10108

09/04/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-10108

CHENEY ON TERRORISM WAR

The United States-led coalition is still at the beginning of the global war on terrorism. The terrorists who struck the U.S. on September 11^th are ruthless. As Vice President Dick Cheney said, "There is no doubt but that they wish to strike again, and that they are working to acquire the very deadliest weapons."

"Against such enemies," said Mr. Cheney, "America and the civilized world have only one option. Wherever terrorists operate, we must stop them." In Afghanistan, the Taleban regime and al-Qaida terrorists have met the fate that they chose for themselves when they declared war on civilization. But Afghanistan was only the beginning. "Were we to stop now," said Vice President Cheney, "any sense of security we have would be only temporary. There is a terrorist underworld out there around the globe, spread to more than sixty countries."

"In this war," said Mr. Cheney, "we have assembled a broad coalition of civilized nations that recognize the danger and that are working with us on all fronts." President George W. Bush, said Mr. Cheney, "has made very clear that there is no neutral ground in the fight against terror. Those who harbor terrorists share guilt for the acts they commit. And under the Bush Doctrine, a regime that harbors or supports terrorists will be regarded as an enemy of the United States."

The September 11^th terrorist attacks on the U.S., said Mr. Cheney, "awakened this nation to danger, to the true ambitions of the global terror network, and to the reality that weapons of mass destruction are being sought by determined enemies who would not hesitate to use them against us."

"It is a certainty," Mr. Cheney said, "that the al-Qaida network is pursuing such weapons, and has succeeded in acquiring at least a crude capability to use them." The U.S. is committed to working closely with the global coalition to deny terrorists and their state sponsors the materials, the technology, and the expertise to make and deliver weapons of mass destruction. As Vice President Cheney put it, "The entire world must know that we will take whatever action is necessary to defend our freedom and our security."

As President Bush has said, deliverable weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a terror network, or a murderous dictator, or the two working together constitutes as grave a threat as can be imagined. The risks of inaction are far greater than the risk of action.