First responders will be on the frontlines if there is a terrorist attack in our communities, and we must provide them with the tools they need to do their difficult jobs.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Every day, first responders put their own lives on the line to ensure our safety. The least we can do is make sure they have the tools to protect and serve their communities.
We want to look at how we would respond because, as hard as we work to prevent terrorist attacks here North America, if we have a catastrophic terrorist attack, it is the military that is going to have to go in at the request of civilian authorities.
I think that that's so true for a lot of first responder families and military families. If you ask them, 'Is there anything I can do for you?', they almost always will not ask for that help.
But I warn my colleagues that we will fail in our efforts to protect the homeland if we do not take additional steps to avoid a trade-off between protecting ourselves against terrorists attacks and preparing for and responding to natural disasters.
We need strong public health institutions to respond to any challenge. We need to deal with critical infrastructure. The reality is that very little money has flowed to communities to help our first responders; to help our hospitals; to help the public health infrastructure.
I've always seen first responders as unsung heroes and very special people because, when everyone else is running away from danger, they run into it.
The same tools we need to use to keep this country safe by bringing terrorists to justice, because I guarantee you, if they have the opportunity and the means, they will take American lives.
We worked to develop our own operations to advance U.S. counterterrorism objectives by penetrating terrorist safe havens and collecting intelligence that would inform policy and enable our own operations.
We must be prepared to face our responsibilities and be willing to use force if necessary.
What I learned from 9/11 that is really important, first and foremost, you have to motivate all the workers and understand that they've left their families to help clean up a pretty awful situation. Every time you have an emergency management situation, it's all about teamwork.
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