As Americans, we are appalled, we are disgusted,
by the attack against the people of Paris
by the terrorist organization ISIS, and I
know that I speak for everyone here and everyone
in our country when we send our condolences
to the families who lost loved ones in that
barbaric attack, and our prayers go out for
speedy recoveries for the many hundreds who
were injured.
In my view, now is the time for developing
a serious and effective strategy to destroy
ISIS, now is not the time for cheap political
talk or trying to take political advantage
of this difficult moment.
Now is the time, as President Obama is trying
to do, to unite the world in an organized
campaign against ISIS by bringing together
all of the countries who have common interest
in defeating international terrorism -- even
countries that we have disagreements with.
So, I think what the President correctly is
trying to do is bring together our European
allies -- France, Germany, the United Kingdom,
and others -- along with Russia, and along
with the Muslim countries who are today face-to-face
with ISIS.
What we need is an international coalition
including Iran and Saudi Arabia, Jordan and
Kuwait and Turkey.
Now, putting together this coalition is not
going to be easy, given the many hostilities
and long-seated disagreements that some of
these countries face.
But that is what President Obama and Secretary
Kerry are trying to do, and I support their
efforts.
But let me also say, let me also say that
now is not the time for demagoguery and fear-mongering.
If you think about it for a moment, you understand
that what terrorism is about is trying to
instill terror and fear into the hearts of
people.
And we will not let that happen!
As Americans, as Americans we will not be
terrorized, we will not live in fear.
And I do have to tell you that I am disturbed
from some of what I am hearing from my Republican
colleagues, and I will just say this: During
these difficult times, as Americans, we will
not succumb to racism, we will not allow ourselves
to be divided and succumb to Islamophobia,
and when hundreds of thousands of people have
lost everything, have nothing left but the
shirts on their backs, we will not turn our
backs on the refugees from Syria and Afghanistan.
We will do what we do best, and that is: Be
Americans -- fighting racism, fighting xenophobia,
and fighting fear.
And perhaps, most importantly, we will learn
the lessons of history.
Yesterday, the Chairman of the Republican
National Committee stated, and I quote, “Never
before have I seen an American president project
such weakness on the global stage,” end
of quote.
Well, as many of you will remember, back in
2002 we had a president, President Bush --
[Crowd boos]
You remember President Bush!
We had a president, and he was very, very
tough, but not very smart!
He, and Dick Cheney, and the whole lot of
them, they were tough!
And they said we should invade Iraq, we should
do it virtually alone, and the result was:
6,700 brave men and women from our country
dead; hundreds of thousands of our best young
people coming home with injuries, physical
and emotional; many, many hundreds of thousands
of Iraqis dead and wounded; huge instability
in the entire region, and we are paying the
price today for that instability and that
chaos.
So I say, I say to my Republican colleagues,
yeah, we’ve gotta be tough, but not stupid.
Yes, we need to create a worldwide coalition
that will defeat ISIS, but know: The United
States of America must not be involved in
perpetual warfare in the Middle East.
Let me say, let me say something else.
There are those, including many Republicans,
some of the media, who think that because
of this horrific attack, that the only thing
that we should focus on is defeating ISIS,
and what I say is, yes, we will lead the world
in defeating ISIS, but at the same time, we
will rebuild the disappearing middle-class
of this country.
