[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 13256]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            REMEMBERING 9/11

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, before I relinquish the floor, I do want 
to take a couple of minutes on two other items. No. 1, as the Presiding 
Officer this morning, I heard a number of Senators come forward and 
recognize, as others have over the last few days, that we are 
approaching the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
  I am sure all of us here remember where we were that Tuesday morning. 
I personally recall I was in a campaign for Governor at that point. I 
had just gotten a haircut and a big debate was 3 days away when I first 
got the news. Suddenly the big debate didn't seem that terribly 
important. Within an hour I had been at my campaign headquarters, saw 
the plane crash into the Pentagon with smoke billowing out.
  In the last 10 years I think this country has made remarkable strides 
in making sure Americans are safer than they were 10 years ago. We have 
seen a whole new series of collaborations between our intelligence 
service agencies. We have seen greater collaboration here at home 
amongst our law enforcement.
  As we all come together on Sunday and reflect back on the last 10 
years and the horrors that were brought to this country, I hope we will 
all say a little prayer for those members of our military and those 
members of the intelligence community for the magnificent work they 
have done making our country much safer.
  I think, as well, as we see reports even today of possible threats, 
we recognize we can never be 100 percent safe. I remember during my 
tenure as Governor, within the first year, we in Virginia and the 
District and Maryland were caught in almost 3 weeks of remarkable 
terror with what later became known as the sniper incidents. For a lot 
of that time we didn't know whether this was a possible terrorist 
incident or was it what it turned out to be, two deranged lone-wolf 
assassins wreaking havoc across most of the mid-Atlantic.
  We need to bear in mind that while we and our government will do 
everything possible to keep us safe, we also have to rely upon 
individuals in collaboration with law enforcement as they spot 
incidents that seem unusual.
  But even with that collaboration, there may be times that someone, 
whether home-grown or foreign, someone, a lone-wolf type assassin or 
terrorist, could slip through, and I think it is important that, 10 
years after that enormous tragedy, we as a people be more resilient. We 
cannot allow a single act of terror to change the way we live, our 
freedoms, our civil liberties, because, candidly, there is no way any 
terrorist can inflict so much individual harm that it can do permanent 
damage to our country. But if they do spread fear or make us as a 
people change the way we interact, change the kind respect we have for 
each other, the respect we have for our freedoms, then they will be 
more successful than with any single incident of harm.
  I know the Presiding Officer and many of the folks who work here and 
many of the young pages, as we go into this weekend of reflection--and 
I hope many of the folks who are listening today--will take a moment 
and not only reflect back on that 10th anniversary but also do an act 
of service. I think this is a great time for us as Americans to show 
service back to our communities.
  I know I will be in the Pentagon Sunday morning, where we were hit in 
Virginia. The Pentagon is a national institution, but we in Virginia 
are proud it resides in the Commonwealth. I will be in the Pentagon 
Sunday morning to be with some who lost loved ones on that day. But I 
will also be doing acts of community service throughout this weekend as 
well, to make sure we show that great spirit of America.

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