[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 21538-21540]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                            TROUBLING TIMES

  Mr. TORRICELLI. Madam President, these are, for all Americans, 
troubling times. While we are defending our Nation at home and abroad, 
we find ourselves with conflicting emotions. We are by nature a 
peaceful people but a people of enormous resolve, with a great love of 
our Nation, our culture, and each other. We respect each other's 
faiths. We respect the faiths and cultures of those of other nations.
  This mix of emotions has placed us in an extraordinary position. Two 
principal issues arise from this dilemma. First, in the midst of a 
military campaign in Afghanistan, we now find the religious holidays of 
the Muslim faith upon us, the celebration of Ramadan. It is a central 
date on the Islamic calendar.
  The second issue is the extent to which our military operations in 
Afghanistan involve the inevitability and the tragedy of civilian 
casualties. I would like to address both of these concerns for a 
moment.
  It speaks well of the American people that we would have a concern 
about engaging in military activities during the religious holidays of 
some of our own citizens, and more important, those of other nations. 
In a nation that is overwhelmingly Christian but with large Jewish and 
Islamic populations, it is a tremendous statement about America that 
even in the waging of conflict we want to be deferential to the 
religions of others. Indeed, it speaks well of our President that there 
is even a consideration of the postponement of military activities in 
our air campaign in Afghanistan during Ramadan.
  I strongly urge the President, despite his best instincts, that the 
bombing campaign should not be postponed--not for a minute, not for a 
day. What happened on September 11 and the motivation of those who 
might have orchestrated this campaign from Afghanistan is all the 
evidence that is required that bin Laden, al-Qaida, even the Taliban 
are not practicing Islam.
  The massive loss of life at the Pentagon and the World Trade Center 
in the name of that faith is not only not in keeping with the teachings 
of Islam, it is blasphemy. It is blasphemy against the teachings of 
Mohammad and the Koran. It is an insult to every person of Islamic 
faith in the world.
  For the United States to hesitate or suspend our military operations 
against al-Qaida because of Ramadan is to suggest that these people are 
actually legitimately practicing their faith or even, in fact, are of 
the Islamic faith. Their practice of Islam that engages in terrorism, 
the massive loss of life, the use of assassination and terror against 
their own people and the United States, their declaration of war 
against people simply because they hold a different religious faith or 
live

[[Page 21539]]

in a different culture, is not the legitimate practice of Islam. It is 
against everything written in the Koran.
  Not only should this bombing campaign not be suspended in deference 
to Ramadan, indeed--it is the policy of our Government that bin Laden 
and al-Qaida are not practicing the faith at all--suspension would be 
to give a cloak of legitimacy that indeed they are practicing a 
religion rather than that they are an aberration. They are a cult, 
mindlessly pursuing some horrible vision of exercising personal power, 
the teachings of which are not legitimately accepted by any faith.
  No, the bombing campaign should not be suspended. Indeed, it must 
continue to underscore that this is not a war against Islam, and the 
people we are fighting are not practicing Islam.
  Second is the issue of civilian casualties. It is a wonderful 
statement about our people that even in the face of horror and the 
massive loss of life of Americans, that there is a concern that people 
in another nation, as we seek justice, might inadvertently and 
tragically lose their lives as we pursue al-Qaida and bin Laden. It is 
right we should have this concern, but it cannot deter us.
  I hope my comments are not misunderstood. I do not want them to seem 
overly harsh. But there is something missing from this debate, from 
those abroad, and those within our own Nation who are understandably 
concerned about this loss of life. There is not a question that there 
is going to be a loss of civilian life. That happened on September 11. 
If you want to see civilian casualties, come to New York. We have 
thousands of bodies still not recovered.
  Concerning the issue of whether there is going to be an innocent loss 
of life, that already happened. We want nothing but the best for the 
people of Afghanistan. But it is impossible to engage in large scale 
military hostilities, to find thousands of al-Qaida fighters where they 
are being shielded, without some loss of Afghan life. Every loss of 
life of an Afghan citizen is regrettable but unavoidable. We can 
minimize it, but we cannot avoid it.
  We have responsibilities. Our first responsibility is to bring to 
justice those who killed our people and attacked our Nation. An equally 
great responsibility is to ensure that if American soldiers enter 
Afghanistan to find bin Laden, we minimize the loss of American lives. 
Anything that is done that avoids the possibility of the loss of an 
American soldier is our highest priority. If we can do that while 
minimizing the loss of Afghan citizens, it is the right thing to do.
  I speak, now, directly and bluntly. The people of every nation bear 
some responsibility for those who govern it. That is obviously true in 
a democratic society, where governments rule with the consent of the 
governed. But, indeed, it is true in all societies.
  I know the Afghan people are powerless. I know the Taliban rules 
against the wishes of many Afghans. But, nevertheless, as a historic 
principle, they are accountable for their government. It is a fact that 
their government has harbored terrorists who have attacked our greatest 
city, declared war on our Nation, and killed thousands of our citizens. 
This is not to suggest that I believe that we, by design, would ever 
take their innocent lives. But it is to put in context the fact that, 
if inadvertently, against our policies and our desires and our prayers, 
Afghan lives are lost in the hunt for bin Laden and the search for 
justice, it may be regrettable, but it is historically and legally and 
morally defensible.
  By historic parallels, a third of the German people voted for the 
Nazi Party.
  Virtually none of the Japanese people as a matter of right could have 
been held accountable because they were directly responsible for Tojo's 
government in Tokyo. But I don't believe it would have been legitimate 
then any more than it would be legitimate now to have said somehow the 
people of those countries do not bear responsibility for their 
government no matter how they came to power. The innocent Afghan people 
who regrettably now lose their lives, as the people of all nations, 
bear some responsibility for those who govern them--by the ballot box 
wherever it is possible, by force of arms where it is necessary, or by 
whatever means that might be required to free themselves, or to ensure 
that their governments are either not engaged in actions against other 
people or harbor those who would harm other people. Responsibility 
rests on all of us who are citizens of nations.
  I hope the loss of civilian life is minimal. But our Nation is at 
war. This is not some gentlemanly understanding between the government 
of the United States and the Taliban government of Afghanistan. This is 
not a problem of languages or cultures. This is a fundamental judgment 
by the government of Afghanistan to harbor a terrorist element that has 
come to the judgment that they cannot coexist with Western society.
  Either their government falls or ours falls. There is not something 
here to be negotiated. It is not some misunderstanding that we 
reconcile. There is nothing to be discussed. Their government falls or 
ours does. We are vulnerable to them or they are vulnerable to us. Bin 
Laden lives or some of our people die.
  Sometimes, even in a complex world which has seemingly advanced so 
far, some things are so simple. That is the nature of this conflict.
  It has been called a war on terrorism. It isn't a war on terrorism. 
Terrorism is a methodology of warfare. Had they attacked the World 
Trade Center with fighter planes or used the most modern technology 
available, we would be grieved nonetheless. They used terrorism. But it 
isn't their methodology that we are fighting. It is them.
  This is a small group in a remote place that has come to the 
extraordinary conclusion that they cannot coexist with Western society. 
As a matter of our faith, our culture, and the means by which we choose 
to live our lives, they have come to a judgment that they cannot share 
this planet with us because of who we are and what we believe.
  None of us wants any loss of life. There is a wonderful strength of 
our country. We can fight an enemy and still worry about his wounds.
  I leave you with a simple reminder as our country debates whether to 
pursue this war during Ramadan and whether we lose our nerve because of 
loss of life of Afghan citizens. It has been a long time since this 
country fought a war seeking an unconditional result. Indeed, it has 
been more than half a century. War is different. It is different than a 
misunderstanding. It is different than a military action. It is 
different than a police action. It is different than the Persian Gulf 
or Vietnam or even Korea that had limited objectives. This has no 
limited objective. This is unconditional.
  Those people will not stand. We don't want to talk to them. We don't 
want to negotiate with them. We don't want to work out a 
misunderstanding with them. They will not stand.
  The judgment about whether to fight during Ramadan and pay them the 
respect that they are actually of the Islamic faith should be debated 
in that context because they are not Islamic. They are not exercising 
their faith. They are blasphemists of their own alleged religion.
  Civilian casualties need to be debated in this context because, 
though regrettable, they are inevitable and a part of unconditional war 
in a threshold that was already crossed, and then finally all of us 
coming to recognition of what it is we fight--terrorism, bin Laden. We 
fight against people whose weapons are not the principal concern. Their 
methodology is not our principal concern. Our concern is the profound 
judgment that they reached: that our presence and our lives are somehow 
a central threat.
  Before the Senate left for this week, I wanted to share these 
thoughts knowing that we will revisit these issues again and again in 
what promises to be, unfortunately, a long and difficult engagement in 
Afghanistan, knowing that among the many strengths of our people, 
patience is not the greatest of American virtues. But we did not seek 
this war. We did not want it. We would have done anything to avoid it, 
but it

[[Page 21540]]

was not our choice. It was thrust upon us. The decision to take lives 
was made by others. We only have one thing to do--no decisions, no 
choices, no judgments--just to win. That takes time. It takes 
sacrifice. Sacrifices we have made before. Now we will make them again.
  I hope our country simply can steady its nerves and muster the 
patience to see this to the end. That will involve a great price, but 
there is no choice.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. HOLLINGS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________