Statement on the Terrorist Attacks

September 11, 2001

This is a sad day for America. My wife Marcelle and I, like all Vermonters, are praying for the victims of these heinous acts, and their loved ones. The hearts of all Americans ache for those who have died or been injured, but none more so than their families and friends.

I have said for many years now that in a democracy, terrorism is our Achilles heel. It is clear now more than ever that we must concentrate on the terrorist threat. As our Capitol was evacuated this morning, I hoped that it would be reopened soon, for if we let terrorism shut down our democracy, terrorism wins.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, "a date which will live in infamy." Almost sixty years later, we Americans are facing another such day. Just as our citizens became united in World War II, we must unite against the cowardice of terrorism.

I am confident that as a nation, we will find those who plotted today’s tragic events, and bring them to justice. Today, as a nation, we mourn their victims, and hope that we can bring comfort to their loved ones.