Speeches - Congressman Etheridge's Statement on September 11, 2001 Attacks on America

Click here to subcribe to Bob's E-Mail Newsletter

Congressman Bob Etheridge
Statement on September 11, 2001 Attacks on America
September 12, 2001

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of North Carolina to speak about yesterday's outrageous attacks on America. First and foremost, I want to express my sympathy and condolences to the victims of these attacks and their families. The unimaginable suffering they have been forced to endure will forever give them a unique place in America's collective heart. We pray that the Good Lord in His mercy will comfort the innocent and help them find a path to perseverance. And we resolve that their loss will never be forgotten in this country where we share in their profoundly immeasurable grief.

I commend the many acts of heroism we have witnessed performed civilians, police, firefighters and countless others. The response of the American people has been overwhelming as people give of their time, their prayers and their blood to assist our fallen brothers and sisters. Americans of all walks of life have shown their true colors in this crisis, and those colors are unmistakably red, white and blue. Yesterday, we witnessed multiple acts of extreme cowardice, perpetrated by individuals so twisted with hate as to slaughter innocent civilians - men, women and children who had done them no harm and posed them no threat. The people of this country feel these attacks deeply because we know that the target of this assault was every man, woman and child in this country. Freedom itself and our way of life came under attack yesterday, and we must answer the call to protect them.

Make no mistake about it: yesterday's deliberate sneak attacks were acts of war. The wretched individuals that carried out this assault are no mere criminals but are mortal enemies of the United States of America. We must respond in kind. We must pursue them to the ends of the earth and take all necessary steps to eliminate this threat forever. Mr. Speaker, in the last century, another foreign threat looked across the Atlantic Ocean and imagined weakness in America's open society, human freedoms and democracy. But as President Franklin Roosevelt correctly stated then, "We..., born to freedom, and believing in freedom, are willing to fight to maintain freedom. We, and all others who believe as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees." Adolf Hitler learned the hard way that when you challenge America, you lose. This new enemy will learn that lesson too.

America stands today bruised and bloodied, but she stands nonetheless. America stands unbowed. We will recover from this assault. We will bury our dead. We will rebuild. And we will fight to maintain our freedom. Our enemy in this war may be elusive, but he is not invisible. Our enemy may be sophisticated, but he is not invincible. Our enemy is certainly ruthless, but he will live to know America's resolve.

The people of my district and across America want to put an end to this threat once and for all. The time for measured responses and sending signals has passed with yesterday's attacks. We must employ whatever time, money, resources and manpower necessary to prosecute this war to its successful conclusion and achieve our imperative goal to remove this threat forever. By joining together, we can and will do this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and may God bless America.