[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 757 Engrossed in House (EH)]
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
September 9, 2004.
Whereas on September 11, 2001, while Americans were attending to their daily
routines, terrorists hijacked four civilian aircraft, crashing two of
them into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and a
third into the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and a fourth was
prevented from also being used as a weapon against America by brave
passengers who placed their country above their own lives;
Whereas three years later the country continues to, and shall forever, mourn the
tragic loss of life at the hands of terrorist attackers;
Whereas by targeting symbols of American strength and success, these attacks
clearly were intended to assail the principles, values, and freedoms of
the United States and the American people, intimidate the Nation, and
weaken the national resolve;
Whereas three years after September 11, 2001, the United States is fighting a
Global War on Terrorism to protect America and her friends and allies;
Whereas since the United States was attacked, it has led an international
military coalition in the destruction of two terrorist regimes in
Afghanistan and Iraq while using diplomacy and sanctions in cooperation
with Great Britain and the international community to lead a third
terrorist regime in Libya away from its weapons of mass destruction;
Whereas the United States is reorganizing itself in order to more effectively
wage the Global War on Terrorism by transforming the Department of
Defense, sharpening the Federal Bureau of Investigation's
counterterrorism focus, strengthening the authority of the Director of
Central Intelligence to coordinate national intelligence activities, and
creating a Department of Homeland Security;
Whereas of the senior al-Qaida leaders, operational managers, and key
facilitators that the United States Government has been tracking, nearly
two-thirds of such individuals have been taken into custody or killed;
Whereas just as significant, with the help of its allies, the United States has
disrupted individuals and organizations that facilitate terrorism--
movers of money, people, messages, and supplies--who have acted as the
glue binding the global al-Qaida network together;
Whereas Pakistan has taken into custody more than 500 members of al-Qaida and
the Taliban regime, including Khalid Sheik Mohammed and Ramzi bin al
Shibh, conspirators in the September 11, 2001, attacks, and Kahallad
Ba'Attash, an individual involved in the planning of the attack on the
USS COLE in 2000;
Whereas Jordan continues its strong counterterrorism efforts, arresting two
individuals with links to al-Qaida who admitted responsibility for the
October 2002 murder in Amman, Jordan, of Lawrence Foley, a United States
Agency for International Development Foreign Service Officer;
Whereas in June 2002, Morocco took into custody al-Qaida operatives plotting to
attack United States Navy ships and ships of other member nations of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the Strait of Gibraltar;
Whereas the United States and its allies in Southeast Asia have made significant
advances against the regional terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah,
which was responsible for the attack in Bali, Indonesia, in October 2003
that killed more than 200 people;
Whereas Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and other countries in
Southeast Asia have taken into custody leaders and operatives of local
al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist organizations and members of al-Qaida
traveling through such countries;
Whereas the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and other countries
have disrupted cells of the al-Qaida terrorist organization and are
vigorously pursuing other leads relating to terrorist activity;
Whereas following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States
Government initiated innovative programs, such as the Customs-Trade
Partnership Against Terrorism program and the Container Security
Initiative, to extend our borders overseas and to secure and screen
cargo before it is placed on ships destined for United States ports of
entry;
Whereas the Department of Homeland Security implemented the US-VISIT border
security screening system in December 2003 at all air and sea ports of
entry, requiring that nonimmigrant visa holders entering the United
States be fingerprinted and screened through various criminal and
terrorist databases before entry into the United States, and this system
will be expanded to land ports of entry in accordance with congressional
deadlines;
Whereas since September 11, 2001, the Coast Guard has conducted more than
124,000 port security patrols, 13,000 air patrols, boarded more than
92,000 vessels, interdicted over 14,000 individuals attempting to enter
the United States illegally, and created and maintained more than 90
Maritime Security Zones;
Whereas following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Terrorist Threat
Integration Center was established, which now fuses, for the first time
in United States history, terrorist-related information, foreign and
domestic, available to the United States Government for systematic
analysis and dissemination to prevent or disrupt terrorist attacks on
the United States;
Whereas following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Terrorist Screening
Center, a multi-agency partnership, was established to integrate the
dozens of separate terrorist databases that existed before September
11th into a single terrorist watch list for use by Federal, State, and
local law enforcement, intelligence, and border security personnel;
Whereas following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States
Government has ensured the hardening of cockpit doors on airplanes and
greatly expanded the use of armed Federal air marshals to prevent and
deter future hijackings that could turn commercial planes into weapons
of mass destruction;
Whereas having recognized the need to prevent terrorist organizations from using
their resources, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has worked closely
with the Department of the Treasury to target 62 terrorist organizations
and freeze $125,000,000 in assets of such organizations worldwide used
to fund terrorist activities;
Whereas to date United States Armed Forces and Coalition forces have killed or
captured 43 of the 55 most wanted criminals of the Saddam Hussein regime
in Iraq, including Saddam Hussein himself;
Whereas the al-Zarqawi terror network used Baghdad as a base of operations to
coordinate the movement of people, money, and supplies; and
Whereas thousands of families have lost loved ones in the defense of freedom and
liberty against the tyranny of terror: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) extends again its deepest sympathies to the thousands of
innocent victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, their
families, friends, and loved ones;
(2) honors the heroic actions and the sacrifices of United States
military and civilian personnel and their families who have sacrificed
much, including their lives and health, in defense of their country in
the Global War on Terrorism;
(3) honors the heroic actions of first responders, law enforcement
personnel, State and local officials, volunteers, and others who aided
the innocent victims and, in so doing, bravely risked their own lives
and long-term health;
(4) expresses thanks and gratitude to the foreign leaders and
citizens of all nations who have assisted and continue to stand in
solidarity with the United States against terrorism in the aftermath of
the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks;
(5) discourages, in the strongest possible terms, any effort to
confuse the Global War on Terrorism with a war on any people or any
faith;
(6) reaffirms its commitment to the Global War on Terrorism and to
providing the United States Armed Forces with the resources and support
to wage it effectively and safely;
(7) vows that it will continue to take whatever actions necessary to
identify, intercept, and disrupt terrorists and their activities; and
(8) reaffirms that the American people will never forget the
sacrifices made on September 11, 2001, and will never bow to terrorist
demands.
Attest:
Clerk.