William M. ``Mac'' Thornberry: “Mr. Speaker, I think it may be appropriate at this stage to say a few words about the context in which we are…”

“Mr. Speaker, I think it may be appropriate at this stage to say a few words about the context in which we are considering this defense authorization bill this year, for it is truly different than the context, the environment, the international situation in which we have considered it in previous years. The United States is currently engaged in a war. We have troops in the field. And for probably the first time in our history, every American community is a potential target for our enemy. And I think it is important that as the urgency we all felt from September 11 begins to fade away and we have a drift, perhaps, back towards complacency, that we remember that our enemy in this situation is very dangerous, indeed. Their aim is to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. Mr. Speaker, the President gave an important speech I believe at the Citadel last December when he said, "The great threat to civilization is that a few evil men will multiply their murder and gaining the means to kill on a scale equal to their hatred." Mr. Speaker, I think that has profound implications for us.”