[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21930]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ROB SIMMONS

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 11, 2003

  Mr. SIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share a few thoughts with 
my colleagues on this anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks 
against our nation. None of us will ever forget the day that members of 
the terrorist group al Qaeda destroyed the World Trade Center towers 
and attacked the Pentagon. The courageous action taken by the 
passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 prevented more carnage by 
crashing the aircraft in a Pennsylvania field. On that day nearly 3,000 
innocent victims were murdered.
  Like many of my colleagues, I lost constituents on that terrible 
morning. A number of them were personal friends of mine and of my 
family. Those of us who live in eastern Connecticut will never forget 
Josh Piver, Madeline Amy Sweeney, Ruth Clifford McCourt, Juliana 
Valentine McCourt, James Greenleaf Jr., Bruce Eagleson, James Hobin, 
Rick Thorpe and Eric Evans. All of them died far too soon; all of them 
left behind grieving families and friends.
  The events of that day are burned indelibly in our minds and on our 
hearts. Like Americans always have, we immediately began to rise to the 
challenge. We put out the fires; we cleared the debris; we prayed for 
the deceased and their families; and we began the serious work of 
ensuring that such an act of war would never again visit our shores.
  While we will never forget that day, sadly, some Americans, including 
some in this very Chamber, have either forgotten or failed to learn the 
lessons of those attacks. Until September 11, 2001, it was thought that 
in order to wage war against the United States the enemy would have to 
be a nation with a mighty army and enormous industrial capability. That 
is no longer the case. Today we live in a world in which a few 
dedicated and evil men, supported by a minimal amount of resources and 
armed with box cutters, brought to our shores death and destruction the 
likes of which we have never seen before. Those who died on September 
11th and their families are the tragic witnesses to that reality. We 
have no greater responsibility than making sure it never happens again. 
Advances in communication and technology have created opportunities for 
the enemies of freedom and justice. Terrorists do not need huge armies. 
They do not need an industrial base. They have learned how to exploit 
the resources of the 21st Century. But they underestimate the resources 
and resolve of the American spirit.
  America is engaged in a war. Today a major battleground is Iraq. We 
have weakened an evil regime in Afghanistan that gave al Qaeda support 
and we have removed Saddam Hussein from power. Our people have not 
suffered further attacks at home, not because our enemy has changed its 
mind, but because our law enforcement agencies and our intelligence 
community have worked diligently to prevent further assaults. Congress 
has provided the tools they need to make America safer. And we have 
taken the fight to our enemies instead of waiting for them to continue 
their violence here. But the war is not over.
  Some of us have expressed concern about the cost of the war--both in 
terms of funds and with regards to the even more precious cost in the 
lives of our fellow Americans. As a Vietnam veteran, I understand these 
issues personally and share those concerns every day.
  In Connecticut's Second District, which I represent, two courageous 
heroes have given their lives in defense of freedom. Corporal Kemaphoom 
Chanawongse, 22 years old, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, was 
killed in action during operations on the outskirts of Nasiriya on 
March 23, 2003. Gunnery Sergeant Phillip Jordan, 2nd Marine Regiment, 
42 years old, was killed in action near Nasiriya on March 23, 2003. 
Their families and they have made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. 
The price of defending our nation is great.
  Every death of an American who wears our nations uniform is one death 
too many. Families who lose a loved one will never be able to fill the 
void. But I also know this. As in other difficult wars our nation has 
fought, we send our forces abroad to meet the enemy in order to prevent 
the war from coming to our shores and to our homes. The front lines of 
the war on terrorism will either be in Kabul and Baghdad or they will 
be in New York, Washington or New London, Connecticut. We are doing the 
right thing for America and for the free people of the world. But doing 
the right thing is no guarantee against misfortune. The war will be 
long and difficult. So was the Cold War; so was World War II.
  War is a terrible thing, but it is not the most terrible. Far worse 
are the evils that war can prevent and end--evils like the attacks of 
September 11th that took the lives of innocent people on their way to 
work, in their offices and flying on jet airliners. War is a moral 
undertaking when arms are taken against brutal despots and those who 
would destroy our people, our values and our nation. September 11th 
showed us with graphic clarity that there is great good and great evil 
in the world. As a free and resourceful nation, America must accept its 
obligations to lead in the world, and we must do so fully and without 
apology. As we debate how much the war on terrorism will cost; as we 
question how long the war will last; as we seek answers to how long it 
will take to bring stability to Iraq, let us realize that none of those 
important questions negates the righteousness of our cause and the 
necessity of our actions.
  The enemies of freedom know what is at stake in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
If those nations fall back into the dark days of oppression and terror, 
those who seek the destruction of the United States will have achieved 
a significant victory--preserving abroad a climate of tyranny and 
breeding ground for terrorism. They are fighting to defeat our allies 
and us. The danger facing us is not that we will be drawn further into 
a difficult situation but that we will lose our will and quit before 
the work is done. In the past the terrorists have taken undue comfort 
from our lack of resolve. They believe that if they create enough chaos 
and generate enough American casualties, we will give up. They are 
wrong. We will not give up because we cannot afford to have the front 
lines of the war drawn in the United States. We will not give up 
because we will never forget those who died in the Twin Towers, and at 
the Pentagon and in a lonely field in Pennsylvania. We will not give up 
because in the words of President John F. Kennedy, ``Let every nation 
know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, 
bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe 
to assure the survival and the success of liberty.''
  Our enemies have declared war on us and they intend to win. We can 
fight the war on our terms or on theirs, but we cannot opt out. We 
cannot let the calls for an ``exit strategy'' become calls to retreat. 
May we have the wisdom to understand that this war is not about 
politics or elections, it is about survival. May we have the patience 
to know our mission is worthwhile. It is about ensuring that our 
children and grandchildren will inherit a nation that is free and just 
and whole. Our oath of office demands we meet these responsibilities to 
provide for the common defense.
  Mr. Speaker, two years ago a cartoon published in the national news 
media pictured a young girl seated on her father's lap responding to a 
news article of the September 11 attacks on America. She asked him, 
``Will we hate back?'' Two years later the answer is clear. Children of 
the victims of the World Trade Center attacks are reading the names of 
their loved ones into the record at Ground Zero in New York City. They 
are not doing it with hatred and vengeance but with remembrance and 
love. This is America's answer to those who would destroy us, and it is 
answer for future generations and the world.

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