Todd Tiahrt: “I thank the chairman. On September 11, 2001, life in America was irreversibly changed. That day we were drawn into a war…”

“I thank the chairman. On September 11, 2001, life in America was irreversibly changed. That day we were drawn into a war to confront a threat we did not fully understand. Although we still cannot fully understand why terrorists hate our way of life so much, we do understand this much. We are still very much at war. Almost 5 years after the attacks on September 11, 2001, Islamic extremist groups continue to represent the most immediate threat to the United States and our allies. They have struck London, Madrid, and have bombed restaurants and hotels in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. At the urging of Osama bin Laden, every American man, woman and child has become a legitimate target for their jihad, and American interests continue to be targeted by al Qaeda affiliates around the globe. This year alone we have unearthed terrorist plots in Canada and the U.K. that remind us just how close the terrorist threat is as these individuals did travel into the United States with some frequency. Mr. Speaker, we are blessed with an outstanding military that has taken the battle to the enemy, in places where every American carries a gun, rather than on the streets of New York, Washington, or Wichita, Kansas. But the United States remains a Nation at war, a war for which we did not ask. We are safer, though, not simply because there has been no successful attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001.…”