09640

01/12/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09640

ONLY THE BEGINNING

"I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people." That is the pledge made by President George W. Bush in the wake of the September 11^th attack by terrorists on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It means that the top priority of the United States is the eradication of international terrorism. The war that the U.S.-led coalition launched against al-Qaida and its Taleban sponsors in Afghanistan is only the first step.

Clearly, it has been successful. The U.S. is proud of the part it played in driving a totalitarian regime and its terrorist partners out of Afghanistan. The U.S. is proud, in Mr. Bush’s words, "that we led a coalition that liberated women and children [and] brought down a government that was so incredibly repressive it's hard for those of us who live in America to understand."

"I'm proud of the fact," said President Bush, "that at the same time that we waged war against al-Qaida and the Taleban, we fed the people. While we dropped bombs, we also dropped food and medicine and clothing to make sure that the innocents in Afghanistan could survive the brutal winter. [Among] my finest memories thus far of this war against terror," said Mr. Bush, "was the joy that came on people's faces when they realized that the Taleban would no longer hold them hostage to an outdated, outmoded, dictatorial point of view."

Now that Afghanistan has been liberated, the United States will continue to carry out its policy to defeat terrorism elsewhere. The U-S will make no concessions to terrorists. The U-S will bring terrorists to justice. The U-S will help nations that are willing to fight terrorism. And the U.S. will isolate and deal with countries that sponsor terrorism.

No one can know how long this campaign will last. But, in the words of President Bush, "we must find terror where it exists and pull it out by the roots. Terror is evil, and wherever evil exists, the free nations of the world must come together in a massive coalition that says terror will not stand. This is a struggle of good versus evil. And, make no mistake about it, good will prevail."

Al-Qaida and its Taleban sponsors have been crushed in Afghanistan, but this is only the beginning of the end of terrorism. The message for terrorists all over the world is this: You will be next.