I join with my constituents and civilized people all over the world in expressing my sorrow for the victims of today's atrocities in London, and my support for Prime Minister Blair and the British people in their hour of tragedy.

We are locked in a global struggle between civilization and barbarism. Today, the barbarians struck another blow, but they will never prevail in this struggle.  Today's attack reminds us of what we must do to succeed, and warns us of the urgent need to improve our Nation’s efforts.

First, we must improve dramatically our intelligence capabilities so that we identify and destroy terrorist leaders before they attack innocent people.

Second, we must improve dramatically our defenses on public transit systems--particularly trains.  What happened in London today could easily happen in New York or Washington tomorrow.  The U.S. did not take this threat seriously after the tragedy in Madrid.  Today, we received our second alarm.

Third, we must dramatically improve our efforts to stop the trafficking of nuclear, chemical, biological and radiological weapons.  There is no doubt that had today's attackers had access to any of these weapons, they would have used them, and the losses would have been exponentially higher. 

Finally, we must improve our efforts to convince people all over the world--particularly young Muslims, that our shared path of human freedom and dignity is far superior to the choice of death and destruction offered by the jihadists who presumably launched today’s attack.  As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I will continue my work--and continue my determination--toward the end that civilized people will win this struggle.