Kent Conrad: “it has been 2,144 days since 9/11. We all remember the day our Nation was attacked. That attack was led by Osama bin…”

“it has been 2,144 days since 9/11. We all remember the day our Nation was attacked. That attack was led by Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaida. At the time, the President said: This act will not stand. We will find those who did it. We will smoke them out of their holes. We will bring them to justice. Mr. President, 2,144 days have passed, and still we have not brought Osama bin Laden or al-Zawahiri or the rest of the top leadership of al-Qaida to justice. These are the people who led the attack on our country. It wasn't Saddam Hussein and Iraq; it was Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida. Yet this Nation lost focus under the leadership of this administration. I think the most striking story of all is this from the USA Today in late March 2004: In 2002, troops from the 5th Special Forces Group who specialize in the Middle East were pulled out of the hunt for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan to prepare for their next assignment: Iraq. Their replacements were troops with expertise in Spanish cultures. Mr. President, there are not a lot of Spanish speakers in Afghanistan or in Pakistan. That is where Osama bin Laden is still lurking, still hiding, still waiting to strike our country. This amendment says: Let's remember who attacked America, and let's finish business with him and his al-Qaida network.”