As published in Phileleftheros Newspaper (p.7)...
(English Text)

The Legacy of the September 11 Attacks:
Terrorists on the Run
by Ambassador Michael Klosson

September 11, 2003

The terrorists who attacked the United States on September 11, 2001 were trying to send the message that nobody is immune from their evil.  They are failing. 

By attacking thousands of innocent civilians in the air and on the ground in New York and Washington, they sowed their terror as widely as possibly.  By targeting the World Trade Center, they attacked not just the United States, but men and women of every culture, race and religion.  Cyprus was, unfortunately, just one among the list of 90 countries that lost a national.

New York is not just a city in America -- it is a cross-roads, an international city, a world symbol. Those attacks were an assault on fundamental human values that bind people around the globe. It may have been buildings in New York and Washington that were struck, but the world recognized instinctively that the foundations of our international community were under attack and the world community responded.

Since 9/11, the terrorists have broadened their murderous theme with bombings or other incidents in Bali, Casablanca, Riyadh, India, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Europe.

Terrorists aim to sow terror. And by doing so, to achieve political objectives they cannot reach by peaceful, political means.  Their indiscriminate violence puts innocent people at risk around the world. 

After September 11, the international community resolved to eliminate this menace.  Through new United Nations Security Council resolutions and many other measures, we all -- including the U.S. and Cyprus -- went after terrorists and their supporters.  We must and will defeat this challenge to our international community – our security, our values and our prosperity.

The continued challenge and current difficulties should not obscure the great progress the world community has achieved in only 24 months:  we are winning this war.  Nearly two-thirds of Al Qaeda’s senior figures have been captured or killed, and the rest are on the run.  Rooting the Taliban out of Afghanistan was the first battle, because they had provided the base and primary sanctuary for Al Qaeda.  While the struggle to build a free Afghanistan continues, the terrorists are hiding in a corner of the country.  And the United States and many other nations are helping Afghans rebuild their country and form a representative government, with democratic institutions, so that Afghanistan is never again a haven for terrorism.

Speaking to the American people last Sunday, President Bush summed up our progress in Iraq as follows:  “Iraq, where the former regime sponsored terror, possessed and used weapons of mass destruction, and for 12 years defied the clear demands of the United Nations Security Council, was the second theater of the international war against terrorism.  Our coalition enforced these international demands in one of the swiftest and most humane military campaigns in history.”

The work in Iraq continues as we help that country’s long-suffering people to build a decent and democratic society at the center of the Middle East. Iraq is being transformed from a place of torture chambers and mass graves into a nation of laws and free institutions. This undertaking is difficult and costly yet critical.  By helping the Middle East become a place of peace and progress, we will stop the export of terror that claims lives in free nations around the world. 

Despite these successes, recent terrorist attacks against UN headquarters in Iraq and the killing of a top Shiite cleric and nearly 100 Iraqis in Najaf indicate that the war against terrorism is far from over.  It will be a lengthy war, a different kind of war, fought on many fronts and in many places.  Al Qaeda lost a base in Afghanistan, but they operate in many other places.  The international community is on their trail, in the United States, in Europe, in Africa, in the Middle East and Asia and Latin America.  Al Qaeda is wounded, but not yet destroyed.  It remains a grave threat to the international community.  Terrorist networks are still seeking recruits and plotting attacks.   

The U.S. commitment to winning the war against terrorism is strong and clear.  President Bush announced on Sunday that he would submit to Congress a request for $87 billion. We will provide funds to help improve security in Iraq and Afghanistan. And we will help them to restore basic services, such as electricity and water, and to build new schools, roads, and medical clinics.

Later this month, Secretary Powell will meet with representatives of many nations to discuss their financial contributions to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Next month, there will be a similar funding conference for the reconstruction of Iraq.

The U.S. is discussing with our UN Security Council partners a new resolution on Iraq to give the international community a broader mandate to come together.  The resolution would authorize the creation of a UN-mandated multinational force in Iraq with a U.S. commander.  It would address the political process of returning sovereignty to the Iraqi people, including a more comprehensive and active role for the United Nations.  Members of the Council are coming up with suggestions and ideas; they will all be taken into consideration.  If we keep our eye on our common goal of returning Iraq’s future to Iraqis as fast as practicable, the resolution should hopefully enjoy unanimous support.

The fight against terror is not solely a matter of military might.  Success will continue to come on different fronts with different tools.  Since 9/11, law enforcement authorities in 100 countries have brought 3,500 terrorist operatives to justice.  Along with our international partners, we have frozen millions of dollars of terrorist assets worldwide.  The U.S. has designated almost 300 individuals and entities as terrorists and terrorist supporters.  More than 80 nations have implemented laws that will help deny terrorist access to financial resources.   I am pleased that Cyprus is among the countries that are working with us on this effort. 

Continued success in our global effort requires better regional and global methods of collecting and exchanging intelligence and information, and more law enforcement cooperation.  We need more vigorous cooperation to sever the sources of terrorist funding. 

Success also rests heavily on the effort we each make to defeat terrorism within our own borders.  Pakistan has taken more than 500 terrorist suspects into custody.  Morocco has arrested al Qaeda operatives planning attacks against shipping interests.  Saudi Arabia has helped in many ways to capture terrorists and disrupt their activities.  Many other nations around the world are working to uncover and disrupt terrorist networks.

Cyprus has declared its support for the war against terrorism by supporting various United Nations resolutions and international conventions.  It has taken steps to increase its border security, and it has tightened its regulations and adopted laws to help ensure that its banking system is not used by companies that belong to or finance terrorist organizations.  We appreciate these steps and look forward to even greater collaboration as we work together to face this common challenge. 

Defeating terrorism is essential for achieving the kind of world we all seek – a safer, more secure, tolerant, just, democratic and prosperous world.  By working to resolve regional conflicts – and here the U.S. remains vigorously engaged in promoting the roadmap for peace in the Middle East – by working to help developing countries lift their people up, and by working to further the cause of freedom, we dampen the fires of terrorism stoked by hatred, vengeance and resentment.   Through concerted international efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East and elsewhere we will win this war on terrorism and secure a peace based on our common hopes.