William M. ``Mac'' Thornberry: “Mr. Chairman, since the end of the Cold War, there have been some disturbing trends. One is that chemical, biological…”

“Mr. Chairman, since the end of the Cold War, there have been some disturbing trends. One is that chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological weapons are spreading to more and more nations and more and more groups. In addition to that, more and more nations and more and more groups are hostile to the United States and will seem to stop at nothing to attack us. Study after study recognized our vulnerability and urged us to act, and yet it has taken September 11 to give that impetus, to force us to act, and tonight we are acting in important ways. It is true that organizational reform does not solve all of our problems. We still have to have the best people, we still have to have resources, we have to give the right authorities. But as the Deutsch Commission found, a cardinal truth of government is that policy without proper organization is effectively no policy at all. That is why this organization is important. It does not guarantee success; but without it, we can guarantee failure.”