Political Quotes

“I join my colleague, the distinguished chairman of the Intelligence Committee, in honoring the seven American intelligence professionals who lost their lives at Forward Operating Base Chapman on December 30, and their six colleagues who were wounded in the attack. It is the nature of service in the intelligence community that the American public will never know the names of some of the dead and wounded. These patriots served quietly, often undercover, and when they are lost, their families and colleagues must mourn them in private. It is a blessing, I think, of service on the Intelligence Committee that we get the chance to visit intelligence officials here at home and around the world. We have the chance to get to know them, to see the courage that they exhibit. More than that, we have a chance to thank them. But we also get a chance to see the strain it puts on their lives and on the lives of their families, a sacrifice that is not rewarded with the kind of public attention and public thanks that their colleagues in uniform often receive. But we are here today to express our profound gratitude for their service and to share in the grief that has been suffered and visited upon their families. In the coming months, seven stars will be etched into the CIA's memorial wall, joining 90 other employees who died in service to the United States. Even today, 35 of the 90 stars honor the sacrifice of officers whose identities still remain classified.”