Mark Kirk: “I requested this time to highlight the contribution of the United States Navy to our victory in Afghanistan. After the…”

“I requested this time to highlight the contribution of the United States Navy to our victory in Afghanistan. After the September 11 attacks, the investigation quickly turned to Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan. At first glance, a war in Afghanistan offered few options for the United States. Afghanistan has no coast line and is situated hundreds of miles from any shoreline. None of the nations bordering Afghanistan would permit U.S. strikes against Afghanistan from their own soil. With few options, President Bush turned to the one asset in our military that can strike anywhere at any time, without needing permission from anyone, the United States Navy, which moved into action. In fact, September 11 fits the classic model of any crisis in our recent past. One of the first questions any President asks in time of national peril is this: Where are the carriers? In this case, the USS Enterprise was in the Indian Ocean, heading home after a long deployment in the Gulf. Her crew saw the aircraft hit the World Trade Center and Pentagon on CNN; and without direction from Washington, the skipper ordered his battle group to come about and head for harm's way. Within minutes of this crisis beginning, the United States Navy, our Navy, was moving into position to strike back at our enemies in the heart of Central Asia.”