Jack Reed: “we have suffered an egregious loss. We mourn for those who have perished. We pray for those who suffer. We are inspired…”

“we have suffered an egregious loss. We mourn for those who have perished. We pray for those who suffer. We are inspired by the courage and heroism of the people of New York, particularly the brave firefighters and police officers. We are inspired by the fidelity to duty of our men and women in uniform at the Pentagon and around the world. Ages ago, the Greek historian Thucydides reminded us: [T]he bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it. Yesterday we saw the bravest: firefighters and police officers who rushed into a burning and collapsing skyscraper, a chief of the New York City fire department, a deputy chief, and department chaplain who stayed at their posts as the building collapsed around them; soldiers, sailors, airmen, airwomen at the Pentagon who struggled through wreckage to take out survivors, and returned today to work at their posts; office workers in New York who carried fellow workers down 60 flights of stairs to safety. Their bravery and their courage is an inspiration to all of us. And we are profoundly angered by those terrorists who have struck this devious, horrific blow against us all. The emotions of yesterday and today must and will coalesce into a steely resolve to mete out justice to the terrorists, to those who harbor them, to those who train them, and to those who encourage them.”