WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Kit Bond, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, today stressed that the lessons our nation learned from the attacks on September 11^th are too important to forget. 

 

            “Unfortunately, it seems to me that some tend to forget the direct assault on this country on September 11^th over seven years ago, the lessons we learned from that day, and that those who were responsible have vowed to inflict more harm and death upon us,” said Bond. 

 

            Speaking at the Intelligence Committee’s hearing on the nomination of Admiral Blair to be the next Director of National Intelligence and the committee’s first hearing in the 111^th Congress, Bond stressed that this nomination comes at an important time in our history, when we face threats of many kinds, most importantly, the threat of terrorism.  Bond stressed that we still live in dangerous times and cannot afford to forget the important lessons from 9-11.  Just as important, Bond emphasized, we cannot in our complacency go back to treating murderous terrorists like ordinary criminals. 

 

            “Those who forget are content to go back to the old way of business—they argue that terrorists should be tried as ordinary criminals, not terrorists captured on the battlefield.  They call for terrorists to be given the same constitutional protections as our own citizens.  Benefitting from a government that has kept America free from further attack over the past seven years since 9/11, they forget that our entire way of life is just a few moments away from annihilation if terrorists succeed in obtaining a weapon of mass destruction or carry out an unrecoverable attack to our nation’s infrastructure,” said Bond.

 

            Bond also used today’s hearing as an opportunity to warn of the dangers of prematurely closing Guantanamo Bay, where the most dangerous terrorists are currently detained.  Earlier today President Obama signed an Executive Order to shut down this facility, despite no real plan or alternative for the terrorists currently detained at Guantanamo.  The idea that these terrorists could be transferred to some small town in America or back to the battlefield to kill American troops is unacceptable, Bond stressed.

 

            “I can’t think of any city or town across this country that will be thrilled to have Khalid Sheikh Mohammad or Abu Zubaydah living down the street,” said Bond.

 

            Just yesterday, Bond joined Senators Roberts and Brownback in introducing legislation that would require President Barack Obama to give Congress a 90-day notice before moving to close the Guantanamo Bay and require a study on the feasibility of closing the facility or transferring the terrorists to any other location.  Bond has stressed that it just doesn’t make sense to talk about closing Guantanamo without talking about what to do with the terrorists.

 

             Bond also commented on President Obama for his action today on the Army Field Manual.  Bond strongly disagrees with making the Army Field Manual the only legal means to interrogate terrorists – pointing out that broadcasting to al Qaeda and other terrorists exactly what techniques will be used in interrogating them is a recipe for failure.  While Bond emphasized that torture is wrong and should not be considered, he also emphasized that a one-size-fits all approach to interrogation ignores the different missions of the military, FBI, CIA, and other agencies.  Despite these very real concerns, today’s action gives Obama the critical leeway he needs to allow for enhanced interrogation techniques when necessary.  Bond agrees with Obama’s approach in following the previous Administration’s model that gives him the flexibility to provide our intelligence operators the tools they need to keep our nation safe.

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