As we go about our daily lives, it’s easy to forget there are thousands of men and women fighting to defend our freedom and security every single day.

Published July 4, 2010
By REP. ERIC CANTOR
Virginia Pilot

In December, with Congress in the midst of the heated health care debate, I received an e-mail from 1st Lieutenant Wilson Nance, a Marine stationed at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan.

“I have no other reason to write you other than to give you encouragement in the coming months ahead,” the 2006 VMI graduate wrote.

From the safety and security of the U.S. Capitol, grappling with Democrats over high-risk insurance pools and the public option, I received support and encouragement from a soldier in a war zone 6,000 miles away. It was an inspirational reminder that we must remain vigilant in our support of the courageous men and women who serve in our armed forces.

If anything, I should have been the one thanking and encouraging Lt. Nance, not the other way around.

As we go about our daily lives – going to work and buying groceries – it’s easy to forget there are thousands of men and women fighting to defend our freedom and security every single day. It shouldn’t be only on the Fourth of July, Veterans Day or during the occasional standing ovation at a ball game that we stop to honor their sacrifice.

We should be thinking about them, honoring them and praying for them every day. More than 830,000 veterans live in Virginia, and nearly 200,000 Virginians serve in the military around the world.

Just recently, with the uncertainty surrounding the dismissal of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, we were reminded how perilous the situation on the ground in Afghanistan continues to be. Our troops serving there are very much at the center of a protracted and dangerous fight for our national security.

Our nation is at a crossroads, both at home and with its commitments abroad. The America we grew up in is rapidly changing, and unless we change course now, our children and grandchildren will inherit a country worse off than it was left to us, with less freedom and opportunity. That freedom and opportunity is being fought for each and every day by the young men and women thousands of miles away, in foreign lands against enemies that couldn’t possibly imagine what the honor of being an American and experiencing liberty means.

In supporting our troops, a great place to start is to follow the example of the good people in our communities leading the way to honor veterans and help troops and their families who currently serve in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Retired Marine Sgt. Nathan Huffman from Richmond organized a 100-mile Memorial Day Ultra Marathon in May, in honor of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to our country.

Retired Army Col. William Barrett founded Heroes Helping Heroes, a nonprofit organization that provides community-based programs to assist veterans in finding employment. There are dozens of programs like Heroes Helping Heroes looking for volunteers and support.

Started after the attacks of Sept. 11, Homes for Our Troops helps troops with serious disabilities find homes at no cost. Thanks to the program, Staff Sgt. Dwayne Cole, who was paralyzed in 2007 in Iraq when a bullet hit his spine, just received keys to a brand new home in Henrico. After spending six months at Walter Reed, he and his wife had been living in a rented apartment with inaccessible bathrooms.

While supporting programs like Heroes Helping Heroes and Homes for Our Troops are great opportunities to get involved, little things can also go a long way. The next time you see someone in uniform in the grocery store or in the airport, thank him or her for what they do for our country. If you have a friend, neighbor or relative serving overseas, send them a letter, email, or care package.

The courage and dedication of America’s military is a constant inspiration for our nation. We must follow the lead of Sgt. Huffman, Col. Barrett and many others in supporting and honoring our troops every day.

Eric Cantor, a Republican from Richmond, serves as House minority whip.

View my interview with Greta Van Susteren discussing American National Security.

Congressman Eric Cantor today met with small business leaders and afterwards addressed the health care issue as well as the impact that Washington is having on small businesses.

This Op-Ed originally appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch

The Obama administration has elected to try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a civilian court just a few blocks from New York City’s Ground Zero. The decision has left millions of Americans bewildered as to why we would not prosecute him in a military tribunal.

The administration portrays the move as a pain-free step forward for America’s image around the world. But treating terrorism as if it were a matter of domestic law enforcement is more accurately a step backward that only invites pain. Any marginal benefits in world popularity must be weighed against the risks to national security and legal complications that will arise by importing suspected foreign terrorists and affording them the same rights as U.S. citizens who commit crimes.

Most importantly, suspected terrorists will be able to force the government to make public all evidence used against them. In the 1993 World Trade Center bombing trial — handled in federal court — the government had to disclose its list of 200 suspected terrorist co-conspirators. The federal prosecutor who handled the case, Andrew McCarthy, says the list was delivered within days to Osama bin Laden, who gained a window into U.S. intelligence strategies and found out which terrorists were compromised.

In the years since 9/11, America has strived to find the right balance between keeping the American people safe and honoring our democratic ideals. When it comes to prosecuting suspected terrorists captured on the battlefield, Congress, the executive branch, and the Supreme Court have spent years wrangling to find the right approach.

What has emerged is an updated military tribunal system that adequately safeguards sensitive U.S. national security information and doesn’t tie the hands of the intelligence community and our military. And it’s not as if the administration flatly rejects this structure. On the very same day the president announced his plans for Mohammed, he also declared that we would try by military commission five terrorists who attacked the USS Cole in October 2000.

The message here is perverse. Think of what this must signal to foreign terrorists sworn to war against the United States: Commit terrorism against a U.S. military target in a faraway place, America rightfully treats you as an enemy combatant; go the extra mile and attack thousands of innocents on the U.S. mainland, and America entitles you to all the niceties that U.S. citizens receive.

This is dangerous for a host of reasons. Much of our evidence against suspected terrorists, secured on the battlefield or in the heat of war, may not be admissible in a civilian court setting. The precedent will add another layer of concern for our war fighters who will have to worry about additional rights for their foes on the battlefield.

In the short term, consider the counterproductive spectacle the Mohammed trial will devolve into. The man who hatched and plotted the worst terror attack on U.S. soil wins a coveted platform to air his grievances against America. With all the legitimate public outrage against him and his cohort, expect a highly politicized trial. Lawyers will showboat, courtrooms will overflow, and security concerns will abound. To top it all off, it will cost American taxpayers several million dollars. And for what purpose?

Republicans believe military commissions are the appropriate setting for trying Mohammed and all terrorists caught on the battlefield. We reject the notion that foreign terrorists are entitled to the same rights as American citizens. And we also flatly oppose the premise that civilian courts are necessarily a fairer way to conduct a trial against a suspected terrorist or enemy combatant. There is nothing to support that conclusion.

In reality, military tribunals have a better grasp of military intelligence and the facts surrounding the capture of suspected terrorists. They have the specialized knowledge to sort through and compare the cases to see where the evidence is strong and where it isn’t.

Civilian courts don’t need a deluge of cases sprung on them that require new top secret clearances for clerks and office personnel. It’s pointless for them to have to spend countless hours catching up to the understanding that military judges already have.

Just as administrative judges handle Social Security claims, so should military judges take up prosecutions of Guantanamo detainees.

Treating terrorists such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as if they were domestic criminals is not a noble undertaking that boosts our moral standing. It is a fool’s errand. One that — if we’re not careful — could wind up costing lives. Whether or not we like to admit it, we remain a nation at war with terrorists.

Barack Obama has announced that he intends to close the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo (Gitmo) on the island of Cuba and move the terrorists and enemy combatants to sites in the United States. Unfortunately, for Virginia, two of the sites Obama is considering to house these terrorists are in Virginia. This should be of great concern to all Virginians including Virginia’s Governor and Attorney General.

Virginia would be importing some of the most dangerous people on earth, terrorists determined to kill Americans and destroy our way of life. Most are far more threatening than the 61 detainees released from Guantanamo over the past few years that the Pentagon says have already returned to terrorism.

Except for 60 prisoners who have been cleared for release, provided we can find countries to accept them, the remaining detainees are high-level Al-Qaeda operatives with a hand in 9-11 or other terrorist attacks; key Taliban operatives; and other Al-Qaeda facilitators and money people. Not exactly your run-of-the-mill prisoners.

Moving these terrorists to Virginia is especially troubling when you consider that neither Norfolk or Quantico were designed to house Al-Qaeda terrorists. Both sites are only minutes from major interstates, elementary schools, and hospitals. Even more frighting the naval brig at Norfolk is only 49 miles from the Surry Nuclear Power Plant and Quantico is only 60 miles from the nuclear plant at Lake Anna.

Do we really intend to house terrorists in these urban centers?

Terrorists, who do not wear uniforms, do not fight for a state and show only reckless disregard for the Geneva Conventions should not be held on the mainland.

But if President Obama is really adamant on bringing the terrorists to American soil, shouldn’t he build a facility in a remote desert away from schools and hospitals or put these terrorists in maximum security facilities equipped to handle dangerous criminals?

Congress, through the power of the purse, has the constitutional authority to prevent any potential transfer of detainees from Guantanamo to facilities in Virginia. That’s why I support a bill recently introduced by Rep. Randy Forbes to prevent any funds from being dedicated to such purposes. I also call on the Governor to use his influence with our new President to stop the transfer of terrorists to Virginia.