Dick Durbin: “I remember 9/11 very well. I was in this building meeting with Senator Daschle just down the hall, and we heard news…”

“I remember 9/11 very well. I was in this building meeting with Senator Daschle just down the hall, and we heard news that a plane had struck a building in New York. By the time I made it to the meeting, it turned out there was a second plane that had done the same. Madam President, 9/11 was clearly no accident. It was a terrorist act. As a result of that terrorist act, we made decisions as a nation on a bipartisan basis. One of the most bipartisan decisions we made was what to do with those who were responsible--Osama bin Laden and others. There was no doubt in my mind that we had to answer what they did with force--no doubt whatsoever. I am not inclined to that conclusion on an ordinary basis, but I saw no other alternative but to send the world a message that no one could kill so many innocent Americans and not be held personally responsible. So there was a vote on the floor--not for the invasion of Iraq but for the invasion of Afghanistan to go after the terrorists, Osama bin Laden and his terrorist group. I voted for it. Every Senator of both political parties voted for it. The same thing was true in the House with only one exception. It was a decision we made to get involved in Afghanistan. As reluctant as I was to see us get into war, I felt we had no choice--no choice whatsoever than to make that clear. So we went in and engaged in that battle for one of the longest wars in our history.…”