[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18506-18511]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR THE VICTIMS AND FAMILIES OF THE SEPTEMBER 11, 
                        2001, TERRORIST ATTACKS

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
observe a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the September 
11 attacks.
  (Moment of silence.)
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I note the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent to be recognized and speak for a 
moment on this day, 9/11.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, we just commemorated a moment of silence 
for those who were lost on 9/11. Of course, for the husbands and wives, 
sons and daughters, fathers and mothers and friends, that moment of 
silence, in a sense, lasts every day, every moment.
  In New York, of course, we lost close to 3,000 people. Some people I 
knew--a person I played basketball with in high school; a firefighter I 
was close to and worked with to encourage people to donate blood; a 
business man who helped me on the way up; the range of people who were 
lost in every walk of life, every ethnic group, every profession, in 
every way of thinking. The enormity still, 7 years later, is hard to 
have it sink in. Furthermore, when one thinks of just the uselessness 
of this tragedy, it is even more confounding.
  There are many things to say in the advent of 9/11 that would be 
relevant on this floor, but today is not the day for that. Today we 
just think and remember and try to do everything we can to give solace 
to those we know who mourn and will mourn for the rest of their lives 
the senselessness of this tragedy that took loved ones from them.
  So I just wish to say to those who do walk around with holes in their 
hearts as a result of 9/11: We will never forget.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California is recognized.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, if I may just for a moment echo the 
comments of the Senator from New York, this morning I watched on 
television the ceremony at the Pentagon. As I watched the calling of 
the names, a photo flashed on the screen of each individual. What you 
saw were young military men, you saw a lieutenant colonel, you saw the 
faces of whole families wiped out, young people, older people, you saw 
every race. In a sense, when you looked at the benches and the water 
flowing under the benches and the maples that will grow around them, as 
you listened to the sad song of the pipers, you realized what a great 
country this is and how we respect every single human life and how 
important that is; also, how important it is that the message remain 
true, that the message remain full of heart but also full of vigilance 
that this must never happen again in our homeland.
  So I wish to join Senator Schumer and send our best wishes, our 
sympathy, our sorrow to these families 7 years later, and our thanks to 
those who gave their lives in the Pentagon.
  I had a chance to sit down with the family of a captain of the United 
Airlines plane that flew into the Pentagon. It was very revealing 
because at the time they were convinced it was the heroic gesture of 
this captain in turning the plane away from the U.S. Capitol that 
played a role. I want them to know that I was thinking of them both 
during the Pentagon ceremony and the ceremony in front of the Capitol.
  So all those victims remain in our hearts and in our minds, and we 
consecrate ourselves to work on their behalf.
  Thank you very much, Mr. President.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
innocent Americans who were killed in the terrorist attacks of 
September 11, 2001. I ask that we commemorate the emergency responders 
who provided relief in the aftermath of the attacks. I also ask that we 
salute our brave men and women in uniform who have volunteered to serve 
their country in this time of need. Not to be forgotten are the 
families who support our troops and the families who lost loved ones on 
this tragic day; to them we must also pay tribute.
  We should continue to remember the family of Al Marchand from 
Alamogordo, NM, a flight attendant on United Airlines flight 175 and 
one of the first casualties on that horrific day. He and his family 
remain in my thoughts and those of my fellow New Mexicans. Since that 
day, many New Mexicans have volunteered to serve their country by 
entering the ranks of our Armed Forces. Some of these brave men and 
women today live with the injuries and scars they received in this 
fight. Sadly, some lost their lives in this war to protect our way of 
life. I pay tribute to Army SSG Kevin C. Roberts of Farmington, NM, and 
Army SGT Gary D. Willett of Alamogordo, NM, the two most recent 
casualties from New Mexico in the ongoing global war on terror.

[[Page 18507]]

  Seven years have passed since al-Qaida terrorists struck our 
homeland. Yet even after 7 years, threats against our country still 
exist. We must continue on with vigilance and remain dedicated to the 
protection and security of our great Nation. Even now, the images and 
shock of that day are still with me. And while I am, years later, still 
saddened by our losses, I am also heartened by all the heroic acts of 
our citizens in what was the most shocking attack on our homeland. In 
the months following the attacks, our brave men and women in uniform 
toppled the regime in Afghanistan that provided a base of operations 
for the terrorists who carried out the 2001 attacks. We helped that 
country establish a democratic government and are working with allies 
in NATO to bring peace and stability to a country that has spent much 
of its recent history in the mire of civil war. It is a dangerous 
mission that continues today.
  One of the important lessons that political and military leaders 
learned from the 2001 terrorist attacks was that America cannot stand 
by idly as threats to its security develop far from our shores. This 
required our intelligence and law enforcement agencies to work with 
friends and allies around the world and with each other to gather 
actionable intelligence that would help us disrupt terrorist plots at 
home and abroad. To help consolidate our domestic defense system, the 
Congress created the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of 
Homeland Security was organized to prevent attacks within the United 
States, reduce America's vulnerability to terrorism, and to minimize 
the damage and assist in the recovery from terrorists' attacks in 
America. The Congress also followed the recommendations of the National 
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States--the 9/11 
Commission--and passed historic legislation that reformed the agencies 
that make up our intelligence community. While these reforms were 
important and necessary, the disruption of a recent plot to hijack 
planes flying from London to the United States, shows us that our 
enemies are still bent on bringing terror into our cities.
  Many of my fellow citizens from the State of New Mexico have 
contributed to strengthening our defenses in the global war on terror. 
An urban rescue team traveled from New Mexico to Virginia to help 
recover survivors from the ruins at the Pentagon. Sandia and Los Alamos 
National Laboratories helped identify the strains of anthrax that were 
found in government and office buildings shortly after the terrorist 
attacks. They helped develop a biological threat detection system that 
was deployed at the 2002 Winter Olympics, the 2004 Summer Olympics, and 
in locations around our Nation's Capital. The National Labs have also 
been at the forefront in developing tools to detect and dispose of 
materials that can be made used as a ``dirty bomb'' or other weapon of 
mass destruction. Finally, the National Infrastructure and Analysis 
Center, NISAC, is being used to develop response strategies for 
government officials and first responders for large and complex crises.
  Over the past 7 years, we have learned a good deal more about how the 
attack was planned and executed, and we have spent countless man hours 
and resources to make our Nation safer. We can be proud of the fact 
that we have worked to implement most of the 9/11 Commission 
recommendations. We are more prepared as a nation for these types of 
dangers than we were prior to September 11, 2001, but this is a 
struggle that will not end with the same clarity and decisiveness of 
battles past. Therefore, even as we continue to adjust to a post-9/11 
world, we must remain vigilant in our efforts to prevent such a tragedy 
from occurring on American soil again. I hope all Americans take time 
to reflect on the events of September 11, 2001, honor those that have 
fallen, and rededicate themselves for the struggle ahead.
  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. President, 7 years ago, nearly 3,000 Americans 
perished in the worst terrorist attack on our soil. Today, let us 
remember the innocent lives lost in New York, Washington, and 
Pennsylvania and continue to pray for healing for their families.
  The stories of their heroism, compassion, and last words spoken to a 
loved one all serve to inspire and remind us of the pain of that tragic 
day.
  This anniversary is a somber reminder of the serious threats we face. 
Generations of Americans have fought for our country's freedom, and on 
this day, we can take solace in knowing our nation remains committed to 
preserving that blessing.
  Since 9/11, the United States has led a global campaign against 
terrorism. Our Nation is safer because of the sacrifices of those 
serving in the cause of freedom, including the men and women of our 
Armed Forces, our National Guard, and our intelligence communities.
  Our effort has been enhanced by the cooperation of allied nations 
that share our desire to see a world dominated by peace, freedom, and 
the rule of law.
  On this day, let us remember those Americans who lost their lives in 
the attacks of 9/11, those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in 
defense of our country, and those who continue to defend our Nation 
today. God bless these individuals and their families, and may God 
bless America.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today, like any other day, Americans 
will be busy getting to work, getting the kids off to school, and 
getting dinner on the table. Despite all those demands, however, today 
Americans will also pause to remember, with deep sadness, the terrible 
events that occurred on September 11, 2001. We are united by that 
sadness, just as we are united by our conviction that we must do 
everything in our power to prevent another such tragedy.
  Our common purpose today is to honor the memory of those who lost 
their lives on September 11, 2001; to remember a day that began like 
any other, but quickly descended into chaos, with fire and smoke that 
engulfed the World Trade Towers, billowed out of the Pentagon, and rose 
from an empty field near Shanksville, PA. But 7 years later, we not 
only remember what was lost, but what rose from the ashes, because 
since that day we have all learned a great deal about the strength of 
the American people. September ll reminds us how resilient we are as a 
nation, and in a time when our Nation faces so many challenges at home 
and abroad, that reservoir of strength is invaluable.
  It is with great pride in the American people, and deep gratitude to 
people around the world who stood with us on that day, that I remember 
that day, and its aftermath. I have so often thought, then and now, how 
senseless those attacks were, and how people from all over the world 
perished alongside so many Americans. It is our great diversity of 
every kind--of our people, our culture, our geography--that makes us 
such a strong and vibrant country. No act, however terrible, has ever 
changed that, or ever will.
  This is a difficult day for all of us, but especially for those who 
lost loved ones on that day. We share in their sorrow, even though we 
cannot imagine their pain. In a day that may otherwise seem ordinary, 
we are all jolted back to the tragic events of that day in September 
which began with such calm, blue skies. It was a day unlike any we have 
ever known and unlike any we hope to see ever again. Seven years later, 
however, it is heartening to see how we have moved forward from that 
tragedy. More than ever, we are committed to our communities, to each 
other, and to this great Nation and its highest ideals. That is where 
our resilience lies, and, on this day of all days, that is what makes 
us stronger as a nation and as a people.
  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, on this day of commemoration, 7 years 
after the attack here on American soil, I think it is very important 
and proper for all of us here in the Senate and all across America to 
stop and reflect on the great peace and security we have in America; 
the fact that there are so many policemen and first responders and 
others who make sure America remains safe.
  And to be sure, today it is important for us to remember those who 
gave their lives on 9/11--those who died in the field in Pennsylvania, 
and those

[[Page 18508]]

who died at the Pentagon and in New York City.
  It is also important, as we reflect on 9/11 and the events of, now, 7 
years ago, to recognize the more than half a million men and women who 
wear the uniform of a firefighter or a law enforcement officer in our 
Nation. These men and women who are out there on the front lines of law 
enforcement really are the ones who keep America safe day and night, 24 
hours a day, 7 days a week. We are able to live in the security of our 
homes, our communities, and counties in large part because we have more 
than half a million men and women who are out there every day making 
sure the laws of the Nation are upheld.
  So today, as we commemorate that horrific tragedy of 7 years ago, it 
is important that we commemorate the lives of those who gave their 
lives that day and the lives of the families of those who died and were 
hurt that day. It also is important for us to recognize the great 
sacrifice and contribution of the men and women of law enforcement of 
America as well as the firefighters and first responders of our great 
country.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, today is a time for reflection and 
review of a particular moment in American history that is not yet fully 
established in the manner I believe it should be. America changed more 
on this day 7 years ago than perhaps at any other time in our history, 
save those moments we were at war. But the effects that linger on are 
far greater than those when we were engaged in wars or experienced 
natural disasters.
  Our world has changed so much since that day, September 11, 2001, 
because we are reminded every day at some point in time, sometimes 
several points in time, about what changed. Our freedoms were 
substantially chipped away. One can't go anyplace--and this affects all 
ages, including our young friends who are pages this year--without 
having an ID card, without waiting in long lines, such as with 
transportation at an airport, without seeing uniformed personnel all 
over, keeping an eye out for terrorists, unable to move with the same 
freedom we knew before 9/11.
  Though it is 7 years ago that this terrible catastrophe happened, the 
fact is, on this day, as with any other day, I stopped to have my car 
examined. I had the dogs sniffing around to see if we were carrying 
anything that might represent a threat in our vehicles. Much of it 
started with 9/11.
  Today we mark the seventh year since America experienced the worst 
terrorist attacks in our history. We as a nation honor the memories of 
the Americans who died on that tragic day. We mourn with 3,000 
families, including 700 families from New Jersey who lost loved ones. 
Over the past 7 years, wives, sisters, husbands, and sons have worked 
to rebuild their lives, their families, and their futures. They came 
from every walk of life, from every economic background. They have 
forged ahead despite the uncertainty of what tomorrow would hold.
  As one 30-year-old widow from Middletown, NJ, put it: There is no 
guidebook for how a mother of a toddler whose husband was killed by 
terrorists is supposed to carry on with her life.
  There is no instruction that is satisfactory. There is no help that 
is fully accommodated. But these folks have carried on. Many have done 
it by joining together and giving each other hope. They came together 
to trade stories about their lives, about the men and women they lost, 
to drive each other to support groups, to pick up each other's kids 
from schools, to celebrate birthdays, and to fight for a shared cause. 
Remember, it was the families of the victims who regularly piled into 
the minivans, came to Washington, pushed lawmakers to create the 9/11 
Commission. Despite the shock they experienced and the sadness they 
still felt, they were committed to the future, to try to make sure that 
a tragedy such as this would never happen again to anyone.
  That commitment led to crucial policy recommendations, such as 
improvements in port security and sending Federal funds to cities and 
towns based on the most vulnerable to terrorist attack. We had debate 
on the Senate floor about whether port security funds would be 
distributed on the basis of risk, as recommended by the 9/11 
Commission, or distributed based on politics. We fought and made sure 
in the last couple of years to direct those funds to areas of most 
vulnerability.
  I was once, before I came to the Senate, commissioner of the Port 
Authority of New York and New Jersey. I worked in the World Trade 
Center. I remember vividly traveling to my office on the 67th floor of 
the Twin Towers and looking out at the views from those towers, 
thinking about how invincible those buildings were, built with steel, 
concrete, a great design, a hundred stories high. Nothing, you 
believed, could ever happen there that would provide some insecurity 
for those who were working in the building. I remind everybody that we 
had a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center some years before 9/
11, when people drove a truck loaded with explosives into the garage of 
the building, and it was detonated with great damage. But the building 
stood firm. Nothing could shake the well-being of that structure. But 
then we saw something different.
  I got to know many port authority employees who perished when those 
massive towers collapsed. The port authority lost 84 of its own that 
day, including 37 members of the police department who died as they 
tried to rescue others, people who ventured into the dust and the heat 
and the destruction of the building trying to help others. They gave 
their lives, knowing very well that the position they were taking was 
one of great vulnerability, but they did it in any event.
  Among the people lost was a very close friend of my daughter. Both of 
them worked downtown in a financial firm. My daughter left to go to law 
school, and her friend went to work for a company called Cantor 
Fitzgerald. She had three children. Her husband searched far and wide, 
from hospitals to clinics, every information source available, because 
he couldn't believe his wife was gone, that the mother of his children 
would no longer be there. After 3 weeks, after visiting all of the 
facilities searching for every bit of information he could find, he and 
his three young children were forced to accept her death.
  There was a young man I knew, very energetic young man. He tried life 
as a golf professional. He learned computer skills. His name was 
Nicholas Lassman. He was still in his twenties. He described his 
enthusiasm to me one day about how he was looking forward to a new job 
that he had at the Trade Center. He perished that day.
  We will always remember those who died, the firefighters, computer 
programmers. The firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, lost 700 of its employees 
that day. It is a firm I know very well. The President and CEO of that 
company, a very charitable, wonderful, still young fellow, whose 
lateness saved his life because he had to take his daughter to school, 
lost 700 others--700--including his brother and a lot of friends. This 
was a fellow who believed in loyalty as a trait above all for people in 
his organization. So he hired a lot of his friends from the place he 
grew up. I believe it was Brooklyn. Thusly, not only did his brother 
die, but lots of his friends perished during those same tragic moments.
  The people who died left a loss that binds our Nation, and today, in 
New Jersey and across this country, we are honoring them in many ways.
  There are events in New Jersey, events we saw this morning at Ground 
Zero. We had our moment of silence and our gathering together outside 
to hear some prayers and to listen to some music that reminds us of the 
greatness of our country.
  In the city of Bayonne, we remember them at a monument called the 
Tear of Grief because Bayonne is one of those cities along the Hudson 
River from which lots of people commuted to the World Trade Center. The 
World Trade Center each day would see more than 50,000 people come 
there. It was like whole cities across our country. That is how big 
those buildings were. People would come--a lot by train, a lot by

[[Page 18509]]

subway, by all kinds of means--who would come from all around the area 
to go to work or to have meetings there. So these are communities that 
are along the river, such as Bayonne.
  Hoboken I was there at the dedication of a little park along the 
waterside that is called the Pier ``A'' Park. In Leonia--another town 
along the way--we remember them with two granite towers that stand 
there as a reminder. In Jersey City there was a memorial put there 
called the Grove of Remembrance in Liberty State Park, just under the 
shadow of the Statue of Liberty--historic places.
  But the best monument to those who died that day is to learn from the 
experience and to bring those perpetrators to justice and make our 
country safe. After that group of madmen destroyed the World Trade 
Center and damaged the Pentagon, we vowed to search for those who 
orchestrated these terrible acts and to make them pay for their 
atrocious deeds. But we know they are still out there. In fact, 2,558 
days since 9/11, terrorism is on the rise, more threatening, perhaps 
more obvious than at any time, more obvious than at any time predating 
9/11.
  Terrorism is there challenging us in places around the world, 
especially in our own country here. Al-Qaida is on the move. Osama bin 
Laden is still on the loose. What has happened? We have to continue the 
pursuit of these perpetrators so we can say to the people who are 
innocently living their lives that they need not be worried about a 
terrorist attack. But we have not done that yet. We still have to 
continue our obligation.
  We have a ruthless enemy out there, one whose front line is our 
homefront. The stretch from Port Newark, NJ, our harbor, to Newark 
Liberty International Airport is defined by the FBI as the most 
dangerous 2-mile stretch in the country that invites a terrorist 
attack. I say, again, we had to fight to get funding to protect to the 
fullest extent we could that area, that target that, if attacked, would 
injure or kill as many as several million people. It is a highly 
populated area, with a big chemical manufacturer there. We had to have 
assistance from the Federal Government to make sure we mounted as much 
protection as we could.
  On the anniversary of 9/11, we commemorate the memory of those who 
perished 7 years ago, and we stand with their families whose future is 
our cause. It is critical for their future, for their families, our 
families, that we continue to protect the country the victims died for, 
the loved ones they left behind, and the freedoms they hold dear.
  I yield the floor with a thought as to the pictures I saw of what the 
reaction was from people around the world when they saw the attack on 
America that day. One picture was taken in Israel, a very dear, vital 
friend to America. In that little country, that tiny country, people 
were weeping for America, crying giant tears--this small country for 
the giant--to put things into perspective to understand how this attack 
menaced everybody in the world no matter what their distance was from 
us, that they cried for America. We must not permit such an act of 
terrorism to happen again.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, on an otherwise beautiful September morning 
7 years ago today, our Nation experienced the greatest of tragedies. 
The United States was brutally and deliberately attacked. Terrorists 
took innocent American lives on sovereign American soil.
  This tragedy was brought to our shores by those who seek to destroy 
the American dream. The perpetrators declared war on the clearest 
symbols of our way of life: The Twin Towers in Manhattan, the center of 
American capitalism and prosperity; the Pentagon in Arlington, VA, a 
building that represents the strongest guarantor of freedom in history. 
A third target, either the White House or the U.S. Capitol, was spared 
only because of the brave and selfless passengers aboard United 
Airlines Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville, PA.
  The Civil War once tested the survivability of a nation founded on 
the concept that every citizen is endowed with fundamental freedoms. In 
the 7 years since September 11, we have tested America's devotion to 
these founding principles, bringing to this body a debate over where to 
draw the line between protecting liberties and preventing another 
attack. As a nation, I believe we have found a balanced solution to 
this challenge. And when we remember and defend the truths our founding 
fathers knew to be self-evident, we strengthen them for the next 
generation. We have done this all the while defending this great nation 
from another attack. And that is an accomplishment worth noting.
  I know that in this hyper political season, we sometimes fail to see 
beyond daily politics and rhetoric. But it is my hope that as we 
continue to examine our freedoms in the context of fighting terrorism, 
we will not lose sight of what they mean for us here at home. This 
morning, President Bush dedicated the Pentagon Memorial in remembrance 
of 184 innocent Americans taken from us that morning. We do not 
identify the fallen as old or young, man or woman, black or white, 
Jewish or Protestant. We identify them as fellow Americans, all 
deserving of the same inalienable rights.
  I thank and pray for our troops overseas, fighting to keep us safe 
here at home. I thank and pray for the survivors and families of those 
who have fallen in the defense of this great Nation. And I thank and 
pray for all those who remind us why this nation is worth defending. 
The United States will indeed persevere and will continue to serve as 
the finest example of a nation founded and dedicated to Liberty and 
justice for all.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, on this solemn occasion in our national 
life, we pause with deep-seated reverence to remember and honor those 
who perished in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and we do 
so profoundly mindful of those families and loved ones whose lives have 
been forever altered by the heinous events of 7 years ago.
  At this time, we share in the grievous anguish that will always exact 
an unbearable toll on those convening to pay homage to family and loved 
ones lost at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, in Shanksville, PA, and in 
the Pentagon, where today there will be a ceremony, marking the 
official dedication of the Pentagon Memorial which will pay tribute to 
the 184 lives lost in the Pentagon and on American Airlines flight 77. 
Amid the arduous trial and pain that this date in our history evokes, 
we find mutual solace in the revelation that none of us grieves alone 
that, on this day, those whom we will never know are kept in our 
thoughts and prayers and that there are no strangers among us only 
Americans.
  While we will never escape the unspeakable horror and inconsolable 
devastation that this anniversary represents to each and every one of 
us, at the same time, we cannot help but recall the countless 
remembrances of the indomitable spirit of the American people, who 
have, time and again, demonstrated a collective resilience and resolve 
to battle back despite inexpressible sorrow, and who have displayed a 
courageous summoning of purpose to move forward in the face of 
wrenching desolation. And so this year, as in times past, we face the 
indescribable inhumanity of those dark morning hours, but we are 
renewed and buoyed by the unfolding story from 2001 to the present of a 
resurgent nation that will overcome any adversity, no matter how 
perilous or daunting.
  And nowhere is that inspiration, heart, and character more prevalent 
than in our recollection of the heroic sacrifice and noble devotion of 
firefighters, police officers, and rescue workers. The fearless and 
selfless example of seemingly ordinary Americans performing 
extraordinary deeds in the service of others will serve through time 
immemorial as an enduring and powerful testament that good will triumph 
over evil and that those benevolent forces that would seek to uplift 
humankind will ultimately prevail over those treacherous elements that 
would conspire to bring it down.
  Time can never diminish the cavalcade of emotions we experience as we 
strive to comprehend how such vicious

[[Page 18510]]

savagery could exist in the world and could be perpetrated so 
ruthlessly against innocent people. And those feelings only intensify 
when we put faces with names, and they become especially personal when 
we reflect upon Mainers whom we have lost--Anna Allison, Carol Flyzik, 
Robert Jalbert, Jacqueline Norton, Robert Norton, James Roux, Robert 
Schlegel, and Stephen Ward. Their lives were tragically cut short, but 
their memory is eternally etched upon our hearts.
  As we confront once again these unforgivably grave and wicked 
injustices, we are also gratefully sustained by the supreme service and 
unfailing contribution of our exceptional men and women in uniform who 
protect and defend our way of life. Whether on shores or soil here at 
home or around the globe, their steadfast sense of duty and bravery are 
an inspiration to us all, their commitment steels our determination, 
and their valor and professionalism steady our hand in an uncertain 
world.
  Like every American, I vividly remember every detail of the morning 
of September 11, 2001, and how the day began with such beautiful blue 
skies, only to end with a nation grief-stricken and stunned in utter 
disbelief. In Washington, DC, I watched the images along with the rest 
of the world. Later, as the Sun set over the National Mall still capped 
by smoke billowing from the wound in the side of the Pentagon I joined 
my colleagues in the House and Senate on the Capitol steps in singing, 
``God Bless America.''
  We sang to send a message to the country and to the world that we 
would never be deterred that freedom is forged by something far more 
resolute than any act of terror a conviction that has only strengthened 
with each anniversary. While we extol those whom we have lost, we hold 
fast to the belief that the greatest memorial is to embrace all that we 
have retained as a nation from our inception and that the principles of 
liberty and justice and the primacy of self-government cannot be 
extinguished that we as a people will endure as long as we persevere 
shoulder-to-shoulder as Americans.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I note the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, we have had two ceremonies today: one at 
the Pentagon and one on the west steps remembering what happened 7 
years ago. I think everyone remembers what they were doing at that time 
7 years ago. It happens that was the time I had the State chamber of 
commerce from my State of Oklahoma in. I was speaking with them. I 
remember so well being on the ninth floor of the Hart Building where we 
had a panoramic view. They were looking at me, and I saw all this smoke 
going up, not having any idea what it was. I actually witnessed what 
happened at the Pentagon.
  Today as we think back, most of us know someone or have a friend who 
was killed on that fateful day in the greatest, most significant raid 
on our land in our country's history. Seven years later, we continue to 
fight for the oppressed and, more importantly, help the oppressed to 
fight for themselves. With our coalition of partners and allies, we 
continue to take the fight to the enemy of our place of choosing, 
keeping them there instead of here.
  I had the privilege--and it really has been a privilege--to be in the 
area where the terrorists were, I think, more than any other Member. I 
have made some 18 trips, maybe more than that, to Africa, the Horn of 
Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, and that area. We have taken away al-Qaida's 
base of operations, freedom of movement, forcing them into the no-man's 
land between Pakistan and Afghanistan. We have trained the Afghan 
National Army as they have grown to 65,000 troops. I am proud of this 
accomplishment. It was Oklahoma's 45th in charge of training the Afghan 
Army. I was over there, and I saw the pride in the faces of the Afghans 
as they were learning to defend themselves, learning to fight, learning 
to fight with dignity. We have trained the Afghan National Army as they 
have grown to 65,000 troops, and they are on track to meet their 
mandated strength of 82,000 by 2009.
  We have defeated the Taliban in every encounter and have killed or 
captured over 60 of their senior leaders. We helped Afghanistan rebuild 
its infrastructure with over 1,000 bridges and 10,000 kilometers of 
roads. There are now more Afghan children in school than at any other 
time in history.
  That is something we seem to forget, turning to Iraq, what is 
happening right now and the impact this is having in the Middle East 
where for the first time in the history of that country there are women 
going to school. They have been liberated from a tyrannical leader.
  I was honored back in 1991 to be on what was called the first freedom 
flight. It was Democrats and Republicans. Tony Coelho was there and 
several others. But also the Ambassador from Kuwait to the United 
States was there. This was in 1991 at the end of the first gulf war. It 
was so close to the end of it that Iraq did not know it was over yet. 
They were still burning the fields off.
  The Ambassador and his daughter--he had a 7- or 8-year-old daughter--
wanted to see what their mansion on the Persian Gulf looked like 
because they had not seen it during the war. When we got there, we 
found it was used by Saddam Hussein for one of his headquarters. The 
little girl wanted to go to her bedroom and see her little animals. 
Saddam Hussein had used that bedroom for a torture chamber. There were 
body parts there.
  During that period after 1991, many of us had the opportunity to look 
into the open graves, to see what a tyrannical person this was, hear 
the stories from firsthand observers who said people were begging to be 
dropped into the vats of acid head first or into the grinders.
  Weapons of mass destruction were used on the Kurds up north, and 
hundreds of thousands of people were killed. The way he killed them 
with the type of gas, it was like burning yourself up from the inside. 
People described what the people went through.
  Some on this floor and a lot of people on the campaign trail say no 
terrorists were in Iraq prior to the liberation. Evidence has shown the 
contrary. I say this because, first of all, if there had never been 
even a discussion of weapons of mass destruction, just the things that 
this guy had done to the hundreds of thousands of people was enough 
justification for going in. We, as a free nation, cannot allow that 
type of thing to happen.
  Now we find, yes, there were terrorist training camps there. Sargat 
was an international training camp in northeastern Iraq near the 
Iranian border. It was run by Ansar al-Islam, a known terrorist 
organization. Based on information from the U.S. Army Special Forces, 
operators who led the attack on Sargat said it is more than plausible 
that al-Qaida members trained in that particular area. The Green Berets 
discovered among the dead in Sargat foreign ID cards, airline ticket 
receipts, visas, and passports from Yemen, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, 
Morocco, and many other places.
  Salman Pak was the name of another city there. That is where we found 
the fuselage of a 707. That is where they were training people--all the 
evidence was there--to hijack airlines. That was a terrorist training 
camp. That is in Iraq.
  I don't think we will ever know whether the perpetrators of the 
tragedy 7 years ago today were trained in Salman Pak. I don't think 
there is any way of ever knowing that. Certainly, that is what they 
were doing at that time.
  So in the aftermath of September 11 we have worked together to do 
things to preclude this kind of attack from happening--the PATRIOT Act, 
we created the Department of Homeland Security, the position of 
Director of National Intelligence to try to coordinate.

[[Page 18511]]

  One of the things I remember when I came to the Senate from the House 
in 1994 is my predecessor was David Boren who happened to have been the 
chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He said: I am hoping you 
may be able to do something I have never been able to do, and that is 
to get all these competing intelligence agencies--such as DIA and 
others--to work together. That wasn't happening until 9/11. That shock 
treatment is what it took to get people to work together. In doing so, 
we know many potential attacks on our country have been prevented.
  When we look at what we are commemorating today and the people we 
know, the loved ones we lost, we recognize we have done some things we 
should have done before probably. Those of us who have traveled to 
Israel know they live from day to day not knowing if, when they are 
sitting in a coffee shop, it is going to blow up or when getting on a 
bus there are going to be bombs going off. They have learned to live 
with it. We now have learned the lesson of 7 years ago. We have taken 
precautions. We have prevented attacks from happening. We have evidence 
of all kinds of things--water systems that were going to be 
contaminated--and we think of the tragedy of 7 years ago today.
  If we look at the potential tragedy of an incoming missile hitting a 
major city in America, we would be looking at maybe 300,000 people. 
That is what it is all about now: making sure nothing of this dimension 
or anything else will happen again.
  This is a very special day, and it is one that is very meaningful to 
most of us--I think to all Americans. One thing we can do is remember, 
remember that terrorists are still out there. I was asked on a radio 
show this morning: There are so many people out there saying, why don't 
you just forget this thing? That was 7 years ago. Why keep bringing it 
up? Why keep stirring it up? Why can't we get beyond that?
  My response was we cannot do that because of what happened to so many 
people. But more importantly than that is this is a constant reminder. 
Every year we need to be reminded that there are terrorists still out 
there. They hate everybody who is in this building, and they hate this 
building. You think about what could have happened 7 years ago if those 
very brave people in Pennsylvania hadn't stopped what was happening. 
This dome, most likely, would not be here. It was an easy target. That 
is the reminder.
  The terrorists are still out there. They still want to kill us. They 
are still cowards. They still have no country and they have no cause, 
except to destroy us. So this reminder is here today, and I just, at 
this time, want to pay homage once again to the families of all those 
who lost their loved ones in the tragedy that took place.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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