Senate Proceeding on May 7th, 2009 :: 0:44:10 to 0:57:50
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0:44:08 to 0:44:28( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: well, that's a start, but with democrats in congress adding to the national debt at the rate of more than $100 billion every month already a budget that triples the already unsustainable public debt over the next decade, it's clear that there's not much more we can do to protect our children and grandchildren from the unprecedented trillions in

0:44:10 to 0:57:50( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Pat Roberts

0:44:29 to 0:44:49( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: additional debt proposed by administration. madamresident, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. roberts: i ask that i be recognized to speak as if we were in morning business. in fact, i morning business. and i ask to be recognized for

0:44:50 to 0:45:11( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: 20 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. roberts: i thank you, madam president. and thank you to our republican leader tpo sore succinctly summing up the issue that we face in regards to the terrorists -- and yes, they are terrorists -- who are at gitmo or at

0:45:12 to 0:45:32( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: what i think is almost unbelievable suggestion that we move these folks to a homeland, to homeland and my remarks will continue in that regard. and i thank the leader for raising this subject. madam president, i

0:45:33 to 0:45:53( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: speak about guantanamo bay, but i'd like to point out that i'm speaking about a guantanamo bay that some of my colleagues and some citizens of our great country might really not recognize. obviously the guantanamo bay i'm speaking of houses terrorists.

0:45:54 to 0:46:14( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: i put that word in quote. i've been there, and there are terrorists at gitmo. i've seen them. as a matter of fact, i've seen interrogation procedures with the "terrorists." ey are not enemy combatants.

0:46:15 to 0:46:36( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: they are not overseas contingency operation. but "terrorists" who we must wage a war on "terrorists" ag plan to launch attack against us. senator mcconnell spoke of the 10% that have been released and that have shown back up on the battlefield. there is a won

0:46:37 to 0:46:59( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: well it isn't a wonderful picture. it is a very telling picture of one of these terrorists who are incarcerated who we released. and he was treated and he was fitted with a health care better than many of my small communities get in regards to gitmo and the health care facilities they have there. that is picture of him back on

0:47:00 to 0:47:21( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: the battlefield waiving his prosthesis in one hand, with an ak-47 in the other. if that doesn't tell the story, i don't know what would. now, the reason i explain this is because we have in how those who are incarcerated at gitmo are now being in the media and the

0:47:22 to 0:47:42( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: administration and as a consequence by some americans. i understand that there is a poor perception of guantanamo bay. but to say that there are no are not even enemy combatants there isoing a disservice to

0:47:43 to 0:48:03( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: us all by treul trivializing the crimes committed by those who are incarcerated there. madam president, i ask you, when did we start making the terror politically correct, and why? now, i understand that this administration has great feeling about these issues. many americans have great feeling about many americans disagreed very strongly with the past administration.

0:48:04 to 0:48:25( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: i know this administration wants to draw a line and say this is not our policy, whether it's whether it's our operationness afghanistan, whether it's our foreign policy or national security policy or whether it's intelligence. these are all very legitimate topics for debate and discussion.

0:48:26 to 0:48:46( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: but in the process of which in this debate, we should not ignore reality. this same question a to why we would do this was asked by daniel perl's father in an article that ran in th street this past february.

0:48:47 to 0:49:09( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: i have the article right here. and it's called "daniel and the normalization of evil." every senator and every american should read this article and should taket to heart. as i think most people know, and we should all rember, that

0:49:10 to 0:49:30( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: daniel perle was the journalist captured and beheaded -- beheaded -- on video by the nonterrorist, nonenemy combatant khalid sheik mohammed in 2002. beheaded by khalid sheik mohammed

0:49:31 to 0:49:53( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: at guantanamo bay right list ton what professor perle -- listen to what protp ers pearl, a -- what professor perle has to say about that act of terror when he and picture at his son daniel. "those around the world who

0:49:54 to 0:50:15( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: mourn for danny -- his son -- in 2002 genuinely hope that danny's murder would be a turning point in the history of man's inhumanity to man and that the targeting of innocents to transmit any political message would quickly become like slavery and human sacrifice, an embarrassing relic of a bygone era.

0:50:16 to 0:50:37( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: but somehow -- and i continue to quote professor barbarism often cloaked in language of resistance has gained acceptance in the most elite circles of our society. the words "war on terror" cannot be offense. civilized society, so it seems,

0:50:38 to 0:50:59( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: is so numbed by violence that it has lost its gift to be disgusted madam president, i remain disgusted by evil. and more than fatigued by those who seemingly ignore it. i am disgusted by those who target innocent civilians as they s

0:51:00 to 0:51:20( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: refuse to adopt what danny's father called the mentality of surrender. and i think it's not too late. it's not too late for a wakeup call. we can all refuse to surrender to the i somehow a tactic to refuse to believe it is an acceptable tool of resistance. there is still time for

0:51:21 to 0:51:41( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: americans to rember that there are men at guantanamo who cannot be released and most certainly should not be on american soil. in fact, americans must rember there are men at gitmo who planned the september 11 attacks, the u.s. kohl attacks prior to that. this was before we even

0:51:42 to 0:52:03( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: connected the dots. and the attacks on american embaies in africa, causing great loss of human life. there are men at gitmo who perpetuate horrible crimes against humanity and would like to do so again because they don't like who we are or the way we live. terrorist detainees should be

0:52:04 to 0:52:24( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: held as they are now at gitmo in compliance with -- in compliance with international law. that should be respected, of course. attorney general, eric guantanamo, despite what you may think, is a first-rate facility that safely keeps these men out

0:52:25 to 0:52:46( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: of civilized society, affords them humane treatment and gives them religious respect. again, i know. i was there. ce did not afford daniel perle those courtesies. no, khalid sheik mohammed and others like him were and still

0:52:47 to 0:53:08( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: woman and child in our country. yet, should we bring these terrorists to american soil, not only is that just plain wrong. it's logistically in a situation that will not work. tremendous infusion of funds and a lot of other problems.

0:53:09 to 0:53:30( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: and in dodge city at a coffee klatch i attended that i attended they c flat-out dumb. let me paint you a picture. fort leavenworth, kansas, has been mentioned many times as a possible location for the 100 or so terrorists that defense secretary gates says can't be released but can't be tried.

0:53:31 to 0:53:53( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: leavenworth, where we educate -- educate -- all future army ficers, where we host foreign military officers every year to build relationships and foster military cooperation. leavenworth, the intellectual center of the army, you think army officers want to the study

0:53:54 to 0:54:14( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: at for fort levin worth if terrorists are there? do you think they want to send their kids to school on a base minutes away from the most dangerous men in the world? do you think foreign countries especially friendly muslim nations, will want to send their best and brightest officers to a place that houses men that we all agree are not appropriate for a civilized society? i don't think so.

0:54:15 to 0:54:37( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: not a chance. and even worse, i can't believe that we're asking the people o leavenworth to hang out the "welcome terrorists" banner or the welcome mat t share their community not only with terrorists but every one

0:54:38 to 0:54:58( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: who will ultimat and before someone says fort leavenworth is secure, let me tell that you it's secure all right, but for military prisoners who are compliant and for civilian prisoners who are not on the jihad against america. guantanamo bay is a fortress, a

0:54:59 to 0:55:19( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: humane red cross, a fortress, pwau fortress nonetheless -- but a fortress nonetheless. moving such a facility to hometown u.a. will security beyond reality. i can't even begin to imagine twha it would look like -- what it would leavenworth. but i do know a place like fort

0:55:20 to 0:55:41( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: levin worth, with aailroad running through it and a river running next to it and highways all around it, won't be secure. no, madam president, it's not secure enough. in fact, the onl would have to be a fortress is in the middle of nowhere or guantanamo bay. let's also not forget the cost to taxpayers if such a thing would actually happen.

0:55:42 to 0:56:03( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: you would not be able to fiction these prisoners with the prison population there, let alone the public. you would have to build a hospital and exercise facilities, places for worship. and the list goes on and on and on. and we have that at gitmo. if you think that's crazy, i'd recommend you travel to gitmo and take a look.

0:56:04 to 0:56:25( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: they've already got all those facilities there. in fact, the medical facilities that i saw are better than most in most of our small rural communities in this country. why we keep coming back to this ridiculous argument -- why do we keep trivializing the crimes

0:56:26 to 0:56:48( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: committed by those at gitmo? and why we keep offering up our american communities as a reasonable alternative is beyond me. but i will say this, not in our not in kansas. not on this senator's watch. not on my watch. i don't know how many times i have to say or shout this on the

0:56:49 to 0:57:09( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: senate floor befe this miss but trust me, trust me, i will continue to do it until we come to our senses or until one of my colleagues that wants to close gitmo offers up a site in their state as a reasonable alternative. and one senator has a lot of tools in his toolbox f keeping the senate tied up in knots,

0:57:10 to 0:57:28( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: the bright idea of moving these prisoners to kansas, you can all make summer travel plans because we're going to be snding a lot of time here doing nothing. come to thinof it, that might be a better alternative as to where we're headed. thank you, madam president.