It is the nature of terrorism that a small number of people can inflict terrible grief. Terrorists attacked the U.S. on September 11th, 2001. They’ve gone on to murder innocent people in Bali, Jakarta, Casablanca, Bombay, Mombasa, Najaf, Jerusalem, Riyadh, Baghdad, Istanbul, and other places.
Today, says President George W. Bush, “all responsible nations are united in a great cause: We will not rest until we bring these committed killers to justice”:
“These terrorists will not be stopped by negotiations, or by appeals to reason, or by the hint of conscience.”
Terrorists need places to hide, train, and plot. President Bush says that terrorists and their allies are being brought to account:
“Working with a fine coalition, our military went to Afghanistan, destroyed the training camps of al-Qaida, and put the Taleban out of business forever.”
The war against terror didn’t end in Afghanistan. In Iraq, where Saddam Hussein defied the United Nations and cultivated terror, the U.S. led a coalition to liberate more than twenty-million Iraqis. Today, says President Bush, “Iraqi citizens do not have to fear the dictator’s secret police or ending in a mass grave”:
“Recently, in operation Iron Hammer, our coalition worked with the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and police to strike hard against the forces of murder and chaos. We countered attacks, seized weapons, [and] we brought cold-blooded killers to justice.”
In Iraq, as in Afghanistan, the goal of the U.S.-led coalition is clear. It is, as President Bush says, “to help democracy and peace and justice rise in a troubled, violent region.”
