WAR ON TERROR
On September 11th, the lives of over three thousand innocent people were taken in senseless acts of terror. Since then, thousands of brave men and women of our military have gone to the far corners of the world to defend the very freedoms that were attacked that day. Many troops stationed abroad include brave soldiers from the 26th District. These troops, along with the other units that have been activated in Texas, are making our state proud as they serve our nation in the War on Terror.
The Administration's response to the attacks has been strong and I praise President Bush's continuing leadership since the attacks. Congress, together with the President, will continue to push for liberty and freedom for everyone, everywhere. I stand with my colleagues in Congress, who are united in this cause and supportive of President Bush's efforts to ensure the horrors of September 11th never happen again.
This war is fought on many levels, both civil and militarily. As U.S. engagement with the enemy evolves over time, it is important that Congressional and judicial oversight remains active to guarantee that U.S. personnel is acting within U.S. law and pursuant to standing treaty obligations. Recently, the U.S. Congress enacted the Military Commissions Act of 2006, S. 3930. This new law creates a full and fair judicial system to ensure terrorists captured during the Global War on Terrorism are brought to justice. The congressionally-authorized military commissions system established in this legislation fully conforms to Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, as well as all applicable U.S. laws and international treaty obligations. This legislation establishing this new law is narrowly tailored to apply only to foreign-national enemy combatants engaged against the U.S. or its citizens. This law does not authorize torture and makes clear that cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment as defined by the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, fully satisfies the United State’s obligations with respect to Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Additional clarification is provided for what is considered a war crime in U.S. law by codifying the offenses and crimes triable for serious violations of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. In essence, this new law creates a legal framework to protect the basic rights of terrorists and protects U.S. military or intelligence personnel by creating bright-lines of acceptable strategies that can be used to obtain intelligence from terrorists.
I recently traveled to Guantanamo Bay to see the detainee camps for myself and to review the conditions of the detainees there. I was impressed by the professionalism of camp personnel and the capabilities of the Joint Task Force leadership. Guantanamo houses some extremely dangerous individuals, some of whom would threaten U.S. national security and the security of key allies in the War on Terror. I believe that the detainees are treated well and every effort is made to ensure that their cultural and religious needs are met. I saw nothing there that could currently be classified as harsh, and evidence was quite to the contrary.
The Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay is a strategic intelligence gathering platform where ongoing interviews with detainees assist our global operations against terrorist organizations. Important intelligence is gathered from the detainees there, and has led to key revelations that have resulted in successful coalition operations in the field against a committed and hardened enemy.
As this war continues, I believe it is important that we do not lose our resolve against an extremely capable and committed enemy. The people that wish to do us harm, as we saw with the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, the bombing of Khobar Towers and the U.S.S. Cole, 9/11, the Bali Bombing, or the Madrid and London bombings, show little if any regard for the legal, cultural, and moral structures that we rely on to maintain a society based upon the rule of law and respect for individual rights. Their goal is to kill as many Americans, or Westerners, or anyone that stands between them and the realization of their dark vision of a society based upon rule by religious fiat and a view of human rights that would be more at home in the 5th century than the 21st. I believe that we will prevail over this threat just as we have against dark threats of the past because the American vision of hope is superior to our enemies’ reliance on despair. This is a fight that we cannot win without sacrifice, but we will achieve victory.
For more information on the War on Terror, please visit the following sites:
House Armed Services Committee
House Homeland Security Committee
White House FAQ: War on Terrorism
White House - National Security USO
