America pauses to remember tragedy; and a Missouri Congressman says that tragedy will be compounded if we don’t pursue justice to its end.
West-Central Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton says America cannot afford to forget this day or those who lost their lives on this day.
“Today, we will once again mourn the families and those who have fallen and we express our deepest sympathy to their friends and their loved one,” says Skelton. “This is only right, but it’s not enough.”
It was eight years ago when terrorists flew jetliners into the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Passengers in another plane sacrificed their lives to bring it down in a farm field in Pennsylvania before it could complete its deadly mission. Nearly 3,000 died that day.
Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, says remembering and sympathy are not enough. He says the United States must press its fight in Afghanistan against al Qaeda and the Taliban.
“What we cannot do is walk away from the fight. We cannot allow the memory of this horrific event to be forgotten,” Skelton says. “We cannot forget how important it is to bring those who caused it to justice.”
Skelton says this is not a simple war nor an easy one, but he says the country has, for the first time, settled on a real strategy that is providing results.
Download/listen Brent Martin reports (1:15 MP3)
Download/listen Congressman Ike Skelton remembers 9/11 during House floor speech (3 min MP3)
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