Robert Torricelli: “these are, for all Americans, troubling times. While we are defending our Nation at home and abroad, we find ourselves…”

“these are, for all Americans, troubling times. While we are defending our Nation at home and abroad, we find ourselves with conflicting emotions. We are by nature a peaceful people but a people of enormous resolve, with a great love of our Nation, our culture, and each other. We respect each other's faiths. We respect the faiths and cultures of those of other nations. This mix of emotions has placed us in an extraordinary position. Two principal issues arise from this dilemma. First, in the midst of a military campaign in Afghanistan, we now find the religious holidays of the Muslim faith upon us, the celebration of Ramadan. It is a central date on the Islamic calendar. The second issue is the extent to which our military operations in Afghanistan involve the inevitability and the tragedy of civilian casualties. I would like to address both of these concerns for a moment. It speaks well of the American people that we would have a concern about engaging in military activities during the religious holidays of some of our own citizens, and more important, those of other nations.”