Tom Lantos: “I am proud to join my good friend on the Republican side, Mr. Bereuter, to express to the distinguished Speaker of the…”

“I am proud to join my good friend on the Republican side, Mr. Bereuter, to express to the distinguished Speaker of the Canadian Parliament Democratic support and appreciation of the generations-long friendship and solidarity the Canadian people have shown to us. There is no nation on the face of this planet which is a more dependable and a more solid and a more persistent ally and friend of the United States than is Canada. Through many wars we have stood together, and we have prevailed as we shall in this war on global terrorism. War inevitably entails losses. No losses are more tragic and more heart rending than the ones we call losses related to 'friendly fire.' This means we kill our own by mistake, by error, through a tragedy. That is what happened, in Afghanestan, to four Canadian soldiers, and the American people are as one in expressing our heartfelt condolences to the families of these four heroes and to all of the Canadian people. We want to assure Speaker Milliken that Canada and the United States will stand together forever on behalf of defending freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law, the right of civilized societies to live in peace and security. We appreciate the friendship of our Canadian friends, and we want to assure them of our solidarity and respect.”