National Defense Weekly Columns

8/29/2004

Terrorism and National Security It is now possible that we�ll be dealing with the threat of Islamist terrorism for fifty years or more. So it is important to decide what were willing to live with in terms of homeland security and what we are not. Although it has received little notice, we are making several long-term adjustments to the terrorist threat. For example, President Bush announced plans to withdraw 60,000 to 70,000 American troops from certain foreign bases on August 16. Some are to come home. Others are to be redeployed to vulnerable areas, including the Middle East and Southeast Asia to the new front of the new war - the war on terror.

6/20/2004

Iraq's Links to Terror As a member of the International Relations Committee, I�ve questioned many Administration, military, and foreign officials about international terrorism in the Middle East. The 9/11 Commission report released on June 16 confirmed the Administration�s statements that there were long-standing relations between Iraq and al-Qaeda.

5/30/2004

A Long Overdue Memorial On May 29, a long overdue memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC to honor the men and women whose service during World War II helped to keep the light of freedom shining on America and our Allies.

5/16/2004

The Next Step in Iraq With the pictures in the news of prisoner abuse from Abu Ghraib and the decapitation of Nick Berg by terrorists, people are rightly concerned that we�re taking steps backward. However, neither of these media sensations - which are driven by dramatic pictures - changes the basic situation or goals in Iraq. More important is our work with Iraqi security forces, religious leaders, and civilian leaders to begin to form a unified country.

12/28/2003

2003 and Looking Ahead 2003 has been an exciting and momentous year. Our policy in Iraq, from the run-up to war to the magnificent performance of our troops to the capture of Saddam Hussein and the democratization process where already, most Iraqis are economically better off, will have effects for decades. Our work in Afghanistan has stopped the Taliban and has resulted in a reduction in the terrorist recruitment and training in that country. We reached less positive turning points in our space policy with the loss of a the Columbia space shuttle, and in our entitlement programs with increased spending and the creation of a new prescription drug benefit in Medicare. The economy has been growing stronger, but the government ran a record deficit that will have to be reduced.

11/09/2003

Veterans, Old and New One thing that everyone learns in their life is that you sometimes have to stand up to evil. If you give in to the bully in the schoolyard, you just keep getting picked on. So you learn to confront bullies, even if it means getting a few bruises or a black eye. If you refuse to confront wrongdoing, whether at home, at work, or at school, it doesn't go away. The same rule applies to international affairs. We have armies and we fight battles not because we aim for war, but because there's no other way to preserve our peace, freedom and way of life.

10/12/2003

A Shared Responsibility for World Peace The President's request for $87 billion in new appropriations, which is now moving through Congress, has refocused attention on Iraq. Coupled with the American resolution at the U.N. and the international donors' conference on Iraq set for October 23, it raises the issue of shared responsibility. Much of the free world, which has seen its security improve with the removal of Saddam Hussein, is now trying to avoid sharing financial responsibility for building Iraq into a democracy and making sure it becomes stable. We can't afford to carry so much of the burden in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia, and shouldn't stand for so many of our allies shirking their responsibility to help.

09/28/2003

Iraq Update Congress is debating how much American taxpayers should have to pay for the ongoing military and construction efforts in Iraq. The President gave a compelling speech at the U.N. on September 23. The speeches by Secretary General Kofi Annan and President Luis Inacio da Silva of Brazil suggested that little support would come without help for poorer countries with lower tariffs, financial support, etc. At the same time, the U.N. announced that it would pull many of its people out of Iraq due to security concerns. In my view, this sends a signal to terrorists that perhaps the U.N. and other countries will pull out if they cause enough trouble, and a signal to us that, despite their rhetoric, they're not serious about confronting problems in Iraq.

07/27/2003

Iraq Update We are seeing some slow but steady progress in Iraq. A civilian governing council has been formed, and progress is being made toward the drafting of an Iraqi constitution. Civil order is slowly improving and we're training thousands of Iraqi police and military that can eventually take over from coalition forces. Oil production is now above one million barrels a day and continues to increase. Baghdad continues to experience problems with blackouts, but it is becoming clear that Iraq has a national electricity shortage and Baghdad had previously been lit only by depriving other areas.

04/13/2003

What Comes Next in Iraq? On April 9, we saw jubilant crowds of Iraqis take down statues and pictures of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. Like the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it was a spontaneous and heartening celebration of freedom after oppression. At the same time, most resistance collapsed in Iraq and the Iraqi ambassador to the U.N. announced, "The game is over." At our briefing with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that afternoon, he said it had been a good day, but that some cities North of Baghdad continue to hold out and scattered fighting will continue. It was surprising to learn of the recovery of our POWs on April 13 and the very small resistance in Saddam's hometown, Tikrit. This means that the major battle is over. We are now faced with terrorist-type resistance, often being carried out by Syrians or other non-Iraqi's. Another concern was the looting taking place throughout Iraq.

03/30/2003

Confused Reports In Congress, we are deluged with information on the war. The best information comes from the daily classified briefings. These briefings include presentations from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, General Richard Meyers of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and others. In addition, we have so-called �Blackberries� - a hand held computer that can display information and e-mail - which carries bulletins of war and terrorism information. Unfortunately, some of the news I received this week was of the death of a brave, young Seventh District resident, Senior Airman Jason Plite of Lansing, in a plane crash in Iraq. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family and the families of all our troops serving and sacrificing for their country.

03/23/2003

The War Emotions ran high in Congress this past week. In addition to the war, we were arguing the 2004 budget. Along with other budget hawks, I felt that we should hold down spending as a way to reduce the deficit. With 435 members in the House, there were many ideas about appropriate spending and taxing levels. Tempers flared and rhetoric was heard as five different budgets were scheduled to be debated on Thursday.

02/16/2003

Work and Nerves in Washington The possible war in Iraq, the aggressive statement from Osama bin Laden, and the high terrrorism alert has us all on edge. The government tells us that they have specific intelligence that terrorists are plotting strikes on targets in Washington, though one source later failed a lie detector test. On February 13, authorities closed one of the major bridges over the Potomac river during rush hour because of a perceived threat. People are buying gas masks and some stores are sold out of plastic sheeting and duct tape. The high level of concern, which interferes with daily life, reinforces the need not only to defend against terrorism, but to preempt it when we can.

02/09/2003

Showdown at the U.N. The first five days of February were dramatic. On February 1, the space shuttle Columbia went down. On the third, the President presented a budget that holds the line on discretionary spending but still results in the largest deficit in history. On the fifth, Secretary of State Colin Powell presented our case on Iraq to the U.N. Security Council.

01/12/2003

Iraq and North Korea On January 8, I met with Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman and two assistant secretaries to discuss North Korea and Iraq. One question I asked is the difference between the threat from and the Administration�s policy toward the two countries.

11/10/2002

The Next Congress The November 5th election results have significant implications for the legislation and policy that will be implemented over the next two years. The election was historic, in terms of the unusual gains in both the House and Senate, for the president's party in a non-presidential election. Historically, these "mid-term" elections lead to losses for the president's party. In fact, the last time the president's party gained in a first mid-term election was 1934 under Franklin Roosevelt.

11/03/2002

North Korea Rumblings Even as we grapple with the United Nations to establish a tough and credible inspections program in Iraq, news has come out of North Korea that it has an aggressive nuclear weapons program of its own. In mid-October, the North Korean regime under dictator Kim Jong Il admitted that it had the program in violation of a 1994 agreement between the U.S. and North Korea. This came on the heels of another admission that North Korea had kidnapped at least five Japanese citizens two decades ago, forcing them to train North Korean intelligence officers in the Japanese language. These disclosures both reveal the naivety of previous American and international agreements with North Korea and require the development of new policy.

10/06/2002

Who Should Stop Saddam? After about twenty meetings and briefings over the last two months, on October 3, the International Relations Committee reported out House Joint Resolution 114, which would authorize the President to use force in Iraq if necessary. The resolution is now before the House. It was the product of bipartisan negotiations between President Bush, House Speaker Hastert, House Minority Leader Gephardt, Senate Minority Leader Lott, and our International Relations Committee. I supported it in committee because it appropriately addresses the serious and continuing threat from Iraq to our national security.

09/15/2002

Confronting Iraq The President spoke to the United Nations General Assembly on September 12 to make a case for confronting Iraq. Saddam Hussein's Iraq has invaded its neighbors, murdered its own citizens with poison gas, continued to develop weapons of mass destruction, supported terrorists, attempted to assassinate foreign leaders, and violated dozens of U.N. resolutions and international agreements. Iraq is a proven danger to its neighbors and the international community. If it fails to conform to its commitments to allow inspections and give up the development of weapons of mass destruction, it will be necessary to enforce those commitments in some way.

07/28/2002

A New Government Department The House of Representatives passed legislation creating a new Department of Homeland Security on July 26. This legislation is intended to reverse decades of neglect of our homeland security and finally bring together, under one chain of command and with common purpose, close to 100 government agencies responsible in some way for homeland security. With strong leadership and help from government workers, this should vastly improve cooperation and coordination among our intelligence, security and emergency response agencies, helping us learn about and prevent future attacks.

06/16/2002

Homeland Defense The President has proposed a much needed reorganization of our homeland defenses under a new government department. As Congress begins debate, it was important for me to meet with Administration officials, including Homeland Security Advisor Tom Ridge, White House Chief of Staff Andy Card, and Office of Management and Budget Director Mitch Daniels, about their plans. The Administration is clearly on the right track, but Congress will take a hard look at how we organize this new department.

06/09/2002

The War Continues The President proposed the creation of a cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security in a short speech to the nation on June 6. We haven't taken homeland security seriously since the end of World War II; we simply didn't think that our country could become subject to massive attack. The reorganization of our fragmented security agencies and a refocusing on the goal of homeland protection is a necessary step as we recover from more than a half-century of neglect. The recent revelations that the FBI and CIA had information hinting at the attacks of September 11 show the need for better cooperation and analysis among agencies engaged in homeland security. As I said Thursday night, on an MSNBC talk show discussing the President's proposal, I look forward to our Congressional review and changes in drafting the necessary legislation.

12/16/2001

Endgame in Afghanistan? Much progress has been made in the War against Terror. The Taliban no longer control any part of Afghanistan, and the remaining few Al Qaeda militants in Afghanistan and their leaders are believed to be holed up in a few mountain redoubts south of Jalalabad. Though Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden remain at large, our armed forces and intelligence services will give neither them nor their allies rest until they are found. Further, the discovery and release of videotapes showing Osama bin Laden taking credit for and exulting in the September 11 attacks will clarify his guilt to any doubters around the world susceptible to proof and persuasion.

11/04/2001

Security in the Skies Terrorists, using airplanes as bombs on September 11 changed the way we think about air travel. It frightened many and revealed deficiencies in airline security. Since then, the Administration has instituted emergency measures to make travel safe. Congress is now acting to establish an on-going, federally supervised airport security regime to restore Americans� confidence in air travel. On November 1, the House of Representatives passed legislation (H.R. 3150) to do this.

10/28/2001

War and Anthrax Congress continues to conduct normal business with emphasis on the war, despite the recent anthrax scare. Yet, despite the inconvenience of having to evacuate the congressional office buildings, work went on. Congress continued to take votes, continued to function out of temporary offices, and continued in its oversight and participation in the war on terror.

10/14/2001

Tracking Terrorists There is a tension between freedom and privacy on the one hand, and the prevention of crime and terrorism on the other. While surveillance is a powerful tool when directed at the guilty, it can be a threat to civil liberties when directed at the innocent. As recent events have shown, however, terrorist strikes drain some of the comfort out of freedom. So Congress, as it crafts anti-terrorist legislation, must strike an appropriate balance between security and liberty.

10/07/2001

Where Terrorists Come From In the International Relations Committee, we're working hard to conduct the War on Terrorism. Having returned from consultations with government and military officials in Russia, Italy and Turkey, we met with the Speaker of the House and White House officials about our discussions. We met with HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on our preparedness for biological and chemical weapons attacks. We held a hearing on al-Qaeda's activities and its threat. After that, met with the Amir (ruler) of Qatar, Shaykh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and his top deputies about their strategically-located country's cooperation in the anti-terrorism coalition. There have also been numerous classified briefings on the military and diplomatic situation in the Middle East as Congress learns about our enemy.

09/16/2001

The Attack Moments after the terrorist attacks, like other members, I was ushered out of my Capitol office and escorted by armed guards to a secure site. There we received periodic "classified" briefings, though the same information was often on TV already or would appear there in minutes. The reports showed that a new kind of war was upon us.

06/25/2000

Negligent Security Over the past seven years, government agencies have experienced one alarming security lapse after another. There have been reports of foreign infiltration, spying, and transfer of technology.

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