Sixty years ago, more than 2,000 Americans lost their lives at Pearl Harbor.
As horrible and as unprecedented as that tragedy was, at least Americans knew
their enemy. Attacking airplanes were marked with the symbols of their country.
Since then, the world has changed radically. In Tuesday's sneak attacks on
the United States, our own hijacked airliners were used to attack civilians
within our country. But just because we live in a new world order, where rogue
actors can challenge nation-states, it does not mean that the United States and
its allies cannot respond.
Our response to the attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., must be
unified, direct, efficient, powerful and, if need be, sustained. We have every
right to be angry about these despicable acts. But we must move carefully until
we have reliable information about the perpetrators.
If, as many experts speculated, this sophisticated attack was masterminded by
a free-lance terrorist like Osama bin Laden, then the United States and its
allies must wait for the right moment and pounce with the force needed to crush
such networks of terror. The murky new world of international terrorism will
require Americans to exercise patience until the United States and its allies
can deliver the appropriate response. We must become as sly as serpents. While
we have historically used frontal assaults, we may have to use stealth until we
can strike.
The United States cannot do this alone. A multilateral group of nations must
apply sufficient force. Yes, this was an attack on Americans. All Americans,
whether Christians, Muslims, Jews or members of another religion. But it also
was an attack on international order. Our allies must know that they are as
likely to suffer an attack as this nation. The involvement of a broad group of
nations also could mitigate the likely martyrdom of any terrorist against whom
we respond.
As President Bush said in his televised address, we should make no
distinction between those who commit the terrorist acts and those who harbor
them.
There are immediate steps to be taken as Americans pull together to face this
crisis: blood donations, increased security at airports, increased civilian
protection efforts on every level. We must shift to a homeland defense in our
thinking. We must launch a congressional investigation of the apparent security
lapse that prevented an adequate warning of the threat at hand.
Though speculation has focused on possible Middle Eastern sources of
terrorism, Americans of Middle Eastern origin should not be subjected to
prejudice or hostility.
We Americans have no parallels to draw upon at this moment. But we do know
that we and our allies have the materiel and mettle to respond. We should act
with the confidence that comes from standing for justice and civility. In the
meantime, our nation's prayers go out to the victims of the attacks and their
families. Today our country should unite to show we will not be shaken.