[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11619]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             WAR ON TERROR

  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim 
the time of the gentleman from North Carolina.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from 
Georgia is recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, international terrorism is an 
issue of life and death, not just for each of us individually but for 
our Nation and our way of life.
  We did not want this fight. We didn't invite this fight. We did not 
wish to engage in this battle. However, once our enemy crossed over the 
line and confirmed for us and the world that they were unwilling to 
respect international law, respect individual liberty, and respect the 
sovereignty of nations, and that they were willing and desirous of 
engaging in mortal battle, no other option was left to us or to the 
civilized world.
  Abu Musab al Zarqawi, on January 23, 2005, said this: ``We have 
declared a fierce war on this evil principle of democracy and those who 
follow this wrong ideology.'' So this discussion over the past few days 
comes down to a fundamental question: What is the appropriate strategy 
and tactic to adopt to win the war on terror? Will we withdraw and 
simply defend a policy of isolation and containment, or will we 
aggressively combat terrorism and take the battle to our enemy?
  Now, this war is unlike any other in history. Our enemy has no single 
home. It recruits and trains its army from nations around the world. 
The only unifying element is hate, hate for democracy and hate for 
liberty. Thankfully, we have stayed the course. Thankfully, we have 
persevered in both Iraq and Afghanistan, because the greatest threat to 
terrorism is freedom and liberty and democracy in the Middle East and 
beyond.
  And great progress is being made. Last week, the U.S. and Iraqi 
forces eliminated al Qaeda's top terrorist, Zarqawi. This was 
accomplished with excellent intelligence, and that information came 
from Iraqi citizens themselves. A very positive sign. And while Zarqawi 
was eliminated, finding him brought a wealth of information, allowing 
U.S. and Iraqi forces to dismantle many more pieces of al Qaeda's 
puzzle. And Iraq just this past week selected three more officials, 
cabinet ministers, to serve in its standing government. These are very 
positive accomplishments.
  But it is also important for us to remember what led up to this war, 
and just a short look at a couple of the incidents over the last 30 
years will bring it into focus and vividly demonstrate the death, 
destruction, and terror brought to Americans by our enemy.
  The Iran hostage crisis in 1979, where our hostages were held for 444 
days;
  1983 suicide bomb attacks in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 242 Americans;
  1985, the Achille Lauro hijacking, where an invalid American was 
murdered in his wheelchair;
  1988, Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 259 people 
on board;
  February 26, 1993, the first World Trade Center bombing;
  1996, Khobar Towers bombing, U.S. Air Force barracks in Saudi Arabia, 
killing 19 U.S. military personnel;
  1998, U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, killing over 300;
  The year 2000, the USS Cole bombing, killing 17 U.S. sailors;
  And then, September 11th.
  Now, treating these incidents as crimes and not as acts of war, 
providing reactionary measures rather than moving proactively will not 
work. And how do we know? Because that is precisely what we did for 
decades, and the consequence was 9/11.
  The campaign against the United States and its allies is ambitious, 
simple, and clear. Terrorists will stop at nothing to achieve their 
distorted sense of reality. We could have stayed out of this conflict. 
However, giving terrorists free rein would not make us any safer, and 
history has proven that. The price would be more innocent lives lost, 
more bombings, and not an ounce of peace. We must not be held hostage 
by terrorism. That is not living in liberty and freedom.
  There are defining moments for every generation. And for this 
generation that defining moment is how we engage in this war on terror, 
highlighted by a very different post-9/11 world. When we came to that 
defining moment, to that tragic day, we, as a Nation, with our allies 
around the world, decided we would not allow terrorists to win.
  Mr. Speaker, freedom isn't free. The choice is clear, our resolve is 
clear: we must and we will prevail.

                          ____________________