[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Guest Commentary December 28, 2001
Never Underestimate the Enduring Power of Evil
The Honorable Robert Byrd
Hindsight is twenty-twenty. The worst private's hindsight, they say, is better than the best general's foresight.
We have recently had foresight -- warnings that have been ignored.
A short time ago, the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century, referred to as the Hart-Rudman Commission, pointed out:
biological weapons are the most likely choice of means for disaffected states and groups of the 21st century.
Free Newsletter
Get the scoop on important legislation, Congressional action, election updates, hard-hitting political commentary, the latest developments in the War on Terror...and more! Just enter your email address below.
Privacy: Your name and email address will be confidential - never rented, never sold.
Two years ago, in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, CIA Director George Tenet pointed out:
There are a number of terrorist groups seeking to develop or acquire biological and chemical weapons capabilities. Some such groups -- like Usama bin Ladin's -- have international networks, adding to uncertainty and the danger of a surprise attack.
Last April, the State Department, in its "Patterns of Global Terrorism," pointed out:
Most terrorists continue to rely on conventional tactics ... but some terrorists--such as Usama bin Laden and his associates -- continue to seek chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear capabilities.
There were plenty of warnings that an archenemy of the United States, an archenemy determined to kill as many Americans as he could, could well unleash this ancient scourge upon America.
Who among us could have truly comprehended beforehand the horror of September 11? It is difficult enough to understand even after the fact.
But if history teaches us anything, it is that we should never underestimate the enduring power of evil. No science fiction writer ever wrote of anything as horrible as the Nazi Holocaust. It took an evil madman and his fanatical followers to make it a reality.
Now we are faced with another madman and his fanatical followers. We cannot allow ourselves to ever again underestimate him or others like him.
Robert Byrd is a U.S. Senator (D-West Virginia). The above column has been adapted from a speech Sen. Byrd delivered on the floor of the Senate, December 17, 2001. To contact him, Click Here.
The above column has been distributed by PoliticsOL.com.
