Arlen Specter: “the terrorist attacks carried out by Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida on September 11 require a reevaluation of our national…”

“the terrorist attacks carried out by Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida on September 11 require a reevaluation of our national policy on what the government should be doing on its primary responsibilities: the security of the people. The United States was stunned by that diabolical attack. It was thought impossible to make the country, with special emphasis on the Congress, more ``fighting mad''; but that was done with the anthrax attacks. As a nation, we are determined to respond thoughtfully and forcefully to win the war against terrorism. This floor statement briefly reviews some of the responses by the U.S. to terrorism for the past two decades to learn from our mistakes of the past and to guide us on what to do in the future. The United States has been slow to assert extraterritorial jurisdiction to bring to justice terrorists who attack U.S. citizens around the world. Ordinarily, jurisdiction resides in the locale where the crime occurred; however, a nation may assert extraterritorial jurisdiction where its citizens are victimized on foreign soil which provides the nexus for jurisdiction beyond its boundaries. It was not until 1984 that the United States asserted extraterritorial jurisdiction to try terrorists who kidnaped or hijacked Americans abroad.”