[Note: The following, originally placed on the Mainichi Interactive on
Monday, December 3, 2001, is reproduced here with The Mainichi Shimbun's
permission.]
THE WAR ON TERROR U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard H. Baker, Jr.
Some 80 nations lost citizens in the World Trade Center on September 11. The
messengers of terror who invaded the United States attacked the entire world.
And the world responded. NATO invoked Article V for the first time in its
history. The United Nations Security Council, the UN General Assembly, the
Organization of American States, APEC, the Organization of Islamic Conference,
the Arab League and dozens of other organizations issued resolutions and
statements condemning this assault. Close friends like Japan, and even former
adversaries, offered their support in this great struggle. The world is united
against terror.
Misconceptions remain. The war on terror is not a war against Islam. The
United States is a society devoted to religious tolerance. Millions of Americans
are children of Islam, a religion that respects human life. Islam does not
sanction mass murder. Terrorists defile the teachings of Islam.
The war on terror is not a war on the Afghan people; it is against al-Qaeda
and its Taliban sponsors. Al-Qaeda is an extremist minority, enemies not only of
the United States, but also of all Islamic states that reject its perverted
ideology. The Taliban is not a legitimate expression of Islam. It does not
represent the will of Allah or the will of the people, who have suffered and
died under its fanatical rule.
The war on terror was not caused by policy or poverty. It was started by
criminals who hate the entire civilized world because of the freedoms and values
we represent.
The war on terror is not a "retaliatory" attack. That description
is wrong. We do not target innocent people, as the terrorists do. We regret any
loss of civilian life. The U.S. is targeting only military and terrorist sites,
and U.S. military forces are taking extraordinary measures to avoid civilian
casualties, as they hunt down the terrorists hiding out in Afghanistan.
The war on terrorism is not just a military campaign. Even before September
11, the United States was the greatest donor of humanitarian assistance to the
people of Afghanistan. We continue to provide this assistance, and are working
tirelessly with all civilized nations to build political, diplomatic and
economic solutions to the problems of Afghanistan and the entire region. As
President Bush said, "We would like to see leadership arise in Afghanistan
which represents the interests of all the Afghan people."
We face a long struggle against the forces of terror even after
the military campaign in Afghanistan is over, but I am heartened by the resolve
with which Japan has joined the effort. Prime Minister Koizumi has shown great
leadership with his seven-point plan and the dispatch of support vessels. The
Japanese government ratified the UN convention on terrorist bombing, and signed
the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.
Japan understands that this war against terror is not an American problem. It is
a Japanese problem, a Chinese problem, a Russian problem, an Afghan problem, in
short, a human problem. It is a war for the preservation of civilization, and we
will prevail.
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