Senate Proceeding 11-10-09 on Nov 10th, 2009 :: 0:58:45 to 1:08:50
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0:58:38 to 0:58:58( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: and i yield the floor. mr. bond: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. mr. bond: i ask unanimous consent to proceed as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. bond: mr. president, tomorrow our nation will honor the thousands of men and women who have answered the call to support and defend the constitution of the united states of america.

0:58:45 to 1:08:50( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Christopher S. Bond

0:58:59 to 0:59:19( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: -- america against all enemies. today i rise to pay tribute to these veterans and their commitment to the cause of freedom. these brave men and women are ones throughout ages who have made the contributions, who made the -- ultimate sacrifices to keep our

0:59:20 to 0:59:40( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: country free. and we owe them no less than our heart felt thanks. in kansas city, missouri, we very proud to have a facility called the liberty memorial which was set up many years ago as the only memorial to the world war i veterans.

0:59:41 to 1:00:01( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: that facility continues todayo be a very proud part of the kansas city heritage, and we want to make sure that as we look back and honor the veterans of world war i, we recognize th this was the first, the best, and the most outstanding

1:00:02 to 1:00:23( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: memorial to the veterans of world war i. and i ask my colleagues to work with us as we appropriately recognize and elevate the liberty memorial to the status it deserves in honoring the men and women who served in that very difficult first worldar.

1:00:24 to 1:00:46( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: but also as we mark this veterans day, the massacre of 13 of our service members at fort hood, texas, is in all of our hearts. it's unthinkable that brave men and women in our military who already sacrifice so much, so much when they go forward on the battlefield to fend off attacks

1:00:47 to 1:01:07( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: now have found that the attacks can come at home. in the midst of this horrific tragedy, our nation has also witnessed the courage, the heroism and quick thinking that we have come to expect from our military personnel and law enforcement. there are many questions that

1:01:08 to 1:01:29( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: need to be answered, and as vice chairman of the senate intelligence committee and also as the father of a marine and as an american, i want answers about how this could have happened, whether w prevented it, what do we learn from this, how can we take steps to make sure it doesn't happen again? i find -- iant to find out the

1:01:30 to 1:01:50( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: who, what, anything our intelligence community knew and whether such information was shared with the appropriate action agenc whatever those answers turn out to be, we must ensure that our nation remains vigilant against the threat of terrorism, both from within and outside the united states.

1:01:51 to 1:02:11( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: there are law enforcement and intelligence agencies and our military have the tools and resources they need to defend and protect us, here at home and abroad, and that the vigilance is never hampered by unreasonable restrictions on the use of those tools that end up aiding only the terrorists, and doing so we will not only honor

1:02:12 to 1:02:32( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: the memory of those men and women who died on this horrible day in this unprovoked attack, but help save future men and wome now, it's fitting that we honor our veterans and pause to recognize the hardships and crifices they have endured

1:02:33 to 1:02:53( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: throughout wars, conflicts, throughout many difficult times. we rember especially those men and women who gave their lives so that others or their comrades, families, or total strangers or t rest of us could live in freedom. we owe these heroes and their families our eternal gratitude and respect. as the senator from missouri, i offer a ver special thanks to the men and women in uniform and

1:02:54 to 1:03:14( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: the men and women who have served in uniform from our state. in missouri, the history of service is long and proud. my great state is home to whiteman air force base, fort leonardwood and very smaller guard installations and bases. i'm particularly proud of the work being done by the missouri national guard's agricultural

1:03:15 to 1:03:35( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: development team currently in afghanistan where they are helping sow the seeds of peace and providing the security need to ensure that those seeds can grow. we owe these heroe in missouri and across the nation a debt too large ever to repay. at the same time, we recognize the many accomplishments and victories of our military forces

1:03:36 to 1:03:56( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: since the september 11 on our country, we have witnessed their bravery and determination as they fought thrad and other even when naysayers here in washington were predicting certain defeat in men and women soldiered on and turned the tide toward victory.

1:03:57 to 1:04:19( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: now, turning to the battle that we fight today, this is a battle in afghanistan described by body as a war of necessity. the president has rightly said we cannot retreat, we cannot fail, we cannot be deterred from our efforts to counter the

1:04:20 to 1:04:41( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: forces of evil in afghanistan. but the forces -- those voices who advocated cutting and running from iraq, it predicted certain defeat have been peddling the same pessimism with respect to afghanistan. seven months ago, i was very encouraged when president obama outlined a strategy, a

1:04:42 to 1:05:02( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: full-blown strategy for achieving success in afghanistan. i strategy and particularly the appointment of general stanley mcchrystal to lead our troops on the grouped. here we are on the eve of veterans day and the lates indications from the president are troubling. instead of a firm commitment to his own strategy, there is indecision.

1:05:03 to 1:05:23( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: instead of trusting the judgment of his own hand-selected commander on the ground, there are endless sessions with commanderwho are not on the ground. instead of one strategy, there are now five. instead of certainty, there is only one possibility, and that is that a decision may be made

1:05:24 to 1:05:45( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: by november 19. now, mr. president, tha way to run a war, at least not if we want to win the war. dithering and wavering are not viewed with favor in any situation. when the lives of our men and women are on the line and the threat from al qaeda and the taliban grows stronger every day as general mcchrystal said

1:05:46 to 1:06:06( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: they are growing stronger, these delays are simply unacceptable, yet the delays continue, threatening to undo the hard work intelligence professionals on the battlefields of afghanistan. now, i've heard some congratulate the president for -- quote -- taking his time, close quote, on such an

1:06:07 to 1:06:29( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: important decision. as the father of a marine who served two tours of duty in iraq, i agree that whenever we sent americans into battle to risk and possibly lose their ves, the decision must not be a hasty one, but it must not be unnecessarily delayed either. on the eve of veterans day, the gravity of this decision is even more moving. as i said earlier, the president

1:06:30 to 1:06:50( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: has been advised by general mcchrystal that every day we wait, the taliban is gaining momentum wondering where we're going to -- where we're going to come down. our troops are wondering if they're going to be supported. the people of afghanistan who are and must be the target are wondering if they are ever going

1:06:51 to 1:07:12( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: to see the troops they need. that's why i applauded the president for making the firm decision on his war strategy in march of campaigning on what he called a war fundamental, the defense of our people, months after he was sworn in as our commander in chief. as i said earlier, i also applauded president obama for wisely choosing general chrystal to implement his

1:07:13 to 1:07:34( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: strategy for success in afghanistan. the president was right to wait until hearing from his commander on the ground on what resources were needed before moving forward. an assessment that was d in july. now we're hearing that there are four other strategies, and what i want to know is who are the other four generals with responsibility for the troopon

1:07:35 to 1:07:56( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: the ground, with responsibilities for their success, who are coming up with different strategies? we should have learned one thing, that when you're fighting a war, you need to listen to the commander that you have selected, that's carrying out your strategy as you announced. but now as november goes by, monthsater, we're simply

1:07:57 to 1:08:17( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: witnessing dangerous delay. unfortunately, those in washington whispering delay, delay, delay to the president are really whispering defeat. i urge the president to ignore the pundits' peddling pessimism in washington. instead as we honor our veterans

1:08:18 to 1:08:38( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: for in the past, i urge the president to honor our brave troops currently on the battlefield. mr. president, honor the commander in chief you chose by giving him the resources needed to succeed in afghanistan. mr. president, please honor our war fighters in afghanistan by recommitting to your own

1:08:39 to 1:08:51( Edit History Discussion )

Christopher S. Bond: strategy, ending this indecision in afghanistan, and giving our troops the support they need to succeed would be the most fitting tribute to our veterans of past, present, and future wars.