Senate Floor Speech
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
September 27, 2006 -- Page: S10233

MRS. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, there has been so much in the news since last Sunday regarding parts of a National Intelligence Estimate that was put out in a major American newspaper. The leaked report has been the subject of much discussion, supposedly saying that the war in Iraq is hurting the chances of our stopping the terrorist attacks on ourselves and other freedom-loving nations.

Yesterday, the President said he believed it was very important, rather than just having the leaked portions of the National Intelligence Estimate available to the public, to have the whole document be out in the public forum. Within a matter of hours, the President declassified the Key Judgments of the National Intelligence Estimate so that everyone in America--and indeed in the world--would be able to see the full text of the Key Judgments, which was an internal, classified document that was meant to assess the threats, the global threats from terrorists to ourselves and other western nations, or other democracies around the world.

I think it is so important that we get the full report out there. The Key Judgments are on the Web for everyone to see. Anyone with a computer or a FAX machine can get these Key Judgments. I think what it does is show, clearly, that what the President is trying to do, and what our strategy in America is, is the right one; that is, that we must continue to pursue the terrorists without equivocation, without a lessening in commitment, without any hesitancy. We must go after these terrorists, who are inhuman, who have no standards of any moral framework, and we must not be diffident in our efforts to wipe them out before they attack Americans and other freedom-loving people in the world--indeed, innocent women, children, and men who are being slaughtered daily with suicide bombs and kidnappings and beheadings.

Secondly, the major point that the President is trying to make--and most of us in Congress agree with--is that we need to have a very long term commitment to help bring freedom to the people who are living under the regimes that treat women as if they are subhuman, that treat their own people who might be of a different sect as if they are lesser people, or because I am a Sunni and you are a Shiite, or I am a Kurd and you are a Sunni--any of those combinations. They are treating each other with the same violence, and inhumane treatment as they do with Americans.

Mr. President, I think if you look at the entire report, you will see that the strategy of cut and run is not the way to wipe out the terrorists. The President's strategy is not to treat terrorists with kid gloves. The President's strategy is to go on the offensive to bring terrorists to justice. The President's strategy is to also work with the innocent people in the Middle East so they can have freedom, they can have democracy, they can have a quality of life that would make their children want to live, rather than blow themselves up in order to kill innocent people. And it is to confront the terrorists with the same determination that they bring to their assault on freedom. We must treat them with absolute clarity--that we will not give up the defense of freedom and be dictated to by people who do not even treat their own people with humanity, and who treat women as if they are not human beings.

Mr. President, I want to talk about some specific parts of the report. I want to put in the Record some of the significant Key Judgments that I have not seen reported in the press. Here are some of the key parts of the report under the "Key Judgments'' section of the National Intelligence Estimate:

United States-led counter-terrorism efforts have seriously damaged the leadership of al-Qaida and disrupted its operations; however, we judge that al-Qaida will continue to pose the greatest threat to the Homeland and U.S. interests abroad by a single terrorist organization. We also assess that the global jihadist movement is spreading and adapting to counter-terrorism efforts.

Greater pluralism and more responsive political systems in Muslim majority nations would alleviate some of the grievances jihadists exploit. Over time, such progress, together with sustained, multifaceted programs targeting the vulnerabilities of the jihadist movement and continued pressure on al-Qa'ida could erode support for the jihadists.

That is saying in the internal document that pursuing democracies, freedom, and self-governance is one of the ways that we will be able to eventually erode the al-Qaida terrorist network and other terrorist networks with which we are not even yet familiar. So it is verifying that education and the attempt to bring self-governance to the Middle Eastern countries that do not have it is the right approach.

It goes on to say:

We assess that the global jihadist movement is decentralized, lacks a coherent global strategy, and is becoming more diffused. New jihadist networks and cells, with anti-American agendas, are likely to emerge.

We assess that the operational threat from self-radicalized cells will grow in importance to U.S. counter-terrorism efforts, particularly abroad but also in the Homeland.

The jihadists regard Europe as an important venue for attacking Western interests. Extremist networks inside the extensive Muslim diasporas in Europe facilitate recruitment and staging for urban attacks, as illustrated in the 2004 Madrid bombings and the 2005 London bombings.

The report goes on to say:

We assess that the Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives; perceived jihadist success there -- in Iraq -- would inspire more fighters to continue the struggle elsewhere.

The Iraq conflict has become the "cause celebre'' for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of U.S. involvement in the Muslim world. Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves, and be perceived, to have failed, we judge fewer fighters will be inspired to carry on the fight.

Let me reemphasize what they are saying in their estimate. Should the terrorists be perceived as failing, they would have fewer recruits for their continued terrorist activities.

The report goes on to say:

Concomitant vulnerabilities in the jihadist movement have emerged that, if fully exposed and exploited, could begin to slow the spread of the movement. They include dependence on the continuation of Muslim-related conflicts, the limited appeal of the jihadists' radical ideology, the emergence of respected voices of moderation, and criticism of the violent tactics employed against mostly Muslim citizens.

The jihadists' greatest vulnerability is that their ultimate political solution--an ultra-conservative interpretation of shari'a-based governance spanning the Muslim world--is unpopular with the vast majority of Muslims. Exposing the religious and political straitjacket that is implied by the jihadists' propaganda would help to divide them from the audiences they seek to persuade.

Recent condemnations of violence and extremist religious interpretations by a few notable Muslim clerics signal a trend that could facilitate the growth of a constructive alternative to jihadist ideology: peaceful political activism.

That is exactly what the strategy of the United States has been. It is not a strategy that can be pursued on a short-term basis. Education and enlightenment is a very long-term strategy and the Muslim clerics now stepping up to denounce violence against other Muslims is exactly what we are seeing emerge. As this National Intelligence Estimate has revealed these developments are the beginning of how we can make a difference.

The report goes on to say:

If democratic reform efforts in Muslim majority nations progress over the next five years, political participation probably would drive a wedge between intransigent extremists and groups willing to use the political process to achieve their local objectives.

I did not read all of the Key Judgments into the Record. I did read excerpts because I think the strategy of America today is a strategy that is being borne out by the report, which is the opposite of what the leaks purported to say; that our efforts in Iraq are undermining the Global War on Terrorism. When in fact, with regard to the situation in Iraq, it is actually essential for us to win in order to keep our commitment, in order to show that America will stand strong when the times are tough, and they are tough. To show that we will stand against these terrorists is the most important thing we can do, and that is our strategy.

We should not be undercut by leaks that will undermine that strategy. We must be united as a Congress, as the President is trying to do, in saying that we must do the right thing, we must keep our commitments, we cannot cut and run because times are tough. We must admit that times are tough. We must admit that this has been one of the most difficult times in our history. But we must continue to be vigilant because, according to the report, if we are perceived as weak, if we are perceived as leaving because we are defeated rather than leaving after we have kept our word and are the victors in freeing the Iraqi people to have self-governance, then the jihadists, the terrorists, the networks, about which we don't even know yet, will be emboldened to come forward and hurt Americans in our homeland, as well as wherever they see a perceived weakness in the defenses of the people.

I think the President of the United States did the right thing yesterday by immediately declassifying this document because if people will take the time to read it in its totality, people will see that it verifies the strategy in the short term of standing firm against these terrorists to show that we will not buckle, we will not cut and run, we will not be divided as a nation in our commitment to freedom and preservation of our society, and the long-term strategy of taking the time and the patience and the effort to work with the Muslim clerics and the Muslim leaders who are willing to stand up, who are willing to risk their lives for the future of their civilization and say violence against Muslims or other people who have not harmed us is wrong.

That is what we are doing, and it is the right strategy.

The President has had the current strategy against terrorism verified by the National Intelligence Estimate. Unfortunately, the National Intelligence Estimate was partially leaked last week but not in its full context. In the full context, we see the verification of the strategy, and we cannot relent. We know these terrorists want to spread terrorism and harsh, violent, inhuman regimes wherever they can get a foothold. It is the hope of peace and freedom and humanity that America and our allies carry to the battle. It is a battle, it is a war. It is every bit as much a fight for freedom as any war in which America has been involved.

This is a war we cannot lose. We have stopped communism from taking over the world. We have stopped socialism from taking over the world. We cannot allow terrorists to take over the world if we are worth anything as leaders in this country. The President of the United States is resolute on this issue. Congress must stand with him. We must not allow selective leaks of internal intelligence advisories to be misconstrued to say that vigilance against terrorism is a losing proposition.

I hope we can bring America together to speak with one voice. I hope we can bring America together to stay the very long term course that we must pursue in order to have the opportunities for our children that we have had, to grow up in the greatest country on Earth. That is our responsibility. We are the leaders of this country, and if we cannot protect freedom for our children, if we cannot protect the opportunities for them that we have had, we are not worthy. I think we are worthy, I think the President is worthy, and I think it is our responsibility to stand strong and to point out the facts where the facts have not been pointed out.

That is exactly what I intend to do. That is what the President intends to do. It is my hope that we do not have a divided Congress behind him but instead a united Congress with a united people to say to the terrorists who would break down the freedom we have built for over 200 years and the beacon of freedom that we are to the world: We will stand, we will not run, we will not be lackluster in our commitment. We do not have a 30-minute attention span in this country. We have a memory, and that memory will never let terrorists take away our freedom, nor will it allow us to walk away from our responsibility to the future generations of America.

We stand on the shoulders of giants who have protected freedom in this country. We cannot let the American people down, and we will not.