Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I want to first say, since I am coming at this point in this time, that I am a Republican who opposes this resolution. Most importantly, because this resolution is nonbinding, I am one of the ranking members on the Appropriations Committee who will fight to make sure that, no matter what, funds are not restricted or reduced or cut from the men and women in harm's way on behalf of this country in the future days, regardless of what is said on this floor.

I want to make some general observations. First, the war on terror is the worst-named war in the history of our country. We are at war with Islamic jihadists, fundamentalists, radicals. We need to be more clear as to who we are fighting. Frankly, my view is that this is a religious conflict. People may ask in Tennessee or Texas, why are we involved?

Well, for the first 1,350 years of this religious conflict we were not involved. But history shows that a man named Qutb, the Wahhabi leader, a radical, over 40 years ago, came to this country, was educated, went back and indoctrinated a man named Azzam and taught a man named bin Laden that Western liberalism, freedom, self-government would actually bring about apostasy or ungodliness.

That is the truth. He indoctrinated the Sunni radicals that your way of life, self-determination, would create ungodliness, and that it must be stopped, and at that point we were brought into this religious conflict, the split there in the Arab and Persian world created by the 1970s, organizations in Iran that overthrew the Shah,

and it gave them the first Islamic state when Ayatollah Khomeini was brought back in 1978, and, unfortunately, our leaders in the country helped bring that about in the late 1970s.

Khomeini took over, and within a few months they took our hostages in Tehran. That was a low point in this country's history and my life, and from 1978 forward 30 times our interests have been attacked around the world, and twice they have been attacked domestically in the United States.

It is important to remember this. We are at war with Islamic jihadists. Al-Zarqawi and Zawahiri were talking while al-Zarqawi was still alive, and he said we need to expand the caliphate from Indonesia to Morocco. They believe they can go north to Europe and all the way to the former Soviet Union. This is where the Arabs have had influence, this is their agenda.

It is interesting to me that this only became very difficult in the last 12 months in Iraq. This week was the 1-year anniversary of the Samara mosque bombing. That is when the sectarian violence broke out. They are attacking each other. Moqtada al-Sadr's uncle is buried at that mosque. He was killed by Saddam Hussein.

One year ago, they blew up that mosque in sectarian violence. What is Moqtada al-Sadr doing today? He is fleeing. Why? Because he hears that we are going to increase security, put more boots on the ground in Baghdad. He is fleeing to Iran.

What does that say about all of this? Well, it says to me that we are beginning to do the right thing. The region's leaders told us this week partition of Iraq is not acceptable in the Arab world or the Persian world or the region. A partition will not work. It will make things worse. They also said ``a precipitous withdrawal will be catastrophic.''

I remind my colleagues and the American people, we were not in Iraq before September 11. We were not in Afghanistan before September 11. This problem is not going to go away if we leave Iraq. This is a generational challenge.

As a matter of fact, I will say this, and this may be the most dramatic thing said on this floor, and I am briefed at a pretty high level. I believe we haven't been attacked domestically since September 11 for two reasons. One, we are better than we have ever been at intelligence again, and I am glad.

Two, they don't want to see us united like they saw us after September 11. Our enemies love the dissent and the division. They do not want to see us come together again, because when we do we are the best in the world.

Five points, Iraqi troops are showing up, progress is being made. This morning, a story out, several Iraqi battalions now exceed the 75 percent measurement on participation. For them that is very good.

Two, reinforcement is what this is. It is not a surge. The spread on how many troops we have had over the last several years is from 136,000 to 160,000. We are down to the lower level. This is going to bring us back to the upper level, about what we had when the elections were held. It is not a surge, it is reinforcement.

Three, the commanders tell us that reinforcement will, quote, will save lives and reduce violence. Reinforcements militarily, always there is a grid that shows that reinforcements save lives and reduce violence.

Four, there are two tracks here. One is troop strength and security. The other is diplomacy. You will see in the coming days diplomacy break out in the region. I say to all my colleagues who have great concern, that are afraid we are not talking to Iran and Syria, just stay with us. I believe you will see dialogues at every level take place in the region in the coming weeks, and I have been meeting with some of the administration officials.

Then let me say this, and I know what the distinguished majority leader said, and I respect him, and I believe many, many people, if not everyone in this House, have good intentions. If this resolution is followed by a funding cut, more Americans will die, and the sacrifices to date will be lost. We must do better, but we better not retreat in Iraq.

Too much is at stake. Our problems are not going away. Let's not be foolish. Let's not retreat from this challenge. Let's stand together and unite for the fight of our lives. It is a generational struggle, and we must pull together and meet in defense of liberty and our way of life.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and memory of Volunteer Firefighter, Shane Daughetee. We thank him for his work and that of the 750,000 Volunteer firefighters nationwide.

Recently, this valiant, young man died while rescuing a family from a fire in Hamilton County, TN. The 24-year-old volunteer fell through the roof of the burning home, but the family members' lives were spared because of his bravery.

Mr. Daughetee was part of the Highway 58 Fire department. He was a 7- year veteran of the department and had been named firefighter of the year. He was laid to rest at New McDonald East View Cemetery.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Nicole, who he had met while working at Winn-Dixie together years ago, lost touch with, and subsequently started dating in 2002. Since then, fellow volunteers said Shane and Nicole were joined at the hip.

Nicole wore her husband's firefighter jacket to his funeral. She said her husband loved being a firefighter so much that when they bought a house last summer, he insisted that it be in his station's district so he could continue to volunteer there, Mr. Daughetee is also survived by his parents, James and Linda. We mourn with the entire Daughetee family at this difficult time. Shane Daughetee will be greatly missed and was an extraordinary citizen of East Tennessee.

We are so grateful for the dedication and compassion of all Volunteer Firefighters and other rescue personnel as they put themselves at risk to save perfect strangers in our communities. These men and women put their lives on the line to help others every day and we often do not take the time to think of emergency personnel and the dangers they are willing to face. Their courage is unquestioned, their cause is noble, and we thank them for ensuring our safety.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and everyone from Illinois and Indiana for bringing us to this moment.

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to represent the State of Tennessee in coming to congratulate the Indianapolis Colts. Few people would know this, but last Thursday here in Washington was our annual prayer breakfast, where we bring people from all around the world for our prayer breakfast. And Dr. Francis Collins of the Human Genome Project was the speaker, and he just did an extraordinary job.

But what people wouldn't know was that before we invited Dr. Francis Collins, we actually extended an invitation to Tony Dungy. But Tony Dungy knew when we extended that invitation where he was going to be the following Sunday, and he told us. Sorry, I can't come speak at the National Prayer Breakfast because I will be preparing to play in the Super Bowl. And boy, was he preparing.

Many people know the connections to Tennessee here with this Super Bowl because of Peyton Manning, because he played his college football at the University of Tennessee. And I dare say, other than the State of Indiana, and maybe Mississippi, the State of Tennessee was cheering for the Indianapolis Colts in greater numbers than any State in the Union because of Peyton Manning, because he is our favorite son because of where he played his college football.

To this very day, he owns real estate in Chattanooga. He plays his golf in Chattanooga. We see him a lot. He is married to a Chattanooga girl. We are very proud of that.

You wouldn't know also that R.V. Brown, who was the chaplain for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is one of Coach Dungy's closest friends and the person to whom we extended the invitation. We are so very proud of these relationships.

What about Lovie Smith? He coached at the University of Tennessee as well. So all of these great players and coaches that really represented the goodness of America on Sunday and in the days leading into Sunday have some kind of Tennessee connections.

But I just want to close with this thought. Proverbs 16:15 says this: Good-tempered leaders invigorate lives. They are like spring rain and sunshine.

And I have got to tell you that Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith are good- tempered leaders straight from that scripture. They have invigorated lives, and they refresh and give life to this great Nation. We honor them today because of their leadership. We honor this team because of what they stood for. And we are grateful, frankly, that this brings the country together and lifts us to a new level.

Congratulations, Indianapolis Colts.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's yielding to me.

I came to the Capitol tonight to actually take the eighth-graders from Silverdale Baptist Church on a Capitol tour here, which I am going to do downstairs in a few minutes. But this is a very important issue that really strikes to the heart of what our priorities are in this country today.

My responsibilities here in Washington and in this Congress are, as the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, charged with resourcing the legislative branch. We ask Capitol Police officers and the Sergeant at Arms personnel to stand in harm's way on our behalf. I have got to tell you all across the country we are asking men and women of all ethnic backgrounds, all religions, all cultures who are proud to be called Americans to stand in harm's way on behalf of our civilian population and, in this case, our elected leadership in this country. And you can't ask them to do that and then send the wrong signals by not standing with them when they are doing their job. And I know that people are entitled to due process, but this is one of those obvious cases where the President needs to get involved and take decisive action.

My district director in Chattanooga's son works for Border Patrol on the southern border. It is a difficult job. These people are harassed. Their lives are on the line all the time. It is a tough, nasty business. It does not always go perfectly, but if we are ever going to recruit new people to serve and to stand in the gap on behalf of our country, we have to stand behind the people that do. I don't think we have done that. I do not think due process has, frankly, been served here. And I think the President should take action, and I was proud to join on the letters asking the President to do this.

Thoughtful people from all across the country are saying what in the world is going on? How could this happen? And I want that next generation of Border Patrol agents to be recruited and know that their country is not going to leave them hanging and leave them in Federal prison for doing their job. It is dangerous. Our country needs to stand behind them. And these are difficult days. Our generation is going to be called to enormous sacrifice. We have got to make difficult decisions on whether or not we are going to stick together, because if we do not hang together, we will indeed hang separately.

Mr. Speaker, the first 100 hours is over. That was the easy part; softballs, for the most part, that you campaigned on and that many of us joined you on. But this is where the tough work of governing begins, really, and I don't want to join in the blame game because there is plenty to go around from last year and the Senate Republicans and this year in this bill.

But as a 10-year member of the Appropriations Committee, I would ask the distinguished chairman of the Appropriations Committee to bring this legislation to the committee. Don't bring it straight to the floor. $463 billion worth of spending, and it is not a CR. It is not a clean CR. A lot of bells and whistles here.

As a matter of fact, the distinguished chairman is known for carrying pencils in his coat pocket, and I wonder how many of those pencils he burned up putting this together. It was a lot of work. I commend you for this work. But it is a huge shift in priorities and it didn't come to the committee. So that is what I would ask is you go through the regular order and let's not do this again.

And then let me ask you specifically about the legislative branch portion of this bill. Page 137, because our chief administrative officer, I understand, will have money in this CR to stand up a committee which is controversial, even on your own side, this proposed Select Committee for Climate Change. And I would yield the balance of my time to you, Mr. Chairman, to ask, is there money in the legislative branch portion of this bill to fund what is not an authorized committee yet, but the proposed committee, Select Committee for Climate Change?

I yield to the chairman.

And reclaiming my time, the Katrina Select Committee on our side was roughly a $400,000 committee. My understanding, the authority under this bill for the Select Committee on Climate Change would be about three times that amount, $1.2 million. I think we need to go through the regular order there as well.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished ranking member.

For 12 years I have come to the floor defending our free enterprise system and standing up for market forces in setting prices, costs, and wages. But I have to tell you, 9 years without a minimum wage increase is a problem, especially since, over those 9 years, corporate leadership has let us down in this country time and time again not honoring the traditions of responsibility to their workers and their stockholders. So, last year, I was one of the leaders asking us to increase the minimum wage but putting a very reasonable death tax exemption of $5 million on to the legislation, and it passed this House with a strong support and almost passed the Senate, missing by

two votes. That is the best way to raise minimum wage.

The second best way is to add associated health plans, to give benefits for small businesses increasing the minimum wage.

I am going to continue to argue that that is the best way, but let me surprise you and tell you that even if that doesn't pass today on final passage, I am going to vote to raise the minimum wage, because you can't defend not raising it for 9 years if we are going to have a minimum wage. That debate is for another day, whether you should set wages or not. But with a minimum wage, you can't defend not raising it. The President needs to sign and increase the minimum wage.

Let's do it the right way though. But if that fails, we will vote for this and send it to the President, and I will bet he signs it because it is time for workers to have an increase. But we need to recognize the free enterprise system is what everybody values about this country most of all. They are moving towards free markets. Let's not trample on the markets, but let's recognize that 9 years is long enough, and at the end of the day, we will increase the minimum wage and send it to the President.

Now, how is that for bipartisan, Mr. Miller?

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for yielding.

And I just want to open by saying how encouraging it is to see a Member like yourself take such a hands-on interest in the affairs of the Middle East, and I think anyone here tonight or watching these proceedings would understand your perspective and how informed it is. Plus you approach it from the purity of an Iowan. And I am very grateful for your due diligence and for the work that you have done and the way that you understand these threats.

I was reminded, as you were speaking, that just a couple of years ago you and I were in Africa together talking about these threats and how we were concerned that Africa was also at risk with some of the areas like Somalia, which is in the news again this week, where these international terrorist networks are, frankly, looking for another sovereign nation from which to

operate, as they had with Afghanistan, and how global this threat really is.

I did not come, Mr. Speaker, to the floor tonight to in any way alienate or accuse anyone here or the other party in this case, because if ever there was a time in my life where we need Democrats and Republicans to come together on an issue of national/international importance, it is this issue. This is where I hope that there are never partisan motives attached to anyone's position on matters of war and peace.

I want to go back to the very time when we voted in the House and the Senate to remove Saddam Hussein by force and remind everyone that over half of the Democrats in the Senate voted to do so and almost half of the Democrats in the House voted to do so. And they can say now, oh, but we didn't have good information or whatever their rationale is for wanting to pull out abruptly now, but the truth is we are where we are and this situation is as it is and we are in it together. And if ever there was a time where Americans need to meet again at the water's edge, it is now.

I don't want to preempt what the President says tonight. The President is in a very difficult place because the war has not gone well. We have made mistakes. We have not implemented certain policies to the best of our ability. And I think it is important for him to recognize those flaws and those shortcomings with the mission to this point because, in my opinion, all great leaders at some point say we are on the wrong road and we need to get to this road or we have made this mistake or that mistake and if you will join me, we can rectify this problem. Because the stakes are enormous, as you said.

The great football coach Vince Lombardi, and football is just meaningless compared to these matters of war and peace and life and death, but he said once that fatigue makes cowards of us all. We need to remember that as a people, as a Nation, because we are all tired of this. I mean, I am weary of attending funerals in my district. I attended one with my wife again Monday, another one of a young soldier who died in Iraq over the holidays. His son was born the day after he died. We are all sickened by this sacrifice and this loss. But I have got to tell you if that collectively causes us to lose our passion for freedom or our will to carry on our way of life, it will be a tragedy in American history, and these are the decisions of the moment.

Now I know that our friends from time to time quote people, but one of the people, ironically to me, that serves as kind of the conscience of some of these international issues is Senator Lieberman of Connecticut, who ran against, with my fellow Tennesseean Al Gore, the President and the Vice President. He just returned from this area and he came back in support of not only continuing our efforts until we can prevail in Iraq but, if necessary, and I am not endorsing increased troops tonight and I think the President is going to make his presentation and he has got a long way to go to convince the country and the Congress that this is necessary, so I am not endorsing that. But I am saying that Senator Lieberman came back and effectively endorsed, in order to control these areas of insecurity particularly within the 30-mile radius of Baghdad, increasing troop strength and he talked about ``greatly advancing the cause of moderation and freedom throughout the Middle East and protect our security at home.'' And I am very concerned that if we retreat into the 1990 style complacency that 9/11s will continue.

One of the problems is that we did not have enough troops on the ground, and one of the expressions I wish hadn't been uttered was ``Mission Accomplished'' because there were many difficult days ahead of us following that unfortunate time. We didn't have enough troops to secure the area in and around Baghdad, and that is where 80 percent of the violence is taking place.

Sending more troops to Iraq will not help unless it is coupled with a concrete and feasible plan and a new strategy that requires the active participation of the Iraqi government. And the goal should be clear, an Iraq run by, secured by and governed by the Iraqi people.

Frederick Kagan from the American Enterprise Institute wrote this week that, ``The real choice we face is this: Is it better to accept defeat than to endure the pain of trying to succeed.''

I will say it again. ``The real choice we face is this: Is it better to accept defeat than endure the pain of trying to succeed.''

I don't think we can accept defeat. I don't think we can be seen as in retreat, and I want to explain why. For one, all of those troops that have given their lives that I have been with the families of say to me, We must prevail. We must continue on. My son, my husband, my father, believed very much that this was a just cause and the right thing to do, and we must succeed. They have suffered great loss, and they believe that it is the right thing to do.

But I want to say this, this cannot be George W. Bush's war. This must be America's fight. We must see people in a bipartisan way come together around a plan. I don't know if 20,000 troops is the right number, or 5,000 or 100,000; but we need to come back together because we are where we are and it is what it is, and if we are ever going to bring troops home in victory in 18 months or 24 months, we may have to put our foot down in the short run. Senator Lieberman believes so. The President believes so. And I hope that the case is made clearly so that more and more Americans understand this.

Over the last few days, Zawahri, who is now the commander effectively of al Qaeda in the Middle East, has encouraged these terrorists to go to Somalia, as I said earlier, in northern Africa to fight the fight. The truth is this: If we were out of Iraq tomorrow, this threat continues. This threat did not just happen. September 11th was not the beginning of this. It was the culmination of them attacking us and our interests around the world and our sovereign land around the world, at our embassies. The same people, the jihadists, the extremists.

Read the book ``Hatred's Kingdom'' about wahabism, Qutubi and Azzam. In the 1950s, they began indoctrinating people on this unbelievably radical element in Islam to oppose anyone who did not believe as they believed, and that is the Hezbollah foundation out of Iran, as you say.

When people say these connections were not in place before September 11th, these connections with these terrorist elements have been in place for years. Don't deny that. You are burying your head in the sand. Read ``Londonistan'' and how they have infiltrated London. Read ``While Europe Slept'' and how they have infiltrated Europe. Read ``America Alone'' or ``Looming Towers'' and understand that these threats are our generation's call to courage, and we cannot grow weary such that we retreat. Too much is at stake.

The President is trying to get us back on the right road. One speech is not going to do it. Tonight is not going to do it. But I am hopeful for our country's sake, not my party's sake, not the Democrat's sake, but for our country's sake so we can find a path forward together. This cannot be the President's war. It has to be our country's fight against the jihadists wherever they go, and Iraq is one theater, and they want to fight us, and we need to defeat them. Let's meet together and send them back to their caves or into eternity so that our way of life is carried forward to the next generation.

This is a generational challenge. We can't deny from time to time in history you have to step up and these brave sons and daughters have done just that, and they have volunteered to serve. We honor their sacrifice, but please, House and Senate and country, come together and find a path forward as one Nation.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your leadership in bringing this bill to the floor, and to the ranking member. I also want to thank the gentleman from Arizona, who is leaving the floor, for being a watch guard, for standing on the wall, because we haven't done enough of that, and we need to do that all the time.

Even though on this particular issue, I would come today and say we need to go forward with investments that will save us billions of dollars in the future. I also want to remind people that this is the illegal use of this legal product.

That hasn't been talked about enough on the floor today, that underage drinking is illegal. When other things are illegal, we pay attention to it. Illegal immigration didn't get enough attention. It is a misdemeanor, so it is not that big a deal. And now we are addressing it because it became a big problem.

This is the illegal use of a legal product, and we need to address it on a national level because you can't hodgepodge and address a national problem that frankly is like a cancer among young people.

I want to reemphasize the binge drinking problem. I don't know if you have taken your family to the beach for spring break, but as my children were growing up, we would go, and I was shocked at what I saw.

When I was young, I sowed wild oats, but I had never seen anything like this where 15- and 16-year-old kids just completely sick and running into telephone poles. I mean, it was not only not funny, it was one of the scariest things I have ever seen. Because these kids get away from their parents, and they binge drink until they are sick. Dozens of them are going to the hospital, and some of them dying. This is a problem, a big problem that needs to be addressed, and we need accurate information.

We don't need the information from the industry. That is what has dominated this debate forever. We need the government to give us the accurate information, cause and effect, advertising leads to. This is an illegal use of a product with our children that is devastating the next generation.

I know moms and dads should raise their children and stay on top of them and keep them, but this problem is getting much worse, and the government needs to do a better job at addressing this problem. I also know we are going against the grain. This is the popular culture. This is iconic, Hollywood promotes it, it is all around us. But I have got to tell you, in a world that is going in the wrong direction, the people that are advocating on this issue, Ms. Roybal-Allard with me for 12 years, and Frank Wolf, and Coach Osborne for 6 years, we are going against the grain.

The wind is in our face. We are going in the right direction. The world is going in the wrong direction. The world is going down the tubes with things like this, and we need to stand against it together, united, and invest wisely to frankly save the next generation from some problems. I know it starts at home, but all families are not staying together.

All children are not getting the basics, and they are devastating our culture. Frankly, alcohol leads to a lot of other things when you start drinking at 12-years old. It is a big problem that needs to be addressed. Frankly, the industry has pushed us back and pushed us back.

Coach Osborne, thank you for sharing 6 years of your life with all of us here in the House of Representatives. Thank you for your service and thank you for your whole life of helping other people. You are an icon.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to thank Chairman Pombo, Chairman Radanovich, Ranking Member Herseth, all of the staffs involved for their work through the Resources Committee and subcommittees on this bill. I would also like to thank my Senate cosponsors, Senator Coburn, Senator Frist, and majority leader Senator Alexander for their involvement as well. I am very proud to be the lead sponsor of H.R. 3085. Completing the story of the Cherokee removal is an important issue for Congress to address. I urge all of my colleagues to vote for it.

I understand we are going to have a recorded vote on this. We are under suspensions, and I am going to need the votes. I am going to ask everyone to come and vote for this.

It has been cosponsored by 20 of my colleagues, all from districts and States in which the additional components are located. I would also like to add that S. 1970, the Senate companion bill, was sponsored by Coburn, Frist, and Alexander.

As a consequence of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, a detachment led by John Benge traveled 734 miles starting at Fort Payne, Alabama, continuing through Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.

The treaty party group led by John A. Bell traveled 765 miles starting at Charleston, Tennessee, traveling through Arkansas, collectively passing through 10 counties in Tennessee eventually.

Also included are 29 forts and the emigration depots located near Fort Payne, Alabama; Ross' Landing, present-day Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Fort Cass, present-day Charleston, Tennessee, where the Cherokee initially were taken after being rounded up from their homes.

Consequently, the intent of H.R. 3085 is to study an expansion of the current Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, which Congress designated in 1987, to include these additional documented components in the National Trails System Act. The proposed additions have been documented by National Park Service historians, military journals, and newspaper accounts.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to complete within 6 months the remaining criteria necessary to determine the designation of additional routes to the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.

Even today, many interpretation activities along the Trail of Tears seek to remember the historic routes taken by the Benge detachment and the Bell Treaty Party as we are considering inclusion in the National Trails System.

I want to be very clear that it is my intent that this legislation respect private property rights absolutely. I believe the National Park Service has demonstrated strong partnerships geared towards respecting the private property of citizens in its administering of the current Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and will continue to do so upon the addition of the routes.

The designation and interpretation of the sites and trails associated with the Cherokee removal will enhance public understanding of American history. Our greatness as a Nation is our ability to look at our own history objectively and in proper perspective, being mindful of the errors of the past in order to not repeat them. Through this legislation we will honor the historic footsteps taken by the Cherokee and celebrate our future as we remember the past.

Finally, because of historical significance, H.R. 3085 enjoys broad support not only within Congress but also within the Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee and associated trail organizations such as the Trail of Tears Association. The legislation is a wonderful example of how we can better understand a national event through commemoration of the Cherokees' story.

I want to thank principle chief of the Cherokee Nation, Chad Smith; principle chief of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation, Michell Hicks; and everyone at the National and State Trail of Tears Associations, especially Dr. Duane King and Jack Baker.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, let me say that basically in the last 20 years, we have been missing a big piece of the Trail of Tears. It was enacted by statute 20 years ago, but it was very incomplete. Two major trails were never added, and now that we have that documentation, it is important for history, it is important for the Cherokee Nation, it is important for the future of our country to understand what happened and where this happened, where we forcibly removed thousands upon thousands of Cherokee and forced them to their new land in Oklahoma, many dying along the way.

It is a tragic story, but it is one that cannot be swept under the rug. The Cherokee are a proud people, and I am very proud of the Cherokee blood in my veins, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me today in honoring the Cherokee Nation in this great story of Native Americans who were forced from their homeland but have survived and are even stronger today because of the challenges they have been through and to make this wrong right in the history of America.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the outstanding job he does.

This $34.8 billion brings the total that we have spent on this Department since September 11, 2001, to $151.7 billion, a significant investment in this new Department.

I want to hail the service of Marty Sabo over the years but specifically on this subcommittee and because of his cooperation specifically in one area where he and Chairman Rogers have been brilliant. They have used the power of the purse to force this Department to move towards efficiency and accountability, something that was really missing for a long period of time. We have withheld money from them pending reports and accountability over and over again.

I want to report on two areas today where we are making great progress because of our work on this subcommittee. Science and technology was woefully inadequate. It is now moving rapidly. Admiral Cohen has come in, and he is outstanding. We are deploying new technologies, and we are really spending the money much more wisely. Great progress has been made.

Another area is where we created and helped the administration form the DNDO, the Defense Nuclear Detection Organization. Nuclear problems in homeland security are our greatest threats. Mr. Edwards, on the Democratic side, and myself and others have really been active here to make sure this new agency is effectively detecting the nuclear threat and advancing those technologies. This funding is $481 million. We forced it up above the administration's request to that figure. It still is not enough. I would rather have had the Senate number of $500 million, but we are making great strides there now as well.

Also, the border is much more secure today than it was a year ago. The gentleman from Minnesota is exactly right. This subcommittee has been securing the border each and every year but dramatically in the last year. We now are sending 99 percent of them back.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to wish happy birthday to Michelle. Thank you for your service.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Biggert and Mr. Gordon for their leadership.

For 6 years, I have had the privilege of serving as the co-Chair in the House of the Renewable Energy Efficiency Caucus with Mark Udall of Colorado, which is over half of the House. They have a similar caucus in the Senate. There is widespread bipartisan support for these programs. I think it is so important that we do this.

I want to say that one of the under-reported stories of the last 2 years is the impact of last year's energy bill, the final agreement. I didn't support the House bill, but I supported the final bill because the Senate made it so much better, advanced especially the production of ethanol. There are at least 41 new ethanol plants under construction across America today because alternative fuels is what we need to advance.

Leadership cries out for us to do what we need to do for the next generation with respect to energy, regardless of what energy costs today. Some people think if it is $4 a gallon you have to make changes, but if it is $2 a gallon you don't need to. No, we need to. And leadership cries out for us to be aggressive.

And I am a conservative. Sometimes conservatives forget we are supposed to conserve, to save, to be efficient. Plus our dependence on other sources of energy is causing our country to not be independent and to really be vulnerable. So this is a security issue.

I think, frankly, if we don't do things like this we are being penny- wise and pound-foolish. These initiatives are real. They are substantive. This is a great first step.

It is really a second step. I think EPACT was the first step. This is the second step. I would even argue next year we need to do a third step and continue to advance this cause.

We didn't balance the budget for 3 years by cutting spending. We did slow the rate of growth of spending, but we balanced the budget because the economy grew because we led the world in information. Earl Blumenauer, from out on your side of this country. The Microsoft explosion was a robust, U.S. manufacturing export-driven economy where revenues surpassed expenses and we balanced the budget.

We can do that again, solving the world's energy problems because we are the smartest people in the world. A dynamic, export-driven economy if we will invest in energy solutions for the world, and you can't just expect it to happen. The government plays a role. We have to lead on this issue.

This is a double negative, but I with close with this: We cannot afford not to do this. That is what the House needs to understand. We cannot afford not to do this. Please support this bill, move it forward, and then let's go further in the 110th Congress.

I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee.

Reclaiming my time, thank you for your leadership, and thank you, Mrs. Biggert.

Mr. Speaker, as I rise tonight to begin this hour, I rise with a very heavy heart, but with the most renewed sense of pride and patriotism I have ever had as I honor the life of Sergeant David Thomas Weir.

Sergeant David Weir died 8 days ago on the streets of Baghdad in service to our country. He is from Cleveland, TN, where last night over 2,000 people showed up at the Bradley Central High School football arena to honor a great American hero.

I spoke with Sergeant Weir's mother and father 2 days ago, Lynn and Jackie Weir, and it is just extraordinary to me that there are families in this country that love freedom so much, love our country so much that even in the most grief and sadness they could ever imagine or experience, a hundred percent believe in the mission, the service, the sacrifice of their own son to defend liberty for our Nation.

Lynn Weir told me that if he would have tried, and he didn't, to keep his son from going, he could not have kept his son from going. He said David Weir, from the time he was a little boy, wanted to serve his country in uniform. He was a member of the 101st Airborne. This was his career. This was his way of life. He leaves a wife behind, Alison; a little 18-month-old son, Gavin, who does not understand what has happened. But everyone else knows very clearly what has happened. A great American patriot died doing what he wanted to do, which was to stand in harm's way on behalf of our civilian population, as the Greatest Generation did, as other generations have been called to, at a time when there is a very real and imminent threat to our way of life called the Islamic jihadists.

And Sergeant Weir goes to heaven, leaves this Earth, as others have, in the most sacrificial way, answering the scriptural call that says ``No greater love hath any man than to lay down his life for his friends.''

And I say to Jackie and to Lynn and to Alison and to Gavin, your father; your husband; Chris, his brother; your son gave his life for everyone in our country. We will never forget him. We will always remember him. We hail his life, a sacrificial life of service to others, putting everyone else above himself, believing in his mission and his comrades.

His father said he talked to him the day before and he was so excited about getting out in the streets of Baghdad because he didn't want to be sitting behind a desk, because that was not what he was trained to do. That was not what he volunteered to do. That was not what he was prepared to do. He did what he went there to do, and it cost him his life. And while his parents grieve, our State and our Nation stand united, I believe, in their full appreciation of his life and his sacrifice and his extraordinary courage and bravery.

On Monday, this coming Monday, I am honored to be with the family in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with full military honors as we lay him to rest in the national cemetery.

Thank you, Sergeant Weir, for loving our country so much that you were willing to die for it.

Another friend from my district, Lieutenant Colonel Brett Hale, is there serving in Iraq today. He is the commander of the Dragon Slayers. He too is a patriot. His family is back home praying for him every day, a wife and children.

He sent me an e-mail 10 days ago. I want to read part of it in my tribute and our honor on the House floor tonight of these great American patriots who volunteered to serve our country and make their life secondary to ours.

He wrote me and said: ``If we could only get the truth communicated to the public, they would know we have made great strides here in Iraq. Weekly we are transferring responsibility for the security in many provinces,'' and another one was transferred yesterday, ``and cities back to the Iraqi military. While certain people want to say it is a `civil war,' I want to tell you firsthand it is more about Islamic jihadists crossing over the borders. They continue to attempt to disrupt a young emerging democracy. The insurgents are capitalizing on the inexperience of this government and directly causing the sectarian violence and so-called fueling the fire. They get more and more strength and resolve when they hear the discourse in our country. They know it is only a matter of time before we give up because we perceive the war in Iraq is too difficult.

``We all know anything worthwhile is not easy. Freedom is not free. The Iraqis are trying to make it work. If we retreat, the terrorists win. They win now and they win in the future when they have a safe haven to plan, train, and operate and attack us again.

``It is our choice. We are either going to support our efforts to win the global war on terror, or we are going to support those that want to retreat inside our borders and wait for the next attack. We found out on 9/11 if we retreat, they attack.

``Finally, why did we go to Iraq? Ask yourself why did we fight Germany in World War II? Japan attacked us, not Germany. The same principle applies. We couldn't take the chance then and we can't now. Those that say otherwise are sympathizing with the enemy.''

That is from Lieutenant Colonel Brett Hale to me on the ground in Iraq. What a patriot. As he says, the word is not getting out in this country in a fair way of the progress that we are making. As General Casey said, ``If we leave, they will follow us home.'' These threats are real.

Mr. Speaker, I have been down here 4 weeks in a row as I have been in Washington to try to go through the severity of these real threats around the world and the fact that the jihadists are spreading like wildfire through Europe. Read the book ``While Europe Slept.'' Read the book ``Londonstan.'' You will know that through the mosques there is a radicalization under way. Even the Pope can't speak of it because it is not politically correct to say that fanaticism in religion is not good for the world. It ought to be obvious. Regardless of what the religion is or how many there are or what is politically correct, fanaticism does lead to holy wars and the crusades. And we don't want that. We want the mullahs and the ayatollahs to condemn suicide bombings. We want peace and security for the world. We want our allies to have a backbone and stand up and acknowledge the threat. We want our

President to go to the United Nations and say we can't appease other countries. We have to stand behind security for all and freedom for people and liberty everywhere.

We are all amazed in this country that from our own hemisphere to the south, the President of Venezuela come to our country and says this. Hugo Chavez is his name. In this country we call each other out of respect. Even the people who just spoke, whom I couldn't disagree with more. The people who just spoke are all talking politics. They are all interested in the next election, not, frankly, the future of our country and preserving liberty and standing up and meeting the challenge of this generation. It is all for them about 47 days from now in an election instead of ``I believe in my gut,'' standing up and protecting our country. But despite that, because we are decent, reasonable, we call them ``honorable.'' We call each other ``honorable,'' regardless of whether we agree or not.

I have got to tell you what the President of Venezuela did in this country yesterday was dishonorable. It dishonored his nation. It dishonors the people of his nation. It dishonors everyone south of here in our hemisphere because what it does is it causes people in this country not to trust or even like people who come into this country and say what President Hugo Chavez said yesterday.

He said this: ``The devil was here yesterday. It still smells of sulfur around here,'' he added. He said, ``The President of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the devil, came here, talking as if he owned the world, truly, as the owner of the world.

``I think we could call a psychiatrist to analyze yesterday's statement made by the President of the United States. As the spokesman of imperialism, he came to share his nostrums, to try to preserve the current pattern of domination, exploitation, and pillage of the peoples of the world.''

He said, ``The President of the United States came to talk to the peoples--to the peoples of world. What would those peoples of the world tell him if they were given the floor? . . . I think I have some inkling of what the peoples of the south, the oppressed peoples, think. They would say, `Yankee imperialist, go home.'

``I have the feeling, dear world dictator, that you are going to live the rest of your days as a nightmare because the rest of us are standing up, all those who are rising up against American imperialism, who are shouting for equality, for respect, for the sovereignty of nations.''

This was the President of Venezuela, in our country, saying this.

And let us praise a Democrat in this House named Charlie Rangel, whom I seldom agree with. But, boy, do I appreciate his patriotism in defense of our country and its traditions when he said this today. He said, ``You do not come into my country, my congressional district, and you do not condemn my President. If there is any criticism of President Bush, it should be restricted to Americans, whether they voted for him or not. I just want to make it abundantly clear to Hugo Chavez or any other president, do not come to the United States and think because we have problems with our President that any foreigner can come to our country and not think that Americans do not feel offended when you offend our Commander in Chief.''

Thank you, Charlie Rangel, for being an honorable Democrat who stands united at this time of war.

Hugo Chavez is a troublemaker in a big way. He wants to work with Iranian President Ahmadinejad. I watched his interview last night on Anderson Cooper, and he calmly looked Anderson Cooper in the eyes, and he gave a very warped view of history, not even willing to acknowledge that the Holocaust took place. Completely in denial. You would have to wonder where in the world he gets his facts or his view of the world.

This is a troubling time in American history. I say to young people everywhere I go, the days ahead will be very, very difficult. We need to be honest with them about this. But the character of this great Nation was born out of the sacrifices, the courage, and the willingness to face these challenges of our grandparents and our great- grandparents. The Greatest Generation, they are the standard for stepping up to meeting global challenges, and they gave us our character. We didn't get our character by the big buildings or Wall Street or wealth or even military power. We got it by sacrifice and dedication and commitment and family, and they are the standard.

They didn't cower or retreat from these challenges. They stood up. They faced them head on. They showed us what it took to preserve freedom and extend it from one generation to the next. And we must do the same thing. We must come together as a Nation.

I hate it that we are in the middle of this political campaign while we are at war because it is not good for us to say the things we say, even on the floor of this House. It is not good for Lieutenant Colonel Hale and others to look back here and see the potshots being fired. I hate it that over half of the Democrats in the Senate voted to remove Saddam Hussein by force and almost half of the Democrats voted and now they all say it was a mistake.

Let me tell you there has never been a pretty war. Never. There has never been one perfectly executed, and you do not remove a genocidal mass murderer with a picnic. It is ugly. And a brand new democracy takes a while to develop. And it is tough. Tough. But thank goodness that men and women in uniform will volunteer to go serve and carry out this tough mission and extend liberty from one generation to the next. These are difficult days. America needs to pull together.

I want to yield to my colleagues that have come tonight, two of the people I respect the most in the House. First the gentlewoman from North Carolina.

Virginia Foxx is a new Member, but you would never know it because she has got tons of experience, and she has been down here standing up for what she believes, day in and day out. I want to yield to her on this most important issue of global security.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her service and for her message tonight on this global threat.

Before I yield to the gentleman from Michigan, let me just remind everyone here in the House of Representatives and anyone who may be watching our proceedings tonight, Mr. Speaker, that regardless of what some would have you believe, or even you may get filtered to you through the national media, this war is with fanatics called the jihadists, who, by their own charter and their own doctrine, want to reestablish a caliphate for themselves and their rule that extends from northwest Africa all of the way east, basically, to the Far East, through Indonesia, above Australia.

And I say that because those are the words that were in the letter that Zarqawi wrote to Zawahari before we killed Zarqawi. The top al Qaeda leaders, in their own communication with each other, said, use the infidels', the U.S., that is what they call us, presence in Iraq to recruit insurgents and other terrorists to try to extend this caliphate, reestablish the caliphate for radical Arab rule. So this is an aggressive plan.

If we left Iraq tomorrow, the terrorists would not only win, but it would advance their cause. And it is spreading. This is a real threat, and it did not just start on September 11. That was one more attack. It happened to be the largest. But it was not the first on American soil or American sovereignty.

They tried to bring the World Trade Center down in 1993, and their engineering did not work. We did not pay enough attention to it. But they had hit our embassies, which is sovereign U.S. land in other countries, time and time again, the same people.

It all started, Mr. Speaker, in 1979 in Iran, the sponsor of Hezbollah, which has now exported terrorism and frankly stolen the government of Lebanon from the Lebanese people and engaged in war with Israel, and elected terrorist leadership in Palestine called Hamas. And these terror networks are coordinating and spreading and the threats are growing, and our way of life in the future will be at stake if men and women do not stand in harm's way on our behalf.

And you may say, well, that is over there on the other side of the ocean. But I will tell you when Hugo Chavez comes here and says what he said yesterday, and he is coordinating and communicating with these terrorist leaders from other countries, and identifying himself with them, standing with them, wanting to be on their team, and he is in our hemisphere, and through his oil he is trying to bribe and own other South American countries by lending them oil so they will be obligated to him, and he has a warped sense of reality, and comes and says these ridiculous crazy things like he said yesterday, we have threats.

That brings us to the southern border. Because I will tell you, our security in this country is critically attached to our ability to keep people that we do not want in this country from coming across the most porous place, and that is our southern border. I want to talk about that again in a moment, but right now I want to yield to a Member from Michigan who people from one side of the spectrum to the other here in this House look at as one of the most knowledgeable, intellectual, thoughtful, tough Members of the House, Thaddeus McCotter from Michigan. I am so honored he came to the floor tonight to stand with me and go through this Special Order. The gentleman from Michigan.

I thank the gentleman so much for his articulation of these problems, and the potential threats. Clearly our hemisphere could become a serious problem for us because of these relationships. If you don't think it's a global problem, you should follow what has happened in East and North Africa just in recent weeks where, in Somalia, one of the top al Qaeda members on our watch list is put in charge of the Government of Somalia.

The Sudan is a meltdown, there is a vacuum; Algeria, much the same. Just last week, for the first time, our country established a U.S. military command in northern Africa. Why? Because there is a vacuum in leadership.

What interests do the terrorist networks have in a vacuum of leadership? That is what they had in Afghanistan. The Taliban took over Afghanistan because there was no leadership, and it gave them a sovereign nation from which to operate.

Frankly, one of the elemental factors in my decision to vote to remove Saddam Hussein by force was to make sure that in the heart of the Middle East we didn't give them another sovereign nation from which to operate, and we sure don't want to let them come into one of these areas in northern Africa and take over a country like they did Afghanistan.

You know, it was a crafty way that Hezbollah took control in Lebanon. Go in with some money backed by Iran, money and oil revenues, and basically put people to work, make them obligated to you. Frankly, it is the same kind of thing that Castro did years ago with communism in Central and South America. Meet them at their point of need, make friends with them, and then put them to work for your way of thinking, dictatorial; speaking of imperialism, repressing all human rights. You know, I tell you what, I daresay that people in Venezuela don't have the right to speak there as Chavez spoke here in just the most blatant way. These threats are real. No one, no one likes war.

John Stuart Mill said this: War is an ugly thing, but it is not the ugliest of things. He said the decayed and degraded state of patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. He said a person who has nothing for which they are willing to fight, nothing they care more about than their own personal safety, is a miserable creature, who has no chance of ever being free, unless those very freedoms are made and kept by better persons than himself, end quote.

Those better persons are the men and women in uniform of our Armed Forces, who every single one volunteered to serve our country; whether in the Guard, Reserve or Active Duty, every single one of them volunteered to stand in harm's way on our behalf.

The President of the United States believes deep in his soul that this mission must be carried out and completed, and I agree with him. It is so important, especially right now, with all of these voices in the world and all of these people jockeying for legitimacy and position, that we are not in retreat, that we follow through on our commitments, that we don't leave the people of the Middle East wondering if America has all of a sudden, for the first time in 230 years, lost our heart, lost our backbone, our resolve.

We can't afford to fail in Iraq. No matter how you voted, or no matter how many mistakes have been made, or no matter how you spin it, we can't afford to fail. We can't afford to retreat. We can't afford to leave early. There is a lot at stake. The enemy is real. The enemy is all over the place.

I am a member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, have been since we established the Department of Homeland Security. Some things I can say, some things I can't say. There are a lot of people in this country we don't want here, because we are free, because there are 2,000 miles along the Mexican-U.S. border, because there are 5,500 miles along the Canadian-U.S. border, because there are 12,000 miles of U.S. coastline, because there are 328 million people that come across our land border crossings each year, because there are 71 million people that come in through our international airports from all over the world. There are 157 land ports of entry.

We have a lot of people coming and going from this country, and now there are a lot of people in this country that, the truth is, we don't want them here; that because we are a free country and they haven't yet done anything wrong here, we don't remove them. We don't line them up and ship them out until they do something wrong. But I have got to tell you, we are watching them, because the threats are real.

Hezbollah is the A team in terrorism. They are the source of the conflict between the Lebanese, well, actually, between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon, because they pirated the country from the Lebanese, not their fault. That was a huge conflict 2 months ago. Thankfully they are not warring today, but that is Iranian-based, started next door to Iraq, still the source of the terrorist insurgents into Iraq.

These threats are real, they are global, and we have to watch our own southern border.

Let me continue on the southern border. There is a lot of talk about immigration reform, and we need to continue to carry it out. But I will tell you, the American people just want to see that southern border that I mentioned was 2,000 miles long secured. But one thing that we haven't had much help in is the word getting out of what has happened, because I want to tell you, as a member of that subcommittee, what has happened in the last 12 months, because there has been a serious effort under way to secure the southern border in the last 12 months.

Last week our chairman, Hal Rogers from Kentucky, gave testimony to our entire leadership at a hearing, and I attended it, that is really compelling. One of the most important things that the Department of Homeland Security has done is they ended the policy that had evolved from 20 years back that was known as catch and release, and replaced it with a new policy called catch and return.

Now, catch and release said that if you were an illegal immigrant coming across our southern border, and you were apprehended, you would be arrested for a misdemeanor charge of illegally entering the United States and released on your own recognizance depending on your open court date, and people obviously would not come to court. So thereby people would gain into our country and disappear into our country and probably get a bogus Social Security card so that they could be hired by somebody, and that would constitute the 12 million illegals that we have here now.

We stopped that policy. In the last 60 days, 99 percent of aliens apprehended along the southwest and northern borders are detained and removed from this country. So catch and release was replaced by catch and remove. A year ago, it was 34 percent were sent back to their country of origin. Today it is 99 percent, a huge change in the culture.

Now, let me tell you what that act says, and the gentleman in the chair knows that better than anybody because of his background. It acts as a deterrent. What you want in law enforcement is not a perfect system that catches every single person every single time; you want a deterrent that is raised a level at which it keeps things from happening because most of the people get caught.

This is an effective deterrent, because word has spread back through Central and South America that if you go to all the hassle of getting to the southern border, and then somehow you get across, I am going to tell you in a minute that is not as easy as it used to be either, and you get caught, you will not be released into the United States of America. You will be held and then sent back to your country of origin. Once that word spreads, a whole lot less people come because they don't want to go to the hassle and the risk of dying or being injured or whatever, and then not be released into our country.

But it was so easy for so long that it happened so often, and we ended up with 12 million. As a matter of fact, in July of this year alone, our Border Patrol apprehended 66,000 illegal aliens along the Mexican border, a staggering number in 1 month, 66,000 illegal aliens.

But, guess what? That was 31,000 fewer than the previous year in the same month. Word is getting out: we are not going to allow you to stay; don't come here illegally.

Yet we are going to come up with, I believe before the end of this year, not only strengthened border security in a meaningful way, which is well under way with 6,000 National Guard troops. $21.2 billion has been spent on the southern border in the last 12 months. $21.2 billion, on everything from agents to detention beds.

We now have 13,000 agents and 4,000 new detention beds, 1,500 new Border Patrol agents, for over 13,000 agents and 6,000 Guardsmen. That is 18,000 people on the southern border, catching these people by the minute and sending them home and getting the word out: you are not going to be released into this country. It is an effective deterrent. Things are changing.

But I do believe by the end of the year we are not only going to have additional legislation to continue the fence, sometimes it is visible, sometimes it is not because you can have a protective barrier by using the latest in technology depending on the frequency of people coming, but we are also, I believe, going to come up with some kind of a guest worker plan, so that the work gets done in agriculture, in construction, that needs to be done; but everybody is going to know.

You have got to identify yourself and have a real card, biometrically certified, that this is you. Employers are going to have a period of time to comply, or there will be serious enforcement. I believe we are going to deliver this whole thing by the end of the year.

But the border is much more secure than it was a year ago. Tremendous progress has been made.

More Members have come to join me. When the gentleman from Texas is ready, I want to yield time to him, because few people have the experience that he has, both in the law and being from the State of Texas on this particular issue of border security.

Let me also say that the Department of Homeland Security is going to roll out this month, in September, a multi-billion dollar border security technology and tactical infrastructure program called SBI Net, a program that is

committed to obtaining control of the borders within the next 5 years.

What they are doing now in the Science and Technology Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security under the incredibly capable leadership of Admiral Cohen is deploying finally all the abundant technology that we have. Even Thomas Friedman, who wrote ``The World is Flat,'' has had to amend his book to say, I overlooked a lot of technology that exists in this country.

We are now taking that technology to the border to put it to use through the Department of Homeland Security to secure the border and biometrically certify people.

Now, we don't want a national ID card, but we want people who are coming here to work to have a card that shows that is them. I believe that is going to be part of this more comprehensive solution. I don't want to even use the word ``comprehensive solution,'' because the Senate passed a bill earlier this year that they called comprehensive immigration reform that is going to cause many, many, many more problems than it is going to solve.

So we don't want to be associated with that comprehensive approach. We want to say that we want a guest worker plan with border security and get it done, and we are getting it done.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).

I thank the gentleman from Texas. I want to yield again to the gentleman from Michigan.

I thank the gentleman, and in closing, let me say this. I am not the most partisan person here at all. As a matter of fact, I don't think either party has an exclusive on integrity or ideas. I grew up a Democrat, and now I'm a Republican.

Argue with us about the role of the Federal Government in education and whether it is best at the local level, the State level or Federal level. Argue with us whether the health care system should be turned over to the government or private.

But don't argue with us whether we are fighting these threats of global jihadism and whether we unite anymore at the water's edge in defense of liberty. Don't argue with us on that. Join us. Be patriotic and honor the sacrifice and the legacy of the Greatest Generation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the work of Middle Valley Church of God in Hixson, TN, and join them in celebrating 60 years of community service on November 1, 2006.

In 1946, 17 devoted charter members established Middle Valley Church of God under the leadership of L.W. Ledbetter who served as the first pastor. Within a year of its organization, charter members built the first church on that site and held the first service there on July 12, 1947. Since then, 19 pastors have served this church, including current pastor Mitch McClure, the church has undergone major renovations, and the congregation has grown to 250 members including the only surviving charter member, Ruth Underwood Porter.

For the last 60 years, Middle Valley Church of God has focused on community ministry.

They have developed partnerships with Memorial North Park Hospital, Dallas Bay Volunteer Fire Department, Angel Food Ministries, Ganns Middle Valley Elementary School, Smokey Mountain Children's Home, Church of God Chaplains Commission, Church of God World Missions, Operation Christmas Child, and various other organizations. In addition, the church hosts a grief support group through Legacy Funeral Services and serves as a voting precinct for the Hamilton County Election Commission. They soon hope to host a community meeting to address the methamphetamine crisis our region is currently battling.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that the United States House of Representatives join me in thanking the congregation of Middle Valley Church of God and Pastor Mitch McClure for 60 years of commitment to their faith and service to the local community.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, especially given the relationship I have with he and his brother because I am the middle of three sons. I have brothers on both sides of my life, and I know the bond between brothers and it is a privilege to serve with you and your brother and to fight the good fight with you.

Before I begin talking about the threats we face, the vulnerabilities that we have, and frankly the courage of the men and women in uniform that stand in harm's way on behalf of a very grateful Nation, let me first honor the sacrifices of September 11.

I was here with the leadership on the steps Monday night when a bipartisan group of Members of the House and Senate came together with extraordinary unity again to honor what happened because one of the great things I came away with on September 11 and that whole experience is that love overcomes fear, and really the only more powerful thing in the world than fear is love. Our country came together in a remarkable way. I feel even the greatest generation, which set the standard for sacrifice and courage in our country, was impressed with the bravery and the willingness to lay their life down of all of the first responders that entered burning buildings following the scriptural call that says, ``No greater love hath any man than to lay down his life for a friend,'' and in this case lay down their life for people they never knew or would know.

We saw extraordinary heroism in the wake of September 11. That is what the character of this great Nation is all about. Just like in our own personal life, we gain our character out of these struggles. And boy, this has been a struggle. But I just want to pay tribute to all of those first responders. It seems that we still don't fully appreciate the heroism of men and women in uniform. It is not just soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, it is those first responders at the local level that have now stepped up in an amazing way, and so we pay tribute to that as we begin.

But I came last week on Wednesday night and talked about the threats and specifically jihadism, which is really the great threat. As I was preparing some notes to come over tonight, I saw a scroll on Fox News that today the Pope spoke out and condemned fanaticism in the Islamic world and said we must be careful of this call for a holy war. I don't want to paraphrase the Pope, but I am really grateful to see that because I asked the question when we are looking at jihadism, or what they call in other countries the Islamists, which are the radicals in Islam that promote jihadism, waging war against anyone who doesn't believe as they believe, my question for all of the religious leaders in Islam is: Where are the mullahs?

Where are they in condemning suicide bombers and condemning this kind of violence and condemning this full-scale assault on people and nations

that do not agree with them on their world view? That is the enemy, jihadism.

Last week I talked about how it is spreading like wildfire through Great Britain and Europe. A book called ``Londonistan,'' talking about how jihadism has spread in London and Great Britain, calling even members of the Parliament like George Galloway by name in the book, and then his name surfaces in the conversation of the 24 hijackers who were apprehended just a month ago; talking about a book called ``While Europe Slept'' about other European countries that have, in the name of tolerance, just almost ignored the incredible rise of jihadism throughout Europe, and how this is a rampant problem.

Today I wanted to bring some more information to the floor from other writers that I have come across that I think is helpful.

The American Enterprise Institute, which is not exactly a conservative bastion or defender of this administration, one of their top analysts writes this, and I think it is instructive. Hamas and Hezbollah see themselves as part of a global movement of jihad. Hamas is, in fact, the Palestinian arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt, with affiliates across the Muslim world. Although the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt renounced violence in order to survive fierce government repression, it supports violence and terrorism in other places. Hezbollah was founded by Iran. These groups take pride in being the brothers and comrades-in-arms of the terrorists who attacked New York, Washington, London, Madrid, Bombay, Bali; and they celebrated when those atrocities happened.

As they also say, quite openly, they are aiming to establish a new caliphate that would create what they view as the golden age of Islam, and they want this caliphate to rule over all the lands of the Muslim empires of the past, from Morocco in Spain to the west, to the Philippines in the east, taking in the southern half of Europe, the northern half of Africa and most of Asia.

Now, as I said last week, we intercepted a letter between Zarqawi and Zawahiri before we killed Zarqawi. In that letter, it says exactly this, use the infidels', us, presence in the Middle East, to expand the caliphate, revive the caliphate, and they said in the letter, from Morocco to Indonesia, this same extraordinarily large territory, which they considered their rule, their empire.

So, if anyone is naive enough to think that this is all about our presence in Iraq, they are in denial. They are simply not wanting to face the facts of the threats of jihadism spreading around the world. That is really the enemy. We talk about a war on terror, but terror is a tactic used by the enemy. The enemy are the jihadists, and this is an aggressive plan. The Wall Street Journal editorialized 2 weeks ago and said that some people have an aversion to conflict. We just don't want to face this.

I mean, 5 years after September 11, in amazing unity, and I am grateful for that, in a bipartisan way we gathered. But some people that gathered don't want to face the facts that these threats are growing. History will sort out what caused it to grow and whether things that we have done or said aggravated it. But the truth is, it is a real threat.

You know, Mr. Speaker, a very prominent Tennessean, the former Vice President of the United States, he has a movie out called ``An Inconvenient Truth.''

I am glad that we talk about global warming. We had a great hearing today on it and talked about nuclear energy. Even the founder of Greenpeace reported today, at our hearing, the concept of nuclear energy to reduce CO2 emissions to clean up the global air quality and save the planet. Nuclear energy is a solution. We need to face that.

But I want to tell you about another inconvenient truth. It is an inconvenient truth that over half of the Democrats in the United States Senate voted to remove Saddam Hussein by force, and almost half the Democrats in this House voted to remove Saddam Hussein by force, and now a whole lot of them are wanting to either leave early or publicly tell the world that it was a mistake.

Now, let me tell you, when you vote to do something, you need to understand when you vote to remove Saddam Hussein, a dictator, a tyrant, a genocidal mass murderer, who had invaded other countries and had built up its guard around Baghdad to protect his empire, that it is not going to be easy, and it could be tough. It could require extraordinary sacrifice and we, as a Nation, voted to do it, and it is an inconvenient truth for them that they voted to do it, because it would be real easy just to erase that and say, oh, I don't have anything to do with that. But we agreed to do it, and why can't we, any more in this country, stand at the water's edge together when men and women are in harm's way on our behalf at this critical moment in history.

Now, let me just get to our vulnerabilities. Maybe I should come back to our vulnerabilities.

I think it was General Casey who said if we leave Iraq prematurely, they will follow us home. I will finish what the American Enterprise Institute analyst said about this presence in Iraq. He said jihadists from around the world have flocked to Iraq to fight America and its allies. They believe they will win and drive the infidels from Mesopotamia, the name they use to emphasize that they have no regard for modern national identities.

If they succeed in Iraq, they say they will use it as a base from which to conquer the rest of the lands surrounding the Persian Gulf, a jumping off point for further conquest. In Time magazine Sunday, Max Boot writes this. He says, if we believe that wholeheartedly supporting friendly dictators works, we should remember that our support for the Shah of Iran in the 1970s and Yasser Arafat in the 1990s has taught us that secular strongmen cannot keep the lid on forever.

Either we push for change now, or we risk a fundamentalist explosion later on, and we need to be honest with the American people, to my friend from Florida, and let the people know that we have difficult days ahead. I have been on the Homeland Security appropriations subcommittee for 4 years. I have been briefed at the highest level. I have been to the United Nations, I have met with our allies from Europe and the Middle East.

I have got deeply into the issue of the nuclear threats and how terrorists are very interested in the A.Q. Kahn network, an international nuclear arms broker who is now, frankly, under house arrest in Pakistan, and how Libya gave up their nuclear weapons. The greatest threat of all is that these jihadists are able to get a nuclear weapon. We had better emphasize our security for the future of the free world.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

And I will take us through the balance of our hour here in just a couple of minutes. I want to make myself perfectly clear as we close.

The enemy is not the Democratic Party. The enemy is al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, the jihadists. They are the enemy. Our opponents here in this very healthy discussion are the Democrats. But I have to say I believe deep in my soul that the members of the minority party in Washington who believe that we should pull out of Iraq by a date certain are wrong. Senator Lieberman is right; Ned Lamont is wrong. And there is disagreement in their party over this, but it is a matter of life and death, war and peace, tyranny and freedom; and Ned Lamont and that mentality is wrong. We cannot afford to fail in Iraq.

I also want to talk about our vulnerabilities briefly. The border is a vulnerability. We had testimony yesterday by Duncan Hunter, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee; and Harold Rogers, my chairman of Homeland Security appropriations, about how the southern Border is being infiltrated by people not just from Mexico and Central America but from all over the world; and it is a vulnerability for us.

But I want to say it goes unreported, underreported that tremendous progress has been made, especially in the last 12 months. We heard the testimony yesterday, crystal clear, we now do not catch and release. Ninety-nine

percent last month, certified, illegals coming across the border were detained and held to be returned to their country of origin, and the word is out. That is a tremendous deterrent, and the numbers are way down of people coming across the border. The fence below San Diego, two tiered, is making a big difference. The National Guard is making a difference. Billions of dollars having been spent is making a difference. As you heard the gentleman from New Jersey say, our ports are more secure. And most importantly, we are in the intelligence business again because that is why we failed prior to September 11.

And I want to close with this for our troops: John Stuart Mill said this: ``War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things.'' He said: ``The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.'' He said: ``The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of ever being free unless those very freedoms are made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.''

And those people are our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. And we hail them and thank them for their courage and their sacrifice.

Thank you, Judge Carter, for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to, as I begin, stand, as I think virtually everyone in this Chamber would do, and thank the men and women in uniform who volunteered to serve because whatever that call is that our commander-in-chief deems in our national interest and the Congress supports the actions for, they are the ones standing in harm's way. They are the ones willing to make the sacrifice.

Over this August district work period, like many of my colleagues, I spent a lot of time with the men and women in uniform from my home State. The 196th Field Artillery Brigade just got back from a year in Afghanistan. I welcomed them home, and then I traveled to Nashville to spend several hours with them and their families, going through the slide slows and listening to the success of their mission there. And I am so very proud that they would volunteer to serve and that they would be willing to step up.

So I begin today just by honoring them, and I know the House stands behind them. But where we are seeing some confusion is the messages that are coming out across the country here in the middle of a very divisive election year that, frankly, are at best mixed messages to our troops in the field and, at the very worst, not helpful at all. And I really hate that because I know that the Greatest Generation who set the standard for sacrifice and courage in our country would want us to attempt to work through our sometimes petty division and right now political division to stand at the waters' edge united against this threat. And there are people in this country who, frankly, do not want to acknowledge it. The Wall Street Journal editorialized last week and called it an ``aversion to conflict,'' meaning that there are people in this country that just do not want to be bothered. They do not want to accept the fact that these threats are real.

I also spent all of August reading, and I would encourage people to read ``Londonistan,'' how the radical Islamists, the jihadists, the people who are literally waging war and believe that death is the only end, are spreading like wildfire through Great Britain and Europe, through the mosque, and radicalization is taking place so fast that we need to wake up as a Nation.

I have been here 12 years. But sometimes I feel like Paul Revere. When you know something in your heart, you better not be quiet about it. You better speak out about it. The gentleman from Texas and I serve on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.

For 4 years, we have had the detailed briefings of some of these threats. And while we cannot speak of some things, we know that Hezbollah is the A Team in terrorism around the world. Al Qaeda has been seriously hit by us. We have dismantled a lot of their operations. We have killed Zarqawi. We have had a lot of success.

But Hezbollah now has reared its ugly head in a way that threatens the entire free world. And they want, by their own charter and definition, the destruction of Israel and Christians. That is the truth. That is in their charter.

I would encourage you to read ``While Europe Slept,'' about the rest of Europe and the radicalization that is taking place there, and be sensitive to what is happening in northern Africa where just this week we finally established a U.S. command. Why? Because Somalia is at risk. I was there last summer in eastern Africa. I came back and talked about the problems that we face with the potential of the terrorist networks and the jihadists looking for a vacuum in leadership, the Sudan, Somalia, Algeria, where they can go in and find another sovereign nation from which to operate like they had in Afghanistan.

That was one of the great successes of removing Saddam Hussein, as we took Iraq out of the picture of having a sovereign nation from which the terrorists could operate. But this war has not gone perfectly.

But as Senator McCain said 2 weeks ago on ``Meet the Press,'' no war we have ever fought went perfectly. We have never entered a war and not made mistakes. Of course mistakes have been made. That is the essence of war.

But I am reminded of what John Stuart Mill said about war. This is where the veterans come in, our troops in the field. He said: ``War is an ugly thing. But it is not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feelings which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.''

He said: ``A person who has nothing for which they are willing to fight, nothing they care more about than their own personal safety, is a miserable creature, who has no chance of ever being free unless those very freedoms are made and kept by better persons than himself.''

And those better persons, men and women of the House, Mr. Speaker, are our Nation's veterans. Our sons and daughters and friends and relatives that are in harm's way today looking back asking, often to each other, does this country stand behind us? Does the elected leadership of the United States Congress believe in this mission? Will we be successful or will we go home early?

Those are serious questions of war and peace, of freedom or tyranny, whether or not there is ever going to be a hope of us instilling some democratic systems in a part of the world that frankly is breeding hate and destruction directed right at us.

The chronology that you have heard some of today was articulated well by a U.S. Navy captain in Pensacola, Florida. I want to read it into the Record, and then submit it for the Record. It takes a minute, but this really capsulizes the threats we face that some people are in denial of, and some people do not want to acknowledge that this is worse than it was on September 11 in terms of the global proportions of the terrorist networks, the jihadists working together.

Hamas, Hezbollah, al Qaeda, it is growing. But it did not just start. He writes: ``It was a cool fall day in November 1979 in a country going through a religious and political upheaval when a group of Iranian students attacked and seized the American embassy in Tehran.

``The seizure was an outright attack on American soil. It was an attack that held the world's most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency. The attack on the sovereign U.S. embassy set the stage for events to follow for the next 25 years.

``America was still reeling from the aftermath of the Vietnam experience and had a serious threat from the Soviet Union when then President Carter had to do something. He chose to conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America's inability to deal with terrorism. America's military had been decimated and downsized or right-sized since the end of the Vietnam war.

``A poorly trained, poorly equipped, and poorly organized military was called on to execute a complex mission that was doomed from the start. Shortly after the Tehran Experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East. America could do little to protect her citizens living and working abroad. The attacks against U.S. soil continued.

``In April of 1983, a large vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the U.S. embassy compound in Beirut. When it exploded, it killed 63 people. The alarm went off and America hit the snooze button once again.

``Then just 6 short months later, in 1983, a large truck heavily laden down with over 2,500 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the U.S. Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut, and 241 U.S. servicemen were killed.

``America mourned her dead and hit the snooze button once more. Two months later, in December of 1983, another truck loaded with explosives was driven into the U.S. embassy in Kuwait, and America continued her slumber. The following year, in September of 1984, another van was driven into the gate of the U.S. embassy in Beirut, and America slept.

``Soon the terrorism spread to Europe. In April 1985, a bomb exploded in a restaurant frequented by U.S. soldiers in Madrid. Then in August of 1985, a Volkswagen loaded with explosives was driven into the main gate of the U.S. Air Force base Rhein-Main. Twenty-two were killed and the snooze alarm was buzzing louder and louder as U.S. interests were continually attacked.

``Fifty-nine days later, in 1985, a cruise ship, the Achille Lauro, was hijacked as we watched an American in a wheel chair singled out from the passenger list and executed.

``The terrorists then shifted their tactics to bombing civilian airlines when they bombed TWA Flight 840 in April of 1986 that killed four, and the most tragic bombing, Pam Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 259.

``President Clinton treated these terrorist acts as crimes. In fact, we are still trying to bring these people to trial. These were acts of war. The wake-up alarm was getting louder and louder. The terrorists decided to bring the fight to America. In January 1993, two CIA agents were shot and killed as they entered CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The following month, February, 1993, a group of terrorists were arrested after a rented van, packed with explosives, was driven into the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. Six people were killed and 1,000 injured.

``Still, this was a crime and not an act of war. The snooze alarm was depressed again. Then in November, 1995, a car bomb exploded at a U.S. military complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing seven servicemen and -women. A few months later, in June of 1996, another truck bomb exploded, only 35 yards from the U.S. military compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It destroyed the Khobar Towers, a U.S. Air Force barracks, killing 19 and injuring over 500.

``The terrorists were getting braver and smarter as they saw that America did not respond decisively. They moved to coordinate their attacks in a simultaneous attack on two U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, where I was. These attacks were planned with precision. They killed 224 people.

``America responded with cruise missile attacks and went back to sleep. The USS Cole was docked in a port in Yemen for refueling on October 12, 2000 when a small craft pulled alongside the ship and exploded, killing 17 U.S. Navy sailors. Attacking a U.S. warship is an act of war, but we sent the FBI to investigate the crime and went back to sleep.

``And of course you know the events of September 11, 2001. Most Americans think this was the first attack against U.S. soil or in America. How wrong they are. America has been under a constant attack since 1979 and we chose to hit the snooze alarm and roll over and go back to sleep.''

Now, this was written by a U.S. Navy captain currently serving. This was his speech to a group. I submit it for the Record. You can take issue with that. But that is a chronology of what has happened. These threats are real and they are building, they are growing.

Ladies and gentlemen, when Zarqawi wrote a letter to Zawahari before we killed him, he said, use the infidel's, us, presence in the Middle East, Iraq, to expand the califate from Morocco to

Indonesia. Morocco is in northern Africa. It is in northwest Africa. Indonesia is way over here, east of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.

The califate is frankly jihadist rule, expanding their territory. This is an aggressive plan, documented by their own words. People can deny this if they want to, but I got to tell you, our generation has been called to many, many challenges. And since the Greatest Generation set the standard for sacrifice and commitment, we have had it really easy in this country.

But we need to be honest with the American people. It is not going to be easy in the coming years at all. We are very fortunate we have not been struck again. We are kidding ourselves if we do not think they are planning another attack. We are kidding ourselves if we think that this problem will go away if we pull out of Iraq.

What will happen is it will give them momentum. It will cause them to recruit more jihadists and more suicide bombers, because they will see us in retreat. That is the truth. This problem is not going away. This problem did not just start either. It has been building. We just did not get serious enough about it until they actually took the Towers down, which they tried to do 8 years earlier, but their engineering was flawed and it did not work. That is when they wanted them to come down.

Ladies and gentlemen of the House, Mr. Speaker, we have an obligation to try our best to meet at the water's edge. I want these volunteer troops and the Guard and Reserve and active duty to see us united around this issue.

This is our call. This is so important. Our way of life is worth defending. Everybody is going to have their role. They say, oh, well, you are not over there serving. Everybody has got a role to play. The Greatest Generation, ``Rosie the Riveter'' was the spouse who stayed and worked in the factories and raised the kids so the men could serve. And they were people on the floor of this House standing with those troops. We need to do it again.

I will be glad when the next 62 days are over so this is not as much about politics as it is about doing what is right for the men and women in uniform, and for global security because the world is looking to us for leadership. And I am also grateful that we have had consistent and decisive hard-nosed Texas-tough leadership in the White House.

Because this is not a time for wimps. This is a time for us to be consistent and be resolute. The President has got a big heart. I have been with him when he has talked about the families of these troops and there were tears rolling down his face. He understands the sacrifice. He would never, ever put any person in harm's way unless he knew deep in his soul that it is in our national interest and we have to do this. Freedom is not free. We hear that so much we think, oh, that is just what the politicians say.

The sacrifices of the generation before us hang in the balance today. Are we going to rise to meet this or not? We have got to keep talking about it too. Even though we are in an election, this is about the free world and our leadership, whether or not we are going to stand with our allies, whether or not the people in Europe and across the world look to us for leadership or put their hope in organizations like the United Nations that have proved ineffective and today grossly corrupt.

The coalition of the willing are the only people willing to do it today, us and our allies, and tyranny and terrorism is on the rise. Let's not bury our head in the sand.

When WWIII Started--1979

It was a cool fall day in November 1979 in a country going

through a religious and political upheaval when a group of

Iranian students attacked and seized the American Embassy in

Tehran. The seizure was an outright attack on American soil;

it was an attack that held the world's most powerful country

hostage and paralyzed a presidency. The attack on this

sovereign U.S. embassy set the stage for events to follow for

the next 25 years.

America was still reeling from the aftermath of the Viet

Nam experience and had a serious threat from the Soviet Union

when then, President Carter, had to do something. He chose to

conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated

mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America's

inability to deal with terrorism.

America's military has been decimated and down sized/right

sized since the end of the Viet Nam war. A poorly trained,

poorly equipped and poorly organized military was called on

to execute a complex mission that was doomed from the start.

Shortly after the Tehran experience, Americans began to be

kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East. America

could do little to protect her citizens living and working

abroad. The attacks against U.S. soil continued.

In April of 1983, a large vehicle packed with high

explosives was driven into the U.S. Embassy compound in

Beirut. When it exploded, it killed 63 people. The alarm went

off again and America hit the snooze button once more.

Then just six short months later in 1983 a large truck

heavily laden down with over 2500 pounds of TNT smashed

through the main gate of the U.S. Marine Corps headquarters

in Beirut and 241 U.S. servicemen were killed. America

mourned her dead and hit the snooze button once more.

Two months later in December 1983, another truck loaded

with explosives was driven into the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait,

and America continued her slumber.

The following year, in September 1984, another van was

driven into the gate of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut and

America slept.

Soon the terrorism spread to Europe. In April 1985 a bomb

exploded in a restaurant frequented by U.S. soldiers in

Madrid.

Then in August 1985 a Volkswagen loaded with explosives was

driven into the main gate of the U.S. Air Force Base at

Rhein-Main, 22 were killed and the snooze alarm was buzzing

louder and louder as U.S. interests were continually

attacked.

Fifty-nine days later in 1985 a cruise ship, the Achille

Lauro, was hijacked and we watched as an American in a

wheelchair was singled out of the passenger list and

executed.

The terrorists then shifted their tactics to bombing

civilian airlines when they bombed TWA Flight 840 in April of

1986 that killed 4, and the most tragic bombing, Pan Am

Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing 259.

President Clinton treated these terrorist acts as crimes;

in fact we are still trying to bring these people to trial.

These were acts of war.

The wake up alarm was getting louder and louder.

The terrorists decided to bring the fight to America. In

January 1993, two CIA agents were shot and killed as they

entered CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

The following month, February 1993, a group of terrorists

were arrested after a rented van packed with explosives was

driven into the underground parking garage of the World Trade

Center in New York City. Six people were killed and over

1,000 injured. Still this was a crime and not an act of war?

The snooze alarm was depressed again.

Then in November 1995 a car bomb exploded at a U.S.

military complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia killing seven

service men and women.

A few months later in June of 1996, another truck bomb

exploded only 35 yards from the U.S. military compound in

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It destroyed the Khobar Towers, a U.S.

Air Force barracks, killing 19 and injuring over 500. The

terrorists were getting braver and smarter as they saw that

America did not respond decisively.

They moved to coordinate their attacks in a simultaneous

attack on two U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. These

attacks were planned with precision. They killed 224. America

responded with cruise missile attacks and went back to sleep.

The USS Cole was docked in a port in Yemen for refueling on

12 October 2000, when a small craft pulled along side the

ship and exploded killing 17 U.S. Navy sailors. Attacking a

U.S. war ship is an act of war, but we sent the FBI to

investigate the crime and went back to sleep.

And of course you know the events of 11 September 2001.

Most Americans think this was the first attack against U.S.

soil or in America. How wrong they are. America has been

under a constant attack since 1979 and we chose to hit the

snooze alarm and roll over and go back to sleep.

U.S. Navy Captain from Pensacola, Florida.