Senator Durbin remarks on Belgium, Cuba, the NGA

During U.S. Senator Dick Durbin’s visit to Caseyville on Thursday, the Springfield Democrat also touched on recent events including the trip to Cuba by President Obama and members of Congress, and the terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium.

On the recent attack:

“We live in a dangerous world,” Durbin said. “What happened in Brussels, Paris, San Bernardino, is a reminder that terrorism is a threat to our generation and our time. And we have to address this head on. First to eliminate ISIS, there is no alternative that to eliminate this organization … not only in Syria and Iraq, but as they reach across the world. There has to be a coordinated effort. The United States cannot go it alone. When we combine with other countries, we can be powerful, we can be resolute and we can be successful.”

On Belgium:

“Belgium is known as a weak link in Europe; it has some internal problems where it’s a country divided by ethnic groups, Muslims in Belgium are not brought into citizenship,” Durbin said. “They are classified as second-class people, under Belgium law. They live in neighborhoods or ghettos. It’s much different than what is in the United States. We don’t want to go down their road. We need to have a more fulsome intelligence effort by the Belgium people.”

On checking who’s traveling to the United States:

“European citizens have a visa waiver, if they want to come to the U.S., all they need is a passport,” Durbin said. “There is a flaw. The flaw is we don’t fingerprint them until they get off the airplane. … The fingerprinting and biometric measures should be done there. Some of these people will be caught and stopped from getting on an airplane. That is a much better system. … If we do that to Europeans, they will do that to us. I’m prepared. If I could take off my shoes, I could put my fingers down before I get on a plane. It’s no big deal.”

On Republican Presidential candidate Ted Cruz:

“I’ve got news for Cruz,” Durbin said. “There are no Muslim ghettos or neighborhoods in America. Few. Very few. Muslim Americans are assimilated throughout our culture, throughout our country, as they should be. And they will be. His suggestion makes no sense. I don’t think he’s in touch with reality.”

On the Cuba visit:

“This Cold War isolation, this embargo. Thank goodness this (isolation) is coming to an end. As you go through the streets of Havana on a bus with American politicians …people are standing on the sidewalks waiving Cuban flags. And cheering as you go by. They are ready for change. This is the right change. The president is right to call for this change. There will be some rough spots, along the way, but if we open the windows and doors, Cubans will take a look at what life is like outside their system, I have no doubt it will change for the better.”

On Cuba’s human rights record:

“There is certainly room for improvement. When it comes to incarceration of political dissidents, when it comes to phony elections, they still have a big problem. That really does separate us and divide us. As they’re exposed to western values and western practices, I think you will see, as we have in Eastern Europe, they will move toward our value system.”

On the Raul Castro regime:

“When I saw Cubans sitting down, getting on the Internet, I thought, he’s going to lose them,” Durbin said. “He can’t control all the news that’s coming to them, he can’t control or limit the things they learn. As that view of world expands, the mind control starts to diminish.”

On the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency:

“We’re supposed to learn soon … Mr. (Robert) Cardillo has visited both sides of the river. We’ve both made our best offer. He’s going to make the decision. There are those that think that ultimately this is going to be a political decision from the top. I don’t think so. We’ve got a good strong application here. I know how much it means to the other side of the river too … In the end the winners will be the people who work for the NGA and the taxpayers of this country. …. Let Mr. Cardillo judge this on the merits.”

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 3:48 PM with the headline "Senator Durbin remarks on Belgium, Cuba, the NGA."