HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 56

46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2004

INTRODUCED BY

Joe Thompson

A JOINT MEMORIAL

EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EFFORTS TO PROTECT THE UNITED STATES FROM TERRORISTS AND THE PROLIFERATION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

     WHEREAS, in the immortal words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, "When you see a rattlesnake poised to strike, you do not wait until he has struck before you crush him"; and

     WHEREAS, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, showed that new deadly challenges have emerged from rogue states and terrorists; and

     WHEREAS, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction has fundamentally changed the nature of threats against the United States and its allies; and

     WHEREAS, a coordinated chemical, biological or nuclear attack against the United States or its allies would cost the lives of millions of innocent Americans and others, as well as cause immeasurable damage to the United States and world economy; and

     WHEREAS, the United States cannot wait patiently and allow radical regimes that support terrorism to acquire or manufacture illegal weapons of mass destruction and pass them to terrorist organizations; and

     WHEREAS, if the United States does not meet this terrorist threat in the streets of Baghdad and Kandahar, Americans will be forced to fight terrorists in Boston and Kansas City; and

     WHEREAS, President Bush has correctly stated that the United States has the right to defend itself and its allies if the world community refuses to enforce the rule of law to deter or remove future threats from tyrannical regimes and halt the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it support President Bush in his efforts to keep the United States and our allies safe from terrorists, dangerous authoritarian regimes and weapons of mass destruction.

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