Since September 11, 2001, when al-Qaida terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., the United States, its friends and allies have been engaged in a worldwide campaign against terror. An important part of this campaign, says President George W. Bush, is holding to account nations that harbor or support terrorists, such as the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan:
"The Taleban found out what we meant. With Afghan allies, we removed the Taleban from power, and we closed down the al-Qaida training camps. Five years later, Taleban and al-Qaida remnants are desperately trying to retake control of that country. They will fail. They will fail because the Afghan people have tasted freedom. They will fail because their vision is no match for a democracy accountable to its citizens."
Mr. Bush says, "our offensive against terrorists includes far more than military might":
"We use financial tools to make it harder for them to raise money. We're using diplomatic pressure, and our intelligence operations are used to disrupt day-to-day functions of al-Qaida. Because we're on the offensive, it is more difficult for al-Qaida to transfer money through the international banking system. Because we're on the offensive, al-Qaida can no longer communicate openly without fear of destruction. And because we're on the offensive, al-Qaida can no longer move widely without fearing for their lives."
Many al-Qaida terrorists have been killed, including Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, head of al-Qaida in Iraq. Others have been captured, like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the planners of the nine-eleven attacks. Mr. Bush says, "We've kept the terrorists from achieving their key goal, to overthrow governments across the broader Middle East and to seize control":
Instead, the governments they targeted – such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia – have become some of our most valuable allies in the war on terror. These countries are joined by the largest coalition in the history of warfare – more than ninety nations determined to find the terrorists, to dry up their funds, to stop their plots, and to bring them to justice."
"With vigilance, courage, [and] determination," says Mr. Bush, "we will defeat the enemies of freedom."
The preceding was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government.