Senator Tom Cotton sir good morning to you heard you on the air last night I think you were on ABC I do believe I saw that uh we can talk about the debate in a moment but just your Reflections as you serve our own country and think about this day today sir well thank you Bill it's a very solemn day and our heart goes out to the families of all those who lost loved ones uh in on 9911 in the uh Trade towers in Pennsylvania at the Pentagon the firefighters and First Responders who sacrificed their lives that day and all the families who've been affected by the wars uh to avenge those deaths in Afghanistan and then to make sure that Saddam Hussein couldn't threaten the world um it's been a long time uh and I know those families have grieved for some many years now but also hope that this can be a day in which they look back proudly on their Lo loved ones and what they did on those days and the lives they Liv leading up to that day as well our prayers are all with all of them Senator last year here at the Republican primary debate I asked a question about um are we back to September 10th thinking and I know that in your mind you you are always thinking about the terrorism threat uh you grew up through those years you made life decisions career decisions based on what happened that day and this is the quote from the New York Post editorial board I'll get your reaction after 23 years we still need to remember the lessons of 911 for all the errors of the war on terror the terrorists have never ended their war on us yet America or at least its leaders risk falling back into the complacency that led to the atrocity we swore to never forget have we have we Fallen back to September 10th no Dana I don't think we can ever as a nation go back to the September 10th mindset and there are patriots serving throughout our government and around the world who are trying to ensure that we never have another terrorist attack certainly one on the scale of 911 whether they're in the military or in our intelligence community in the Department of Justice uh in the state department uh we have to recognize that we have other serious threats as well like the threat to China but that editorial is right the jihadists have never given up their efforts to try to kill Americans and to undermine America and we do need those Brave Patriots to be vigilant and to make sure that we're protecting our nation Around the Clock even as we confront more traditional challenges like the Chinese Communists Iran came up last night during this debate and kamla Harris said she stood by the decision to get out of Afghan anistan when they did um and this was a moment that Donald Trump jumped on because so far as we can tell not many people have been fired from this Administration he said this after August of 2021 in Afghanistan they never fired one person they didn't fire anybody having to do with Afghanistan and the Taliban and the 13 people who's who's were just killed viciously and violent ently killed and I got to know the parents and the family they didn't fire they should have fired all those generals all those top people because that was one of the most incompetently handled situations anybody has ever seen I know you have given this great thought why not fire anyone well I think they wanted to fire someone they'd have to start the top with Joe Biden and KLA Harris they're the ones who disregarded the advice of almost every one of their uh key cabinet officials and Senior mil milary advisers who thought it would be fool hearty to for instance give up our large secure air base outside of Cobell and Retreat back to just a small indefensible airport which is where 13 Brave Americans died uh 3 years ago last week um they'd have to start at the top they wanted accountability but Afghanistan and our humiliation there really was a turning point it was just a few weeks later that Vladimir Putin began to mass troops on Ukraine and invaded just as he had under Barack Obama but not when Donald Trump was President it also supercharged Iran sense of confidence and even arrogance in the Middle East that they could get away with almost anything that's why they've been continually shooting rockets and missiles and drones at American forces in the region we hardly ever strike back at them they funded Hamas and Hezbollah and their vicious attacks on Israel right now rebels in Yemen backed by Iran have a choke hold on the Red Sea one of the most vital Global waterways for American Prosperity the humiliation in Afghanistan 3 years ago really was a turning point that that embolden all of our adversaries around the world Senator Tom Cotton thank you for joining joining us on this day of remembrance and a day of uh consequence in the presidential debate we appreciate you and talk to you soon thank you sir