Robert Torricelli: “on September 12, 2001, I came to the floor of the Senate to suggest to my colleagues that the magnitude of what had…”

“on September 12, 2001, I came to the floor of the Senate to suggest to my colleagues that the magnitude of what had happened to the United States of America in the terrorist attack required an independent analysis and establishment of a national commission of inquiry. I am proud to have led this effort, but it was not either my creation or principally my idea. In New Jersey, a week after the terror of September 11, I began to hear from the widows and the families--simple Americans who believe in their country, pay their taxes, and felt secure behind our borders, recognizing that the United States is the most awesome military power ever assembled on the face of the earth. Intelligence and law enforcement services are larger here than in every other nation combined. Just 24 hours before, 19 men with $250,000 had delivered the most devastating attack on these United States in our history. Their inquiry of me as their Senator was simply: What do we tell our children? What are we to believe about our country and our Government that we were unable to defend our most vulnerable citizens; that thousands had been left dead and thousands were orphaned and lives will never be the same again? I did not have any answers to their questions, so I brought their questions to my colleagues. It has been a long struggle to bring this commission to this point.…”