11 January 2002
Byliner: "Hemispheric Solidarity in the War on Terrorism," by Colin Powell
(Secretary of State praises regional counterterrorism efforts) (870)
The column "Hemispheric Solidarity in the War on Terrorism," by
Secretary of State Colin Powell, appeared on January 6, 2002, in
Diario las Americas.
Permission has been obtained from Diario las Americas for
republication/translation of the following text by State
Department/local press in the Western Hemisphere. Credit Diario las
Americas as follows: "Copyright (c) Diario las Americas 2002.
Reprinted by permission."
(begin text)
"Hemispheric Solidarity in the War on Terrorism"
By Secretary of State Colin Powell
As the new year begins, Americans can be encouraged at the progress
made in the Global Campaign Against Terrorism. We are defeating Al
Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan through the monumental efforts
of U.S. and Allied armed services and determined Afghan fighters. The
support of many other countries, including our neighbors in South and
Central America, furthers our cause immeasurably.
But the evil menace that murdered thousands of persons on September 11
still wears many faces around the globe and still possesses lethal
intent. Destroying Al Qaeda's operational base in Afghanistan is not
enough. The coalition against terrorism must advance on all fronts --
political, financial, legal and military -- to root out terrorists
wherever they live and plot.
Throughout the world, friends and allies are involved in law
enforcement and other efforts to thwart terrorist activity. Over one
hundred forty countries have issued orders freezing assets of
suspected terrorists and terrorist organizations, and offered other
assistance to the coalition effort.
As the fight against terrorism continues, we are doing all we can for
the long-suffering people of Afghanistan. With a U.N. mandate, the
British are leading an international security assistance force to
provide stability to Kabul and its surroundings. As the leading
humanitarian donor to Afghanistan, the United States is working with
international agencies and non-governmental organizations to provide
food, shelter, medicine, and ultimately, a better life for the Afghan
people.
On December 16, the U.S. flag was raised over our embassy building in
Kabul for the first time in nearly 13 years. Our representatives there
are assisting the newly appointed Afghan government officials who
assumed power on December 22. We will support their efforts to rebuild
Afghanistan as we are working to rid it of the fanatical forces that
made victims of the Afghan people and of the innocent citizens of many
countries.
Immediately after the attacks of September 11, our partners in the
Organization of American States offered moral and practical support. I
was in Peru on September 11, meeting with OAS foreign ministers to
approve the Inter-American Democratic Charter, a document designed to
promote and defend democratic government in the Hemisphere.
I urgently needed to return to the U.S. after the attacks on the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon, but did not want to leave Lima without
participating in the historic decision to approve the Democratic
Charter. I will never forget the outpouring of concern and solidarity
I received from our hemispheric neighbors that morning.
Without hesitation, the delegates unanimously voted to condemn the
terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, making the OAS the first
multilateral organization to do so. They also called for hemispheric
cooperation against terrorism. In addition, the Rio Treaty was invoked
by signatory countries - designating the attack against the United
States an attack on the whole Hemisphere.
Al Qaeda and other international terrorist groups have global
tentacles. They capitalize on fundraising activities and transit
routes of terrorist groups in Latin America as well as on the relative
freedom of movement afforded by the Western Hemisphere's free and open
societies. Our neighbors have taken action in key areas since
September 11 to combat this threat.
In the aftermath of September 11, the member states of the OAS have
reinvigorated the Organization's anti-terrorist arm, the
Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE). CICTE called for
controls to prevent funding of terrorist organizations, increased
multilateral cooperation on border security, and shared law
enforcement and counterterrorism intelligence and information. Through
special training, use of best practices, and creation of databases and
information networks, we are working collectively to ensure that
terrorists and their supporters will find no quarter in the Americas.
The OAS will hold a January 28-29 meeting in Washington of top
security leaders from member countries to evaluate steps taken to
combat terrorism and to adopt an action plan for 2002. In addition,
regional diplomats are urgently negotiating a treaty to further
fortify the Americas against the terrorist threat.
When terrorists savagely struck the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon, they attacked the principles that the nations of the
Americas hold most dear: democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and
tolerance. Just as the attacks unified the people of the United
States, so too have they strengthened the ties that bind the peoples
of the Americas. Together, we will devote ourselves to bringing
freedom, security and peace to every corner of our Hemisphere and our
world.
[The author is the U.S. Secretary of State.]
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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