[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 122 (Wednesday, September 12, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H5863-H5864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ATTACKED AGAIN ON 9/11
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, yesterday was the 11th anniversary
of the attack on America from 9/11 in 2001 where Americans were killed,
and it was an act of terrorism. Yesterday Americans were attacked again
in two attacks, in Egypt and in Libya, apparently terrorists attacking
us again on 9/11.
The Embassy in Egypt was stormed, the American flag was brought down,
[[Page H5864]]
and a black flag was raised by those that stormed the compound. In
Libya, the consulate was attacked, set afire, and our Ambassador to
Libya, Chris Stevens, was murdered and apparently, according to the
BBC, his body was carried through the streets of Benghazi.
Both of these places are U.S. sovereign soil, the consulate and the
Embassy. The groups or individuals that committed these acts must be
found. There's no evidence yet that there was any act by either one of
these two governments but by individuals or even by groups.
In Libya, al Qaeda cousins, as I call them, the Ansar al-Sharia,
claims responsibility for the murder of our U.S. Ambassador. It's no
coincidence that these two attacks occurred nearly at the same time,
and they both occurred on the anniversary of September 11.
Immediately, the attackers blamed a movie that was produced as the
reason, an excuse and justification for murdering. It's never the fault
of a movie; it's never the fault of the United States; it's never the
fault of western culture that people are murdered in the name of
religion. It's the responsibility and it's the fault, of individuals.
The people that need to be held accountable are the ones who committed
these specific acts of terror against the United States.
In the past, the United States has always held and went after those
that were responsible for this type of conduct. In 1998, when the
Kenyan Embassy was attacked and Americans were killed, we responded. Of
course we responded in 9/11. We responded after the first World Trade
Center bombing. In 1996, when 19 American soldiers were murdered in
Saudi Arabia, we responded. In fact, President Bill Clinton said this:
The cowards who committed this murderous act must not go
unpunished. We will not rest in our efforts to find who is
responsible for this outrage, to pursue them and to punish
them.
After 9/11, President Bush made this comment:
The search is under way for those who are behind these evil
acts. I've directed the full resources of our intelligence
and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and
bring them to justice.
Madam Speaker, the United States must always respond to terrorists,
and we must let them be reminded again and again we will respond in an
appropriate manner as we did on 9/11. We must respond today, and we
must respond tomorrow. I am encouraged that the President will soon
address the Nation on what our response will be.
We must hold those responsible personally accountable because we must
let people understand that they need to leave us alone. That is what
that message needs to be. We must have justice in these terrorist
attacks by these individuals against Americans because, Madam Speaker,
justice is what we do in America.
And that's just the way it is.
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