Byron Dorgan: “I hope those who are in closed rooms thinking in this kind of a dangerous way are not part of the Government for long…”

“I hope those who are in closed rooms thinking in this kind of a dangerous way are not part of the Government for long, or part of this administration for long. That is not what we ought to be doing in this country. Let me describe one other piece of information about this issue of foreign policy. One year ago in the State of the Union Address, the President said--correctly, in my judgment--that the greatest threat to this country is the network of terrorists around the globe that wish this country harm. They are the ones who murdered thousands of innocent Americans. One year ago now, I was in Afghanistan. Flying into that country over the mountains, you looked down and you understood that deep inside caves in the mountains were Osama bin Laden and his key planners, planning the murder of innocent Americans. That network of terrorists and others around the world represent a serious threat to this country. But we have not heard about Osama bin Laden for a long while. I read yesterday that the President himself mentioned Osama bin Laden six times in the last year. It appears that these days it is 'Osama been forgotten,' rather than Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden is a very serious threat to this country. He is apparently alive, according to our intelligence services. His chief deputy has not been found. Key leadership of the al-Qaida has not been discovered.”