Terry Everett, September 8, 2003

This Thursday marks the somber anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our homeland. It has been two years since terrorist attackers orchestrated four acts of pure evil on innocent Americans going about their daily lives. This week, as we pause to reflect upon the thousands who lost their lives that dark day, America remains at war to end the threat of such horror returning to our shores. We must not waiver in our commitment to defeat the scourge of terrorism.

With the ongoing military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, the events of 9/11/01 are not forgotten. That horrible Tuesday morning 24 months ago shook the nation like no single event in living memory. We were starkly reminded that there are forces in the world that hate our freedom. They place no value on their own lives or the lives of others and they have but one goal: the elimination of those who do not share their narrow and radical views.

Even as the smoke rose from the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon, America was faced with a serious challenge. Act or wait for more such attacks. We had no alternative but to take on the terrorists and those governments which sponsored them. President Bush and Congress approved military action to topple the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Both nations remain dangerous battlegrounds for American military personnel.

Having traveled to Iraq this year to personally convey the best wishes of Congress and the American people to our troops, I saw first hand their sacrifices and their gains. I saw the look of hope upon the faces of the people they liberated. Our military are dedicated heroes, and while not making the headlines, they have been and continue to be a positive difference in the lives of many who previously languished under tyranny.

The reason for military action in Afghanistan and Iraq was not only to remove regimes sympathetic to Al Qaeda, but to shut down the lines of support for these terrorists. We have made progress as both hostile governments are history and major blows have been delivered to the terrorists. Nevertheless, the battles continue in Afghanistan as Taliban holdouts and Al Qaeda try to undermine the peace. The case is the same in Iraq with Saddam loyalists and their Al Qaeda allies. In recent weeks, they have not only launched attacks on American military personnel but also bombed fellow Muslims who do not share their extremist views.

Some here at home ask why our nation continues to fight in these far away lands? Why do we still place our military in harm's way? Shouldn't we pull out and return home? They miss the point. We must fight the terrorists on their home turf in order to ensure that they cannot once again marshal the forces to launch another 9/11. If we are to prevail in defeating the terrorists as we pledged to do two years ago, we must seek them out in their lairs, be it Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines or elsewhere. We are also more vigilant than ever here on the home front and that will continue.

America is a nation of strong resolve and we will not cease until we have eliminated the danger to our land. As President Bush stated on September 14 during a national prayer service for the terrorist victims, "Just three days removed from these events, Americans do not yet have the distance of history, but our responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil.... This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others; it will end in a way and at an hour of our choosing."

Congressman Terry Everett represents the 2nd Congressional District of Alabama in the U.S. House of Representatives.