[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 13249-13250]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            REMEMBERING 9/11

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I remember September 11, 2001, as if it 
were yesterday. I was here in my office at my desk when the unthinkable 
happened. I remember driving to the Senate that morning thinking it was 
such a beautiful day. It was a crisp fall morning with a remarkable 
blue sky. Over the years, I have often wondered how such resplendence 
could occur amid such evil and suffering. I take solace in knowing that 
nearly 3,000 innocent victims, including 3 Utahns, hopefully touched 
the face of God that day.
  Yet since that horrible day, Americans have once again risen to the 
challenge. As President George W. Bush said 3 months after the attacks:

       Our enemies have made the mistake that America's enemies 
     always make. They saw liberty and thought they saw weakness.

  But 10 years on, Americans have shown, once again, our resolve can 
never be broken. When confronted by evil, we will not yield.
  I remember on that day I came over here to the Senate, and we were 
told to evacuate the Capitol. As we walked out--some running as fast as 
they could--and walked down the steps of the Senate side of the 
Capitol, I turned around and saw that Senator Helms was back up on the 
veranda, and he was having difficulties, as he did in his later years, 
with ambulation, and I walked back up the steps, and he leaned on my 
arm as we came down the steps and were among the last to leave the 
Capitol at that time. We were warned there might be a plane flying into 
the Capitol or into the White House, and it was a matter of great 
concern to everybody.
  But 10 years later, as I have said, Americans have once again shown 
the resolve that is necessary. We have confronted evil, and we will 
continue to do so, and we will never yield.
  We, as a nation, continue to stand up to this threat and we have done 
much to overcome it. But we should never become complacent.
  As the 9/11 Commission's recent report card on the implementation of 
its recommendations clearly shows, we have made important advances in 
securing the homeland, but a lot of work needs to be accomplished.
  Some of the most profound changes, and also some of the least 
understood, have occurred in our intelligence community. For example, 
the 16 different agencies which constitute our intelligence community 
are collaborating as never before. Part of that is because of the 
PATRIOT Act, which requires that type of collaboration. The PATRIOT Act 
has worked very well, and even though there are some on the far right 
and the far left who do not accept the PATRIOT Act, I have to tell you 
it has worked amazingly well in helping us to protect our homeland.
  As the Commission pointed out, collaboration in the intelligence 
community was essential to the success of the raid which killed Osama 
bin Laden. That was 10 years later, but it sent a message to the world 
that we are not going to quit until we find these people, root them 
out, and get rid of them.

[[Page 13250]]

  In addition, I also believe our Nation is much safer due to the 
Terrorist Surveillance Program. The Terrorist Surveillance Program 
enables our intelligence agencies to monitor international 
communications from al-Qaida. This initiative has been the subject of 
much debate in Congress. However, the legislative compromise which was 
reached, I believe, strikes a proper balance by permitting our 
intelligence agencies to operate in an efficient manner while 
strengthening the oversight role of the Foreign Intelligence 
Surveillance Court, which has worked amazingly well.
  However, the need for improvements still remains. The Commission 
notes that over the past 6 years we have had four Directors of National 
Intelligence. As many managers would agree, such leadership changes 
will disrupt the implementation of any organization's modernization 
strategy. Yet in the realm of counterterrorism, the slightest misstep 
could be exploited by our foes to launch another attack.
  Other areas which require immediate attention include securing our 
borders. An important tool in helping us verify the identity of 
visitors to the United States is our biometric entry system, called US-
VISIT. Unfortunately, the security offered by this system is 
incomplete. As the Commission pointed out, US-VISIT does not yet have a 
fully operational system to record when visitors leave our Nation. Such 
a capability is not only useful in tracking terrorists but is also an 
important capability in stemming illegal immigration.
  That is why I have introduced S. 332, the Strengthening Our 
Commitment to Legal Immigration and America's Security Act. This bill 
requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to create a mandatory exit 
procedure for foreign visitors to our country, the United States of 
America. Unfortunately, my optimism regarding Afghanistan, the planning 
ground and safe haven for those who plotted the attacks of September 
11, has somewhat receded.
  The surge of forces has led to great gains in the southern Afghan 
provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. This is the heartland of the 
Taliban. According to GEN David Rodriguez, who until recently was our 
Deputy Commander in Afghanistan, the Taliban ``enjoyed near total 
control'' of these areas as recently as 2009. Moreover, our additional 
forces enabled the implementation of a robust counterinsurgency 
strategy. This means we had sufficient forces not only to clear an area 
of the Taliban but to hold it. As a result, we were able to provide 
security to the local population, assist in the development of the 
primarily agrarian economy, and train Afghani security forces.
  Unfortunately, the President's arbitrary decision to reduce the 
number of our forces deployed to Afghanistan by approximately a third, 
and instructing the reduction to be completed by next summer, only adds 
to the burden of our forces that remain.
  In fact, this summer I was fortunate to host former Director of the 
Central Intelligence Agency, GEN Michael Hayden, at a speaking event in 
Utah. I found his insight on this matter most illuminating. General 
Hayden did not quarrel with the notion of reducing the number of troops 
in Afghanistan. However, he was troubled by the timing of the drawdown. 
Specifically, the general stated he would have kept the troops in place 
until the conclusion of the 2012 summer fighting season.
  That being said, I have absolute confidence in our new commander, GEN 
John Allen. He succeeds General Petraeus, with whom I met over there in 
Afghanistan, and have met on other occasions, and who has done a 
tremendous singular service for our country. I have great respect for 
him. But I expect General Allen to be just as good. General Allen was 
one of the vital catalysts in the Sunni awakening in Iraq. The Sunni 
awakening and our counterinsurgency strategy are considered by many to 
be the driving forces for our success during the Iraqi surge. And, of 
course, we all remember what General Petraeus did there as well. I am 
confident General Allen will maintain the hard-won momentum our forces 
have achieved in Afghanistan, despite the reduction in resources.
  In addition, our troops will be assisted by an even greater number of 
Afghan troops. In this month's edition of Foreign Affairs, General 
Rodriguez wrote that the Afghan Army by the end of 2010 had increased 
in size to 143,000, which surpassed that year's goal by 9,000 troops. 
In addition, the Afghan Army ``has quickly become one of the country's 
most respected institutions.'' The general also writes:

       In 2011, 95 percent of all Afghan army units have been 
     partnered with coalition forces, and they are showing steady 
     improvement in providing security and in their ability to 
     independently thwart insurgent attacks.

  In conclusion, much has been accomplished, but more remains to be 
done. The memory of that day--and those we lost--will be forever with 
us. We must never forget the hard lessons we learned on September 11. 
We must not become complacent or believe the threat is over or has 
gone. We have done much to mitigate the threats posed against us, but 
we always must be on guard for anything in the future.
  The hallmark of our democracy consists of the principles of liberty 
and equality, cherished by our citizens. The terrorists who attacked us 
on September 11 saw the civic virtues of our peaceful Republic and 
wrongfully concluded that we were weak. As others have been reminded in 
the past, it is a mistake to underestimate the courage and resolve of 
Americans when our constitutional ideals come under attack or when our 
lives and liberties are threatened.
  Even on that first day, the example of police and firemen charging 
into burning buildings at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and 
civilians fighting back above the skies of Shanksville, PA, showed to 
the world that America had not lost its resolve. To this day, we remain 
vigilant in our commitment to protect the natural rights to life and 
liberty announced in our Declaration of Independence and guaranteed by 
our beloved Constitution.
  Ten years have followed since that day, but I remain proud of the 
example that America has set for the world as it continues its 
relentless pursuit of those who would kill innocents and plot mass 
terrorist attacks on civilian populations.
  President Roosevelt called the attack on Pearl Harbor ``a date which 
will live in infamy.'' Similarly, September 11, 2001, remains a day of 
remembrance and resolve. We will always remember those who were killed 
that day and the loved ones they left behind, and we resolve to secure 
justice for those victims by bringing justice to those responsible for 
the attacks and who continue to plot against us.
  Mr. President, 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. McCAIN. Mr. 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.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
permitted to address the Senate as in morning business.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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