11/15/2001
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09528

AFRICAN LEADERS UNITED WITH U.S.

African countries have a strong stake in eliminating terrorism. The terrorists that the U.S.-led coalition is now fighting have struck twice in Africa with devastating results. The 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, were planned and executed by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

For every American killed in the August 1998 embassy bombings, eighteen Africans died. Over two-hundred Africans were killed by al-Qaida in those attacks. In the Nairobi bombing, about five-thousand Kenyans were wounded. And citizens of Egypt, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and South Africa were among the dead in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11^th.

Olusegun Obasanjo is president of Nigeria, which has the highest population of Muslims on the African continent. He told President George W. Bush that Nigeria "will remain steadfastly part of the coalition" against terrorism and will work to serve as a bridge between the West and the Islamic world. "The coalition has . . .the challenge to fight terrorism," said President Obasanjo. "It is also a challenge to make the world wholesome, more equitable, fairer and safer for all of us to live in. I believe that the coalition should not relax until that objective is achieved."

One of the world’s most admired Africans, former South African President Nelson Mandela, also strongly supports the U.S.-led military action in Afghanistan. "The United States of America lost five-thousand people, innocent people," said Mr. Mandela. "It is quite correct for [President Bush] to ensure that the terrorists, those masterminds, as well as those who have executed the action and survived, are punished heavily."

Mr. Mandela dismissed those calling for an early end to coalition action in Afghanistan. He said it would be "disastrous if President Bush gave in to the call that the army must now withdraw -- before he has actually flushed out the terrorists." If that happened, the terrorists and their supporters would continue to carry out attacks.

Support for the U.S.-led coalition against terrorism continues to grow throughout Africa. As President George W. Bush said, "The civilized world is rallying to America's side. They understand that if this terror goes unpunished, their own cities, their own citizens may be next."

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