Two years ago the world suffered through
one of the most terrible moments in history. In the space
of two hours, 2,948 human beings were murdered, men, women
and children from all over the world, including a victim
from Uruguay. We all remember where we were that day and
what we were doing when the first plane hit, and then the
second, the attack on Washington, and the failed attack
that ended in a Pennsylvania field. The global village stopped
and stared in horror as the towers fell. Last night President
Batlle, Carlos and Reina Dominguez (relatives of Alberto
Dominguez, an Uruguayan native who was killed in the 9/11
attacks) and I switched on two lights that symbolized the
fallen towers. On behalf of the American people, I was gratified
to share this solemn moment with President Batlle, representing
the solidarity the people of Uruguay showed us in our moment
of need.
In the days and weeks following the attacks,
the world came together; it vowed that these horrific acts
of murder would not go unpunished. The United States welcomed
the support of its friends in the international community.
The world awoke to the threat that terrorism posed, not
just to governments but ordinary people. That threat had
been growing for decades, affecting every region. For the
United States the threat became acute in the decade of the
1990s. Beginning with the first attack on the World Trade
Center in 1993, the al-Queda organization actively targeted
American citizens and American interests around the world.
What was particularly notable was their callous indifference
to the deaths of civilians, including those from other countries.
The bombings of the United State Embassies in Kenya and
Tanzania killed twenty times more Africans than American
citizens. The attack on the World Trade Center followed
this pattern. The World Trade Center was well named, for
people from half the nations in the world were in those
two towers, working, doing business, or just visiting one
of New York’s outstanding tourist attractions. When
those planes struck, the authors of this crime knew they
were targeting the world.
As we reach the second anniversary of this
awful day, much has changed. Despite continuing threats
and deadly attacks around the world, the terrorists have
not been able to repeat the single awful death toll of Sept.
11. This is due in large part to actions taken by the United
States and its friends around the world, and to the cooperation
of nearly all the governments of the world to combat terrorism.
The terrorist attacks that have occurred in the last two
years, in Bali, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the Jordanian
Embassy in Iraq, demonstrate that the terrorists are ready
to kill even those of the Islamic faith who do not share
their fanatical views.
The recent bombing of the UN headquarters
again revealed the contempt the terrorists have for the
world. President Bush said of those who committed this bombing,
“They are the enemies of the Iraqi people. They are
the enemies of every nation that seeks to help the Iraqi
people. By their tactics and their targets, they reveal
themselves once more as enemies of the civilized world.”
The United States remains firmly committed
to the struggle to end terrorism. The struggle against terrorism
must continue but it needs world support and cooperation
to succeed. Terrorists allow no safe havens; they rarely
even offer demands. No country is immune. As the people
of Morocco and Indonesia have learned, a desirable and accessible
target is all that is needed to attract the attention of
these killers. There are many things we can do in the fight
against terrorism. At a minimum we all need to cooperate,
governments, businesses and individuals, to cut off funding
and support for terrorism and isolate those who engage in
it. In order to live in a world where another Sept. 11 is
once again unimaginable, we must work together to eradicate
the use of terrorism.
