OCA
VIP Member
The following are remarks made recently on the floor of Congress by
Georgia Democratic Senator Zell Miller. His comments pertain to the
hearings being held by the 9/11 Commission.
Senator Miller's comments are the most profound observations that I've
seen, and really cut to the core of the matter.
After reading his comments, I speculated how wonderful it would be if
there were 99 other Senators and 435 Representatives of Miller's ilk to
represent us in Washington.
Here are his comments:
Mr. MILLER: Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be
allowed to speak up to 15 minutes as in morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
SUBJECT: THE 9/11 COMMISSION
Mr. MILLER. Mr. President, after watching the harsh acrimony
generated by the September 11 Commission--which, let me say at the
outset, is made up of good and able members--I have come to seriously
question this panel's usefulness. I believe it will ultimately play a
role in doing great harm to this country, for its unintended
consequences, I fear, will be to energize our enemies and demoralize our
troops.
After being drowned in a tidal wave of all who didn't do enough before
9/11, I have come to believe that the Commission should issue a report
that says: No one did enough. In the past, no one did near enough. And
then thank everybody for serving, send them home, and let's get on with
the job of protecting this country in the future.
Tragically, these hearings have proved to be a very divisive
diversion for this country. Tragically, they have devoured valuable time
looking backward instead of looking forward. Can you imagine handling
the attack on Pearl Harbor this way? Can you imagine Congress, the
media, and the public standing for this kind of political gamesmanship
and finger-pointing after that day of infamy in 1941?
Some partisans tried that ploy, but they were soon quieted by the
patriots who understood how important it was to get on with the war and
take the battle to America's enemies and not dwell on what FDR knew,
when. You see, back then the highest priority was to win a war, not to
win an election. That is what made them the greatest generation.
I realize that many well-meaning Americans see the hearings as
democracy in action. Years ago when I was teaching political science, I
probably would have had my class watching it live on television and
using that very same phrase with them. There are also the
not-so-well-meaning political operatives who see these hearings as an
opportunity to score cheap points. And then there are the media meddlers
who see this as great theater that can be played out on the evening news
and on endless talk shows for a week or more.
Congressional hearings have long been one of Washington's most
entertaining pastimes. Joe McCarthy, Watergate, Iran-Contra--they all
kept us glued to the TV and made for conversations around the water
coolers or arguments over a beer at the corner pub. A congressional
hearing in Washington, DC is the ultimate aphrodisiac for political
groupies and partisan punks.
But it is not the groupies, punks, and television-sotted American
public that I am worried about This latter crowd can get excited and
divided over just about anything, whether it is some off-key wannabe
dreaming of being the American idol, or what brainless bimbo "The
Bachelor'' or "Average Joe'' will choose, or who Donald Trump will fire
next week.
No, it is the real enemies of America that I am concerned about. These
evil killers who right now are gleefully watching the shrill partisan
finger-pointing of these hearings and grinning like a mule eating
briars.
They see this as a major split within the great Satan, America.
They see anger. They see division, instability, bickering, peevishness,
and dissension. They see the President of the United States hammered
unmercifully. They see all this, and they are greatly encouraged.
We should not be doing anything to encourage our enemies in this
battle between good and evil. Yet these hearings, in my opinion, are
doing just that.. We are playing with fire. We are playing directly into
the hands of our enemy by allowing these hearings to become the great
divider they have become.
Dick Clarke's book and its release coinciding with these hearings
have done this country a tremendous disservice and someday we will reap
its whirlwind. Long ago, Sir Walter Scott observed that revenge is
"the sweetest morsel that ever was cooked in hell.''
The vindictive Clarke has now had his revenge, but what kind of hell
has he, his CBS publisher, and his axe-to-grind advocates unleashed?
These hearings, coming on the heels of the election the terrorists
influenced in Spain, bolster and energize our evil enemies as they have
not been energized since 9/11. Chances are very good that these evil
enemies of America will attempt to influence our 2004 election in a
similar dramatic way as they did Spain's. And to think that could never
be in this country is to stick your head in the sand.
That is why the sooner we stop this endless bickering over the past
and join together to prepare for the future, the better off this country
will be. There are some things--whether this city believes it or
not--that are just more important than political campaigns. The recent
past is so ripe for political second-guessing, "gotcha,'' and Monday
morning quarterbacking. And it is so tempting in an election year. We
should not allow ourselves to indulge that temptation. We should put our
country first.
Every administration, from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush, bears
some of the blame. Dick Clarke bears a big heap of it, because it was he
who was in the catbird's seat to do something about it for more than a
decade. Tragically, it was the decade in which we did the least.
We did nothing after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in
1993, killing six and injuring more than a thousand Americans.
We did nothing in 1996 when 16 U.S. servicemen were killed in the
bombing of the Khobar Towers.
When our embassies were attacked in 1998, killing 263 people, our
only response was to fire a few missiles on an empty tent.
Is it any wonder that after that decade of weak-willed responses to
that murderous terror, our enemies thought we would never fight back?
In the 1990s is when Dick Clarke should have resigned.
In the 1990s is when he should have apologized.
That is when he should have written his book--that is, if he really
had America's best interests at heart.
Now, I know some will say we owe it to the families to get more
information about what happened in the past, and I can understand that.
But no amount of finger-pointing will bring our victims back. So now we
owe it to the future families and all of America now in jeopardy not to
encourage more terrorists, resulting in even more grieving
families--perhaps many times over the ones of 9/11.
It is obvious to me that this country is rapidly dividing itself
into two camps--the wimps and the warriors: the ones who want to argue
and assess and appease, and the ones who want to carry this fight to our
enemies and kill them before they kill us.
In case you have not figured it out, I proudly belong to the latter.
This is a time like no other time in the history of this country. This
country is being crippled with petty partisan politics of the worst
possible kind. In time of war, it is not just unpatriotic; it is stupid;
it is criminal.
So I pray that all this time, all this energy, all this talk, and all
of the attention could be focused on the future instead of the past.
I pray we would stop pointing fingers and assigning blame and
wringing our hands about what happened on that day David AcUology has
called `"the worst day in all our history'' more than 2 years ago, and
instead, pour all our energy into how we can kill these terrorists
before they kill us--again.
Make no mistake about it: They are watching these hearings and they
are scheming and smiling about the distraction and the divisiveness that
they see in America. And while they might not know who said it years ago
in America, they know instinctively that a house divided cannot stand.
There is one other group that we should remember is listening to
all of this--our troops.
I was in Iraq in January. One day, when I was meeting with the 1st
Armored Division, a unit with a proud history, known as Old Ironsides,
we were discussing troop morale, and the commanding general said it was
top notch. I turned to the division's sergeant major, the top enlisted
man in the division, a big, burly 6-foot-3, 240 pound African American,
and I said: "That's good, but how do you sustain that kind of morale?''
Without hesitation, he narrowed his eyes, and he looked at me and
said: `"The morale will stay high just as long as these troops know the
people back home support us.''
Just as long as the people back home support us. What kind of
message are these hearings and the outrageously political speeches on
the floor of the Senate yesterday sending to the marvelous young
Americans in the uniform of our country?
I say: Unite America before it is too late. Put aside these petty
partisan differences when it comes to the protection of our people.
Argue and argue and argue, debate and debate and debate over all the
other things, such as jobs, education, the deficit, and the environment;
but please, please do not use the lives of Americans and the security of
this country as a cheap-shot political talking point.
I yield the floor.
Senator Zell Miller, D, GA
Georgia Democratic Senator Zell Miller. His comments pertain to the
hearings being held by the 9/11 Commission.
Senator Miller's comments are the most profound observations that I've
seen, and really cut to the core of the matter.
After reading his comments, I speculated how wonderful it would be if
there were 99 other Senators and 435 Representatives of Miller's ilk to
represent us in Washington.
Here are his comments:
Mr. MILLER: Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be
allowed to speak up to 15 minutes as in morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
SUBJECT: THE 9/11 COMMISSION
Mr. MILLER. Mr. President, after watching the harsh acrimony
generated by the September 11 Commission--which, let me say at the
outset, is made up of good and able members--I have come to seriously
question this panel's usefulness. I believe it will ultimately play a
role in doing great harm to this country, for its unintended
consequences, I fear, will be to energize our enemies and demoralize our
troops.
After being drowned in a tidal wave of all who didn't do enough before
9/11, I have come to believe that the Commission should issue a report
that says: No one did enough. In the past, no one did near enough. And
then thank everybody for serving, send them home, and let's get on with
the job of protecting this country in the future.
Tragically, these hearings have proved to be a very divisive
diversion for this country. Tragically, they have devoured valuable time
looking backward instead of looking forward. Can you imagine handling
the attack on Pearl Harbor this way? Can you imagine Congress, the
media, and the public standing for this kind of political gamesmanship
and finger-pointing after that day of infamy in 1941?
Some partisans tried that ploy, but they were soon quieted by the
patriots who understood how important it was to get on with the war and
take the battle to America's enemies and not dwell on what FDR knew,
when. You see, back then the highest priority was to win a war, not to
win an election. That is what made them the greatest generation.
I realize that many well-meaning Americans see the hearings as
democracy in action. Years ago when I was teaching political science, I
probably would have had my class watching it live on television and
using that very same phrase with them. There are also the
not-so-well-meaning political operatives who see these hearings as an
opportunity to score cheap points. And then there are the media meddlers
who see this as great theater that can be played out on the evening news
and on endless talk shows for a week or more.
Congressional hearings have long been one of Washington's most
entertaining pastimes. Joe McCarthy, Watergate, Iran-Contra--they all
kept us glued to the TV and made for conversations around the water
coolers or arguments over a beer at the corner pub. A congressional
hearing in Washington, DC is the ultimate aphrodisiac for political
groupies and partisan punks.
But it is not the groupies, punks, and television-sotted American
public that I am worried about This latter crowd can get excited and
divided over just about anything, whether it is some off-key wannabe
dreaming of being the American idol, or what brainless bimbo "The
Bachelor'' or "Average Joe'' will choose, or who Donald Trump will fire
next week.
No, it is the real enemies of America that I am concerned about. These
evil killers who right now are gleefully watching the shrill partisan
finger-pointing of these hearings and grinning like a mule eating
briars.
They see this as a major split within the great Satan, America.
They see anger. They see division, instability, bickering, peevishness,
and dissension. They see the President of the United States hammered
unmercifully. They see all this, and they are greatly encouraged.
We should not be doing anything to encourage our enemies in this
battle between good and evil. Yet these hearings, in my opinion, are
doing just that.. We are playing with fire. We are playing directly into
the hands of our enemy by allowing these hearings to become the great
divider they have become.
Dick Clarke's book and its release coinciding with these hearings
have done this country a tremendous disservice and someday we will reap
its whirlwind. Long ago, Sir Walter Scott observed that revenge is
"the sweetest morsel that ever was cooked in hell.''
The vindictive Clarke has now had his revenge, but what kind of hell
has he, his CBS publisher, and his axe-to-grind advocates unleashed?
These hearings, coming on the heels of the election the terrorists
influenced in Spain, bolster and energize our evil enemies as they have
not been energized since 9/11. Chances are very good that these evil
enemies of America will attempt to influence our 2004 election in a
similar dramatic way as they did Spain's. And to think that could never
be in this country is to stick your head in the sand.
That is why the sooner we stop this endless bickering over the past
and join together to prepare for the future, the better off this country
will be. There are some things--whether this city believes it or
not--that are just more important than political campaigns. The recent
past is so ripe for political second-guessing, "gotcha,'' and Monday
morning quarterbacking. And it is so tempting in an election year. We
should not allow ourselves to indulge that temptation. We should put our
country first.
Every administration, from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush, bears
some of the blame. Dick Clarke bears a big heap of it, because it was he
who was in the catbird's seat to do something about it for more than a
decade. Tragically, it was the decade in which we did the least.
We did nothing after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in
1993, killing six and injuring more than a thousand Americans.
We did nothing in 1996 when 16 U.S. servicemen were killed in the
bombing of the Khobar Towers.
When our embassies were attacked in 1998, killing 263 people, our
only response was to fire a few missiles on an empty tent.
Is it any wonder that after that decade of weak-willed responses to
that murderous terror, our enemies thought we would never fight back?
In the 1990s is when Dick Clarke should have resigned.
In the 1990s is when he should have apologized.
That is when he should have written his book--that is, if he really
had America's best interests at heart.
Now, I know some will say we owe it to the families to get more
information about what happened in the past, and I can understand that.
But no amount of finger-pointing will bring our victims back. So now we
owe it to the future families and all of America now in jeopardy not to
encourage more terrorists, resulting in even more grieving
families--perhaps many times over the ones of 9/11.
It is obvious to me that this country is rapidly dividing itself
into two camps--the wimps and the warriors: the ones who want to argue
and assess and appease, and the ones who want to carry this fight to our
enemies and kill them before they kill us.
In case you have not figured it out, I proudly belong to the latter.
This is a time like no other time in the history of this country. This
country is being crippled with petty partisan politics of the worst
possible kind. In time of war, it is not just unpatriotic; it is stupid;
it is criminal.
So I pray that all this time, all this energy, all this talk, and all
of the attention could be focused on the future instead of the past.
I pray we would stop pointing fingers and assigning blame and
wringing our hands about what happened on that day David AcUology has
called `"the worst day in all our history'' more than 2 years ago, and
instead, pour all our energy into how we can kill these terrorists
before they kill us--again.
Make no mistake about it: They are watching these hearings and they
are scheming and smiling about the distraction and the divisiveness that
they see in America. And while they might not know who said it years ago
in America, they know instinctively that a house divided cannot stand.
There is one other group that we should remember is listening to
all of this--our troops.
I was in Iraq in January. One day, when I was meeting with the 1st
Armored Division, a unit with a proud history, known as Old Ironsides,
we were discussing troop morale, and the commanding general said it was
top notch. I turned to the division's sergeant major, the top enlisted
man in the division, a big, burly 6-foot-3, 240 pound African American,
and I said: "That's good, but how do you sustain that kind of morale?''
Without hesitation, he narrowed his eyes, and he looked at me and
said: `"The morale will stay high just as long as these troops know the
people back home support us.''
Just as long as the people back home support us. What kind of
message are these hearings and the outrageously political speeches on
the floor of the Senate yesterday sending to the marvelous young
Americans in the uniform of our country?
I say: Unite America before it is too late. Put aside these petty
partisan differences when it comes to the protection of our people.
Argue and argue and argue, debate and debate and debate over all the
other things, such as jobs, education, the deficit, and the environment;
but please, please do not use the lives of Americans and the security of
this country as a cheap-shot political talking point.
I yield the floor.
Senator Zell Miller, D, GA
