Pete Domenici: “An era has come to an end. As many commentators have noted, most say it was an era of innocence. I agree. Americans now…”

“An era has come to an end. As many commentators have noted, most say it was an era of innocence. I agree. Americans now know firsthand the kind of mindless terrorism and brutal disregard of all concepts of morality that afflict our world. What will be our measure of response as a nation? Our people in the world will watch, listen, and wait, for, as Franklin Roosevelt said, 'We defend and we build a way of life not for America alone but for mankind.' We will, of course, support the President in every respect, provide any and all resources, including emergency funding for New York City, for Washington, DC, for Arlington, VA, sparing no expense to save our neighbors who need our help in this time of great distress. Whatever it takes--and I repeat, whatever it takes--to pursue those who planned, funded, aided, harbored, and carried out yesterday's destruction, we will go to the fullest extent possible. All the resources of this great nation must be brought to bear to demonstrate our unity and our power. We know something else now. We understand that the threshold of possible terrorism has gone up. We know more, but the terrorists know more, too. We must commit to an all-out effort, not just to a war against terrorism but to new weapons in this war. We must do everything possible to prevent the possibility of calamities above this threshold.”