JOHN LINDER: “By noon on yesterday, I was thinking about a wonderful book I read many years ago by Alan Paton. It was entitled Cry the…”

“By noon on yesterday, I was thinking about a wonderful book I read many years ago by Alan Paton. It was entitled Cry the Beloved Country. On Tuesday we cried, too. We cried for different reasons than Alan Paton, but we too cried for our beloved country. The acts of the terrorists on that unbelievable day were acts of ultimate violation on a society that is so open and so free that even they could travel unrestrained among us. When the prayers are said, when the tears are dried, when the bodies are buried, we must remember always. The war against terrorism has been engaged in only casually for the past 30 years. Now we must get serious and win it. There are only two sides in this war. To those who believe there is neutral ground, we must say that belief put them on the side of the enemy; and we will punish those with such beliefs. To those who believe that they can quietly harbor and help the terrorists, we must say they are the enemy; and our military will bring our enemies to their knees. To those who commit these unspeakable acts of war, we will find those individuals and kill them. I am not without hope. Eugene McCarthy once observed that America can choke on a gnat, but swallow tigers whole. Mr. Speaker, I have listened for 2 days to the Members of this body. This is the tiger we were sent here to deal with, and we will. There will be no lack of resolution here. There will be no rancor.”