Mike Thompson: “tonight I will vote to support our efforts to stop terrorism. This is going to be a difficult vote for me. Since early…”

“tonight I will vote to support our efforts to stop terrorism. This is going to be a difficult vote for me. Since early in 1970, when I stepped off an airplane in Vietnam and joined my infantry unit, it has been my dream and it has been my prayer that no American would ever again have to shed their blood nor give their life on foreign soil. As a Member of Congress, I never dreamed of voting to send our American men and women into combat, but then I never dreamed I would be calling the mother and the father of a young man from Eureka, California, in my district, who was on board one of those hijacked airplanes on September 11. This past Tuesday, terrorists attacked America and they attacked the American people. They murdered thousands of Americans, and we must ensure that we do all in our power to end terrorism and to stop the terrorists from striking again. Our country is great because the people of our country are great, and we will, we will, with resolve, stand together to protect our freedom.”