[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18097]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TERRORIST ATTACKS AGAINST FRANCE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I want to express what I know each of 
my colleagues feels today. We, the 100 men and women of the U.S. 
Senate, send our sincere condolences to the people of France. From 
across the Atlantic, Americans send condolences to the victims, to the 
families, and to the first responders.
  We understand the pain and the loss that accompany a terrorist 
attack. Some feel it in the most personal way. Some never come home. 
But everyone shares in the loss. In our case, many shared in the 
response and the recovery as well.
  In a dark hour we were reminded of the things that bound us together. 
I hope you will feel something similar take hold in your terrible hour 
as well.
  We have already seen rays of light begin to shine through the 
darkness. We saw it even last Friday. Then, as Paris reeled, a soft hum 
emanated from a tunnel. ``March,'' came the echo in French. ``March 
on.'' Enemies in history and rivals on the soccer pitch had united 
around a common humanity. Dazed, disoriented but alive, French and 
German fans marched through the tunnels together. Some put defiance to 
verse. ``Against us,'' they sang, ``tyranny has unfurled its bloody 
banner.'' And indeed, that night it had. A song sung so many times 
before came alive with new meaning that horrible night. Many knew it as 
the French national anthem, but that night it became an aria for their 
sorrow and an ode to their fraternity. We heard it here, from an ocean 
away.
  We add our voices to the harmony now. We know that the attacks were 
not just directed at the victims we mourn today but also at modernity 
and the free world.
  President Obama has called ISIL the face of evil. It clearly presents 
a challenge to NATO, to our moderate Sunni allies, and to the United 
States. It has also shown that it can attack innocent victims in the 
West, too--right where they live. These terrorists have declared their 
intention to do so again and again.
  We know that trying to contain ISIL's conventional advance as an 
operational concept has proven insufficient in the face of determined 
terrorist attacks, but we also know something else. With resolve and 
determination, ISIL can be defeated. It won't be easy. It won't come 
quickly or without cost, but we also have no other option.
  I look forward to engaging with President Obama to determine his 
strategy and the tools that will be necessary to achieve it. We are 
looking forward to hearing the President's proposed strategy when 
Senators are briefed by the White House later this week. Whatever he 
does, though, I would encourage him to work cooperatively with both 
parties on the way forward. This is a challenge that is going to 
require all of our efforts to confront, and it is a discussion that 
will be ongoing.
  But today is a time to remember and to reflect. We have the people of 
France in our thoughts today. That is true here in the Senate, and it 
is certainly true out across our country.

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