Expressing the Sense of the Senate on the Second Anniversary of the Terrorist Attacks Against the United States on September 11, 2001

EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE TERRORIST ATTACKS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we mourn the many lives lost 2 years ago today, both the victims of terrorist attack and the heroes, the first responders who rushed to try to save them. In various ceremonies around the country today people are contemplating once again what the war on terrorism involves.

Mr. President, only two years ago, we awoke to the threat that global terrorists posed to the security of the American people and, for that matter, freedom-loving people around the globe, and Americans resolved to fight back against these enemies of freedom.

Our Nation committed to fighting terrorism knowing full well it would require risks, and sacrifice, and time, and, yes, money. We committed to fighting terrorism because the terrorists had already committed to fighting us.

Fortunately, America does not stand alone, because the same terrorists who target the United States also plotted and carried out attacks against European, Asian, and moderate Arab governments who do not share their violent ideology or rationalized interpretation of Islam.

We are now only 24 months into a global war against terrorism and that fact alone is worthy of some reflection.

For 53 months, between June 1914 and November 1919, World War I engulfed Europe. More than 110,000 Americans lost their lives in defense of global security.

For 72 months, between September 1939 and September 1945, World War II raged across the globe, and required years of peacekeeping and reconstruction efforts afterwards. During this tragic conflict nearly half a million American troops gave their lives not only to bring security to America but also to liberate millions of innocent victims suffering under the jackboot of totalitarianism.

For 37 months, between June 1950 and July 1953, American troops battled Communist forces on the Korean Peninsula. American troops remain in South Korea today to maintain a sometimes fragile cease-fire and defend a democratic ally in a war that has yet to end. More than 30,000 Americans were killed while defending against North Korean and Chinese Communist aggression.

And for nearly 50 years of cold war conflict, American troops were deployed to the edges of the Earth in support of our country's efforts to protect free societies from the threat posed by Soviet totalitarianism. During these tense and difficult decades of cold war, America did not shirk its responsibility to defend its people and the rights of all freedom-loving people. Nor did American politicians put price tags on the defense of democracy and liberty.

The global war against terrorism requires, like the Cold War, a sustained level of commitment by the United States that is equal to our moral commitment in all of these previous conflicts—perhaps even more so—because the terrorists who now confront America do not seek merely territory in a far-off land but are dedicated to the destruction of the United States and the elimination of free societies wherever they may exist. We are fighting an enemy which seeks weapons of mass destruction, not to blackmail democracies but to destroy them.

Under the leadership of President Bush, America has made tremendous progress over the last 24 months. We have jailed or otherwise dealt with nearly two-thirds of al-Qaida's leadership and have dismantled terrorist sleeper cells, severely curtailing al-Qaida's ability to plan and carry out terrorist attacks.

We have cooperated with international police organizations to arrest thousands of terrorists throughout the world, to freeze terrorist assets, to increase surveillance of terrorist organizations, and to keep terrorists on the run.

We routed al-Qaida from Afghanistan and destroyed its many terrorist training camps. Under the Taliban government in Afghanistan, terrorists freely plotted the destruction of our cities and the mass murder of our citizens, while an evil government tortured, raped, and killed those who dared to oppose its misrule. The Afghan people are now building a democratic government and terrorists are no longer welcome in Afghanistan.

In addition, we ended the regime of Saddam Hussein, a long-time sponsor of terrorism and a potential terrorist clearinghouse of weapons of mass destruction. We liberated nearly 25 million Iraqis, who for generations had suffered under Hussein's brutal regime. Now we are helping the Iraqis build for themselves a multiethnic and moderate democracy in the heart of the Middle East.

All these efforts have helped to prevent another terrorist attack on American soil despite al-Qaida's unremitting desire to carry out such an attack.

However, despite our successes, more challenges lie ahead. The terrorists are making a desperate stand in Iraq and Afghanistan and we must be firm in our resolve to defeat them. As President Bush said to the Nation this very week:

The terrorists have a strategic goal. They want us to leave Iraq before our work is done. They want to shake the will of the civilized world. In the past, the terrorists have the examples of Beirut and of Somalia, claiming that if you inflict harm on Americans, we will run from the challenge. They are mistaken.

For 24 months we have fought to keep America safe from terrorists, and with Osama bin Laden calling for American troops to return home, we must not shrink from our responsibilities now.

We must confront the terrorists where they live and train; otherwise, they will face us in the streets of our cities. We must continue to bring the fight to the enemy or surely he will bring it to us.

I yield the floor.