Chris Smith: “first of all, let me thank and commend the gentleman from California (Chairman Royce) for his authorship of this very…”

“first of all, let me thank and commend the gentleman from California (Chairman Royce) for his authorship of this very important and necessary resolution, and I am very pleased to join as a co-sponsor of H. Res. 760; and I join in the chorus of the Americans who stand in solidarity with the Russian people in their grief for those who have been murdered by terrorist actions. No words can adequately express the shock and sorrow that we feel at the events in Beslan. Our hearts go out to the people of Beslan as they bury their children and their neighbors. They have our deepest sympathy, and they have our prayers. Our hearts go out to the wounded and disabled, especially the young, who will bear the scars of terrorism for the rest of their lives. This resolution properly deplores the terrorist attacks against Russia and expresses condolences to the families of the victims. Their grief is our grief. Their anger is our anger. Their loss is our loss. Mr. Speaker, there is ample reason to criticize Russia's military operations in Chechnya. I continue to believe that Moscow's strategy in that tortured region has been brutal, ill-advised, and self-defeating.”