority to track and intercept 
communications among suspected terrorists. This law has proven to be 
immeasurably valuable to the intelligence community. It has enhanced 
our ability to find and capture terrorists. I hope we will be able to 
reach a bipartisan agreement to extend the provisions of the PATRIOT 
Act that are set to expire at the end of this month.
  As we have seen from various media reports--and I look forward to 
getting more details--the ability to monitor communications was a 
crucial lead used by analysts to determine the eventual location of 
Osama bin Laden. As my colleagues are aware, the provisions that are 
set to expire include the authorization for the FBI to use roving 
wiretaps on surveillance targets because at the time we took up the 
PATRIOT Act, we were still having to get permission from authorities to 
wiretap a telephone number--not keeping up with the technology advances 
that allow you to have a cell phone and never have a landline and throw 
away a cell phone every 15 minutes if you think you are in danger of 
being under surveillance.
  It also has a ``lone wolf'' provision that allows for the 
investigation of individuals who are acting alone but who have been 
radicalized and are sympathetic to terrorist organizations and pose a 
significant national security threat.
  These are just two of the provisions that have enhanced our 
capabilities to obtain information that has been crucial in capturing 
not only terrorists we know have already plotted against us but also to 
uncover their plots before they are able to do harm.
  We must not allow the provisions of the PATRIOT Act to expire, 
especially at a time when al-Qaida is reeling from the death of their 
leader and could be plotting revenge. Stepping back our intelligence 
efforts now could allow al-Qaida to regroup and launch additional 
attacks against our Nation.
  Another very important step was taken when President George W. Bush 
signed the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act in December 
2004. This act created the National Counterterrorism Center. This 
center is the primary organization in the U.S. Government for 
integrating, analyzing, and sharing all intelligence from the CIA, FBI, 
Department of Defense, and others which pertains to counterterrorism. 
This is a very important tool for compiling the various information 
that was being gathered by many of the intelligence organizations and 
putting it through one grid and analysis. It was

[[Page S2664]]

that painstaking analysis through the last 10 years that allowed 
actionable intelligence to be the instigator of the effort to take out 
Osama bin Laden.
  Within our military, we have a small group of Tier 1 units that are 
specially selected and highly trained for this exact type of mission. 
They have gained fame in the last few decades through books and movies. 
But these heroes are real.
  I wish to point out that the commander of these elite warriors, VADM 
William McRaven, is a proud Texan from San Antonio, who is also an 
alumni of the University of Texas. Admiral McRaven is a highly 
decorated Navy SEAL who lives by the SEAL code and ``earns his trident 
every day.'' Vice Admiral McRaven has been nominated by the President 
to receive his fourth star and, if confirmed, will lead U.S. Special 
Operations Command. I can think of no one better qualified to lead our 
special operations than he is. I look forward to supporting his 
confirmation on the Senate floor.
  While these highly skilled commandos deserve every accolade that is 
bestowed upon them, we cannot forget those who guided them to the 
target: the direct and indirect support personnel, the technicians, the 
analysts, the pilots and crews, and all those who have worked 
meticulously and attentively for years to finally put together all the 
pieces to get the SEALs to the right place at the right time.
  We have seen many changes in the past 10 years. Departments and 
agencies have been consolidated or created, military commanders have 
retired, and administrations have changed hands. Most of the soldiers 
who conducted that first raid in Afghanistan in October of 2001 are no 
longer wearing uniforms, just as most of those in the military today 
were still in school in September of 2001. Many of those signed up to 
go into the military after 9/11 because they felt so much loyalty to 
our country.
  I wish to acknowledge those who devoted so many years to pursuing 
Osama bin Laden. To those who have retired or moved on to other 
professions, I want you to know we appreciate you and your work was not 
in vain.
  Our leaders said from the beginning, after September 11--that fateful 
day--that we would get Osama bin Laden. Through the efforts of 
thousands, we did. We have the most professional, the best trained, the 
best equipped military and intelligence agencies in the world.
  While there are sighs of relief now from the public, our work is 
clearly not done. Al-Qaida is still plotting against our freedom. Other 
groups are just as zealously dedicated to the mission of destroying our 
way of life. So while taking down the head of al-Qaida was a victory, 
it is also a stark reminder that we must remain vigilant.
  As we speak right now, our intelligence experts are employing, 
analyzing, and disseminating the information gleaned from the bin Laden 
raid, and our special operators are preparing for their next mission, 
whatever it may be. I believe our country is united in the commitment 
to protecting what makes America great: our freedom and our way of 
life.
  I look forward to a day when we will not have to walk through a body 
scan or put our shoes on an x-ray machine to get on an airplane. I look 
forward to a day when we will not have to fight against an enemy who is 
living among us, an enemy who is plotting against us in our own 
country, an enemy who is willing to kill itself in order to kill 
innocent people and destroy our way of life. I look forward to a day 
when we never see a casket at Dover, DE--one of our military elite 
coming home having made the ultimate sacrifice.
  That day will only come if we as a nation remain willing to fight to 
protect the ideals of America--the foundation that was laid by our 
Founding Fathers and has been protected by every generation since that 
time. Today is a day we reflect on those principles. It is a day we 
renew our commitment to uphold them at all costs.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico is recognized.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.