CHALLENGES REMAIN IN POST SEPTEMBER 11th WORLD
September 11, 2001 made Americans painfully aware that we are not invulnerable to terrorists attacks. It never occurred to us that more than 3,000 civilians could be murdered on our soil. But they were. All Americans would probably agree, if we had the ability to stop that terrible attack from occurring, we would have done so. President Bush said that very evening that our country would go after the world's terrorists and those who harbor them. One year after September 11th, and twelve years after the successful completion of the Gulf War, we find ourselves on the verge of another encounter with Saddam Hussein, a man who has made clear his hatred for the United States of America and our allies.
Twelve years ago, the United States led a global coalition into a war with Iraq after Saddam Hussein had ordered an invasion of his much smaller neighbor, Kuwait. That effort was successful, and Saddam was ordered by the United Nations to give up his dictatorial ways and become a responsible member of the global community. In the years since, the United Nations has passed 16 resolutions demanding Saddam give up his stockpile of chemical and biological weapons, stop his aggressive efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, cease his violent oppression of the Iraqi people, and end his support for terrorism. He has ignored and flaunted each of these resolutions, and in so doing, demonstrated he has absolutely no desire to disarm or diminish the threat he knows he poses to his region and the world.
Currently, the President and his Administration are working closely with the United Nations and its member nations to come up with a United Nations Security Council Resolution that makes clear to Saddam once and for all what is required of him, how long he has to do it, and what the consequences will be if he again refuses to comply. The Congress will be working with the Administration as well, in order to provide strong support for the President and our troops in the event military action becomes necessary.
No one needs to be reminded how much life has changed since the terrorist attacks of a year ago. But it is important to bear in mind that a threat against us still exists, and that the prudent thing to do is to confront it, combat it, and eliminate it for good. We don't ever want to experience another September 11th again. And we certainly don't want those who died that tragic day to have done so in vain.
