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Walden says openness is America's strength By PAUL FATTIG The United States cannot allow terrorists to rob its citizens of their independence and freedom in the wake of Tuesday's attack, warned Oregon Congressman Greg Walden. "Our openness is our strength," Walden said. "We cannot give that up." But the Republican from Hood River, who represents Oregon's vast 2nd Congressional District that includes Jackson and Josephine counties, said the nation needs to re-evaluate its airport security measures as well as determine why intelligence agencies were caught unaware. He said there was no doubt the nation would strike back at those who committed the violent acts. "I can assure you that we will hunt them down," he said. "We will find them and they will pay the ultimate penalty." Walden was in a staff meeting in Washington, D.C., when the hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center buildings. He was participating in an outdoor news conference on the east side of the Capitol when the third airliner crashed into the Pentagon. "Just as we were evacuating, a big jetliner circled the Capitol, banked and came back," Walden said. "We all ran into the basement of the Cannon building." Speaking by telephone from a staff member's home about 10 blocks from the Capitol, Walden said his immediate personal concern was to contact his wife, Mylene, in their apartment on the 16th floor of a building near the airport. "She was OK," he said. "She heard the explosion at the Pentagon but didn't realize what it was." His next call went to Hood River to talk to their son, Anthony, 11. "He was pretty shook up - he stayed home from school," Walden said. As the dust settled after the initial shock of the attack, people in the nation's capital began taking stock, Walden said. "Everyone is in disbelief that something as cowardly and cruel as this could take place on American soil," he said. "It's a horribly frightening event. "This is really our generation's equivalent to Pearl Harbor," he added. "The difference with this is that we don't know who is behind it." Former congressman Bob Smith of Medford, who served 12 years in the 2nd District, agreed. "This is really an attack on civilization, not just the United States - it's an attack on the entire free world," said Smith, a Republican who is on President Bush's transition team. Smith had been scheduled to fly to Washington Thursday but canceled the trip because of the terrorist attack. "The free world has to rise up as a whole to say we will not tolerate this," he said, adding that he expects swift retaliation once the terrorist group responsible is identified. "We've always assumed we would be safe in America," he added. "The fear terrorists could strike is always there now." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.