Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick: “this week my emotions have run the gamut. On the one hand I have seen my son take a step closer to becoming the youngest…”

“this week my emotions have run the gamut. On the one hand I have seen my son take a step closer to becoming the youngest mayor in the history of Detroit. Yet, my joy has been destroyed by the hands that inflicted the worst attack against the United States since Pearl Harbor. I share the pain of Tuesday's attack with millions of Americans who have witnessed the subsequent carnage. My emotions cry out for retribution; yet my head tells me that while we must be resolute, we must also be deliberate and circumspect. For now, as a nation, we stand at the edge of the abyss. We are poised to make the leap that our nation has rarely been called on to make; yet when called to do so, we have leaped with everything that we have. We are poised today to leap into the abyss of war and we cannot do so timidly. Our determination to triumph over terrorism must be resolute and undeterred. It is with a heavy heart that I stand before the American people prepared to tip my hand in favor of using military force. War intrinsically means the loss of lives. And I know that, in addition to the blood that has already been shed, our actions today will sanction further bloodshed of our sons and daughters. However, there are times when circumstance leaves us no choice. Tuesday's attack has left no doubt that our enemies seek to bring America under siege.…”