Bob Menendez: “as a coauthor of the amendment of my distinguished colleague from Florida, I hope he will continue to pursue his…”

“as a coauthor of the amendment of my distinguished colleague from Florida, I hope he will continue to pursue his amendment. It is incredibly important to send a very clear message on behalf of the United States about what is and is not acceptable as it relates to the future of our young men and women in the armed services of the United States. We are told on the Senate floor: Don't react to the morning's papers. But, in fact, it is our reaction to it that brings about a clarification from the National Security Adviser of the Iraqi Government that moves us in the direction which should have been the position of the Iraqi Government from the outset. I am amazed how I have heard some of my colleagues in this Chamber stretch and twist and turn to justify a position which even now the Iraqi Government supposedly rejects. We had some history lessons about amnesty. Most of those were as it related to civil wars. But I remember how President Bush started this engagement. He said to the Nation: You are either with the terrorists or you are with us. As I listened to my colleagues suggest that amnesty is something we should actually be in favor of for those who have committed acts against the Armed Forces of the United States, for those who have killed American soldiers, for those who have wounded American soldiers, it is beyond my imagination that there are Members of the Senate who believe that is the signal we want to send throughout the world.…”