Cord Byrd: “I would hope to title my remarks at this point ``Homeland Insecurity.'' In a mere matter of days, we will officially…”

“I would hope to title my remarks at this point ``Homeland Insecurity.'' In a mere matter of days, we will officially kick off the 2004 Presidential election season, with the convening of the Democratic convention in Boston. The political activities and festivities in Boston will also mark the beginning of a tense interlude between the conventions and the November elections, during which the Nation has been told to brace for the possibility of a large-scale terrorist attack on the United States. Earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and FBI Director Robert Mueller went on national television to warn the American people that credible evidence pointed to plans by al-Qaida to launch a large-scale attack on the United States before the November elections in an effort to disrupt our democratic process. Yet in the weeks since our Nation's top Homeland Security officials issued that blunt and alarming warning, the administration appears to have buried its head in the sand, carrying on with business as usual, seemingly oblivious to the gathering danger predicted by its own experts.”