(Speaks of building international coalition against terrorism) (650)
By Laura Brown
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The war against terrorism now getting under way is not
just America's war but a struggle that everybody needs to be involved
in, Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman told journalists September
24.
Briefing at the Foreign Press Center in Washington, Grossman defined
the kind of coalition building that is needed to combat terrorism,
saying, "it's about having countries stop and say that there are no
more excuses about terrorism, that they have to choose what side
they're on in terms of terrorism, and that countries will have to take
actions ... against terrorism internationally, against terrorism in
their own countries."
Pointing to a map showing 80 different countries that have lost
citizens in the attacks, he remarked, "What happened on the 11th of
September in New York, in Arlington, Virginia, in Pennsylvania was not
just an attack on the United States of America, but really was an
attack on the world."
As a prime example of national involvement, Grossman said Pakistan's
President Pervez Musharraf made a decision to support the
anti-terrorist campaign because it was in Pakistan's interest to do
so. "He didn't make it for the interests of the United States,"
Grossman said, "he made it because he had a choice to make between
what was happening in Afghanistan, the fact that Osama bin Laden is
the prime suspect for what happened on September the 11th, and the
fact that around the world ... momentum had developed against
terrorism."
Asked whether the United States would consider modifying its Middle
East policies as a result of the terrorist attacks, Grossman said the
United States has pursued a "principled policy in the Middle East for
many, many years. It is not something subject to change."
He said President Bush and Secretary of State Powell have put "a huge
effort and a huge amount of time" into bringing a "just peace" to the
Middle East, and "I don't believe that this question of a world attack
-- attack on the world -- should be put into the framework of the
Middle East. That's not what this is about."
The under secretary said the United States has been pleased with the
many statements of support from African countries, and also with the
fact that many of them have taken "very substantial steps to protect
our people, both official and private, in African countries."
"Don't forget," he added, "it was in Nairobi, it was in Dar es Salaam
that one of these predecessor attacks took place. So, Africans ... not
only lost people on the 11th of September but they lost people with us
in those two embassy bombings, and know very well what Osama bin Laden
is capable of."
Responding to concerns that the coalition targets Islam, Grossman
explained, "This is not about Islam, it's not about Moslem countries,
it's not about Muslims. This is about a desire on the part of the
United States and like-minded countries to say to terrorism wherever
it is, terrorism whomever it's against, terrorism against the United
States and the world in this way really now has to cease."
The under secretary cited the many messages of condolences and pledges
of help from countries around the world as "important symbols to the
United States that there is solidarity in the world against this
scourge of terrorism." He also praised the quick responses from NATO,
the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of American
States and other multilateral organizations that adopted
anti-terrorism measures following the September 11 attacks.
"These multilateral declarations of support will very much form the
basis for the kind of coalition we are trying to build," he said.
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
