[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11721]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            TRACK THEM DOWN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it was September 1972. People from all 
over the world were gathered in Munich, Germany, for the Olympic Games. 
After World War II, there was a feeling of optimism and unity. But 
overnight, those feelings turned to turmoil and turned to terror.
  The world awoke to images of a deadly terrorist attack in the Olympic 
Village. A terrorist group called Black September took 11 Israeli 
hostages and massacred them. In response, the Israeli Government did 
not hesitate. The Israeli policy was: you will not murder Israelis 
anywhere in the world.
  So for 20 years, Israel hunted down the killers all over the globe, 
from Paris to London to Beirut to Stockholm. With its response, one 
thing became clear to the terrorists: if they hurt Israelis, there 
would be consequences, and the consequences would not be pleasant. 
Israel would find them, and Israel did find them.
  So flash-forward 40 years. On the 11th anniversary of 9/11, there 
were once again attacks on American sovereign soil. In Egypt, militants 
stormed the U.S. Embassy. In Libya, our Ambassador, Chris Stevens, and 
three other Americans were brutally murdered.
  There has been no accountability or action from this administration 
regarding these crimes. All Americans have received are grainy 
surveillance photos and some empty promises.
  Where is the justice for these families of these four victims? The 
identities of some of the attackers are known. Why have we failed to go 
get them?
  When America has been tested by terrorists in the past, we have gone 
after them, just like Israel has done.
  In 1996, 19 American soldiers were murdered in Saudi Arabia. The 
United States responded.
  In 2001, when 3,000 people from all over the world were murdered here 
in the United States, we responded. President Bush said:

       The search is under way for those who are behind these evil 
     acts. I've directed the full resources of our intelligence 
     and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and 
     bring them to justice.

  Is that our U.S. policy today? Well, we don't know. We don't know 
what the current U.S. policy is about Americans killed overseas. All we 
get is a lot of words with no results from the administration.
  Our enemies continue to test us because they no longer fear us, Mr. 
Speaker. The world no longer knows where America stands on terrorist 
attacks--not our allies, not our enemies, and not American citizens.
  So what is our policy when a U.S. Embassy is attacked? More broadly 
speaking, what is our foreign policy in north Africa? North Africa is a 
breeding ground for terrorism, and al Qaeda affiliates are being 
trained and expanding across the entire African continent.
  Earlier this year, on January 16, al Qaeda-linked terrorists 
affiliated with Mokhtar Belmokhtar took 800 people hostage at a gas 
facility in Algeria. One of those hostages killed was Victor Lovelady, 
a neighbor of mine in Atascocita, Texas. Victor's brother, Mike 
Lovelady, testified in front of our Terrorism Subcommittee last week. 
His family deserves answers from this administration about what 
happened in Algeria when Americans were killed.

                              {time}  1015

  Who are these terrorists in Benghazi? Who are these terrorists in 
Algeria? Have these ringleaders gotten away with these murders? Is the 
massive intelligence service of the United States of America not 
capable of finding these people throughout the world?
  Maybe the intelligence service ought to spend a little less time 
snooping around in the private lives of Americans and go after 
terrorists overseas, but that's a different issue.
  The Loveladys deserve justice. They lost a father, a brother, and a 
husband.
  These attacks in North Africa prove that Osama bin Laden may be dead 
but that terrorism is still alive and well. If terrorists do not know 
the consequences of their actions, they will not fear any consequences. 
That is the world in which we live.
  It's time, maybe, that we articulate a policy and mean it. If you 
attack Americans, America will come after you. Come hell or high water, 
we're going to track you down somewhere in the world. The Libyan and 
Algerian killers must meet the same fate as the members of the Black 
September group.
  So, Mr. Speaker, when you talk to the President, tell the President 
to track these people down. Let them know they cannot run, they cannot 
hide, they cannot disappear into the darkness of their evil ways--
because justice is what we must have. Justice is what we do in this 
country.
  And that's just the way it is.

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