[iwar] [fc:American-Holy-War]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-09-12 15:39:35


Return-Path: <sentto-279987-1805-1000334713-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com>
Delivered-To: fc@all.net
Received: from 204.181.12.215 by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.1.0) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Wed, 12 Sep 2001 16:36:22 -0700 (PDT)
Received: (qmail 1160 invoked by uid 510); 12 Sep 2001 23:35:26 -0000
Received: from n18.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.68) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 12 Sep 2001 23:35:26 -0000
X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-1805-1000334713-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com
Received: from [10.1.4.56] by mr.egroups.com with NNFMP; 12 Sep 2001 22:45:13 -0000
X-Sender: fc@big.all.net
X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com
Received: (EGP: mail-7_3_2_1); 12 Sep 2001 22:45:12 -0000
Received: (qmail 76434 invoked from network); 12 Sep 2001 22:43:12 -0000
Received: from unknown (10.1.10.27) by l10.egroups.com with QMQP; 12 Sep 2001 22:43:12 -0000
Received: from unknown (HELO big.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta2 with SMTP; 12 Sep 2001 22:39:44 -0000
Received: (from fc@localhost) by big.all.net (8.9.3/8.7.3) id PAA05423 for iwar@onelist.com; Wed, 12 Sep 2001 15:39:35 -0700
Message-Id: <200109122239.PAA05423@big.all.net>
To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List)
Organization: I'm not allowed to say
X-Mailer: don't even ask
X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL1]
From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com
Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com
Precedence: bulk
List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 15:39:35 -0700 (PDT)
Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [iwar] [fc:American-Holy-War]
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Washington Post
September 12, 2001
American Holy War
By William S. Cohen
As the smoke clears from the skies of New York, Washington and western
Pennsylvania, much remains unknown this morning regarding yesterday's
terrorist attacks. But what is certain is that the American people will not
succumb to terrorists -- and will not rest until justice is done to those
responsible.
As a free society, and one that is constantly renewed and strengthened by
integrating individuals from all lands and cultures, America is particularly
vulnerable to those who exploit our openness. The objective of such
terrorists is to cause America to cower -- to withdraw from the world and to
abandon our ideals. But America cannot wrap itself in a continental cocoon,
safely isolated from a troubled world. We have global economic, political
and security interests that require our active involvement abroad. Even if
we did retreat, America would remain such a potent symbol that those lashing
out over perceived grievances would still aim their wrath at the United
States.
Too many generations have paid the ultimate price defending our freedom for
us to retreat from the world or retrench from our values. In a very real
sense, America itself must embark on its own holy war -- not one driven by
hatred or fueled by blood but grounded in our commitment to freedom,
tolerance and the rule of law and buttressed by our willingness to use all
means available to defend these values. Just as those who pursue terror have
been relentless in their efforts, so must we be in ours.
No government can guarantee the full safety of its citizens either abroad or
at home. But no government can permit its citizens to be attacked with
impunity if it hopes to retain the loyalty and confidence of those it is
charged to protect.
There have been many silent victories in which attacks, both abroad and at
home, have been foiled by U.S. authorities during their preparation. Key
terrorists and portions of terrorist networks have been rolled up,
unraveling planned operations against U.S. interests. We have used military
force to strike at terrorist camps and capabilities, and we are constantly
refining our ability do so more effectively. Those who support or harbor
terrorists should know that the United States is not limited to passive
defense but is prepared to take active measures to disrupt terrorist
activities, as demonstrated three years ago by our strikes in Afghanistan
and Sudan. There is no statute of limitations in pursuing justice, and U.S.
authorities actively hunt those responsible for past terrorist acts and have
successfully brought many to justice. America's memory is long, and her
reach even longer.
We have sought and usually received cooperation and support from other
governments in these efforts, with various degrees of enthusiasm. Such
international cooperation has become even more essential and less
discretionary -- meaning that America's fundamental posture toward friendly
but not always helpful capitals should increasingly depend on their
cooperation in fighting terrorism. This is because, as horrific as
yesterday's attacks were, we must be prepared for even worse. Americans must
now think the unthinkable -- that the next terrorist attack could well
involve a contagious biological agent carried to our soil or airspace in a
briefcase or bottle. We face opponents who are working diligently to become,
in W. H. Auden's words, someone who "clutching a little case, walks briskly
to infect a city whose terrible future may have just arrived."
Viewed as merely the stuff of fiction a decade ago, such a scenario is now
widely acknowledged as a genuine threat. In recent years, tremendous efforts
have been made by federal, state and local authorities to prevent and
prepare for such a threat, and thereby deter it. But much more remains to be
done. There is a natural tendency among political figures to compete to
claim this issue as their own, but the threat is sufficiently at hand that a
disciplined approach is needed, with the president and his administration
providing the leadership and Congress providing oversight and funding.
To be effective, this effort will require greater international cooperation,
intelligence collection abroad, and information gathering by law enforcement
agencies at home. Information is power, and greater access to information
will require the American people and their elected officials to find the
proper balance between privacy and protection. It has been difficult to get
sustained, thoughtful, broad-based dialogue on this delicate topic, but the
sooner such dialogue occurs the more likely it is we will strike the right
balance. This will raise difficult questions regarding government intrusion,
but the main threat to our civil liberties stems from the chaos and carnage
that could result from a biological attack for which we were insufficiently
prepared and the demands for action that would follow. Those who engage in
terror feed on any display of fear or weakness, and those attacked must
either fight or fold. Our people, not just our government, stood up to the
fascist and then the communist threat to freedom. Americans did not triumph
in the long, twilight struggle of the Cold War only to forfeit our victory
to anonymous extremists in this war. As with the last, this struggle will
not be won with a single military response. Victory will require the
American people to display courage, faith, unity and determination to carry
on for the indefinite future.
The writer is a former Republican senator from Maine and a former secretary
of defense.

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Secure your servers with 128-bit SSL encryption! Grab your copy of VeriSign's FREE Guide: "Securing Your Web Site for Business." Get it Now!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/n7RbFC/zhwCAA/yigFAA/kgFolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

------------------
http://all.net/ 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 



This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-09-29 21:08:42 PDT