Date: 2006-09-13
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H

Thank you very much. I want to commend you and all of the distinguished colleagues who have spoken in this hour on this special.order on this ultimately important matter. especially always important. but especially in this week when we recall one of the greatly tragic dates in our history. . There have been other dates in our history that have been tragic. but in terms of an attack on unarmed civilians. September 11. 2001. is without precedent in terms of not only the cruelty with which harm was inflicted that day upon thousands of families. upon our great Nation. but in a cowardly way. in this way of unfortunately the new war. the war upon values. the war upon our way of life. the war where civilians are not only fair game. but the primary objective of the enemy. We have to learn from history in order to be able to act as effectively as possible to protect the homeland. We have to learn from history. Sometimes we even have to learn from the strangest sources. most unorthodox sources. the animal kingdom. The ostrich. for example. The ostrich. when in fear. adopts a curious position. It hides its head in the soil. Not only by doing so does it adopt physically a peculiar position. but it diminishes its security by doing so because it has not the ability to see what is happening in its surroundings. So even from sources as unorthodox and unexpected as tle animal kingdom. specifically with the ostrich. we have. to learn. because I would maintain. always respectfully. that some have adopted the position of the ostrich with regard to political positions and positions with regard to public policy. even as important as with regard to our national security. Hiding our heads in the soil. in the sand. to avoid seeing the fact that we have many enemies. is not an appropriate. not only physical position. but one that is conducive to security. On the contrary. we have many enemies. In recent history the enemy was acting with impunity. When the enemy acted in 1993. I remember I had just arrived in this Congress. Mr. Speaker. I had just arrived and we were meeting. I remember the Speakertobe Newt Gingrich. who at that time was not yet Speaker. was addressing us in a retreat in February of 1993. I had just arrived the previous month to this Congress. As he spoke. the news arrived about a dreadful terrorist attack upon civilians in New York City. I recall how then Congressman Newt Gingrich. who was to be the Speaker in the next Congress. addressed us and very calmly and with great wisdom told us that we were living in a new era. an era that included the savage attacks upon unarmed civilians by cowardly enemies. February The reality of the matter is that the enemy saw that it could act with impunity. And the years passed. and the enemy attacked again with impunity. And the enemy attacked again with impunity. attacked American embassies in different countries with impunity. The enemy went so far as to attack a vessel of the United States Navy. killing many sailors of the USS Cole. inflicting great harm upon the United States. The enemy acted with impunity. The enemy was convinced that it could continue to act with impunity. so it organized what became the most horrendous attack upon unarmed civilians in the history of the United States. And the enemy was convinced that it could continue tp act with impunity. The enemy miscalculated because a new day had arrived in the United States of America and thus a new day had arrived in the world. The free world led as it is. and it must be by the United States of America. The enemy miscalculated. So from where the enemy had prepared the most horrendous attack upon civilians in history. thousands of miles away in terrorist training camps in a desolate country with a great people and a great history but a country that has suffered much. in Afghanistan. The enemy was convinced that geography. distance. and history. especially the lessons of recent history. would continue to protect it. But a new day had arrived. and. of course. the enemy did not act on September 11. 2001. with impunity. It acted in a cowardly way but not with impunity. And the United States of America. led by the Commander in Chief. attacked the enemy in Afghanistan and subsequently attacked the enemy in Iraq. And today the reality of the matter is that those who would like to and who dream and who. if they can. they actually plan to attack unarmed civilians in American towns and cities. those terrorists to a great extent today are occupied. trying to defeat. trying to inflict damage upon the United States Armed Forces in Iraq and our allies in Iraq. not in American towns and cities. And the fact that there has been no attack upon American civilians. American towns and cities for 5 years. the anniversary that we commemorate this year. is not by chance nor is it by luck. It is by hard work.