Military

DATE=02/24/2002

TYPE=EDITORIAL

NUMBER=0-09725

TITLE=EDITORIAL: ASHCROFT ON TERRORISM WAR

INTERNET=YES

CONTENT=THIS EDITORIAL IS BEING RELEASED FOR USE BY ALL SERVICES.

Anncr: Next, an editorial expressing the policies of the United States Government:

Voice: The war against the September 11th terrorists and their supporters is unlike any other that the United States has ever fought. And U.S. officials have pledged to use every resource to win that war.

Some people have asked whether a civilized nation can wage such a war and remain civilized. "Our answer," said Attorney General John Ashcroft, "is 'yes.' Yes, we will defend civilization. And yes, we will preserve the rule of law because it is that which makes us civilized."

The call to defend civilization comes from a deeper source than legal or political institutions. America's founders wrote more than two centuries ago in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are. . .endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights," including "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." But as God's gift, freedom is not license to behave in any way one chooses. It is the ability to make choices -- and to accept the consequences of those choices.

Osama bin Laden and his fellow terrorists have a different understanding. Because they fear that people with freedom will reject their choices, terrorists seek to deny us our freedom. They distrust personal choice because they have abandoned every value except their own lust for power.

That means, as Attorney General Ashcroft said, that the fight against terrorism is "the defense of our right to make moral choices -- to seek fellowship with God that is chosen, not commanded. This freedom is respected and nurtured in our society of laws. It is respected in our right to choose how or if we worship God."

That is why, said Mr. Ashcroft, "Americans are coming together, united against a common enemy. For people of all faiths -- be they Christians, Jews, or Muslims -- it is impossible not to see the stark difference between the way of God and the way of the terrorists. It is the difference between a hero and a murderer, a fireman and a suicide bomber, a culture of life and a culture of death. It is the difference between those who would die to save the innocent and those who would die to destroy the innocent."

"In a nation united," said Attorney General Ashcroft, "there can be no doubting which path we will choose. And in a world of freedom, there is no doubt which view will prevail."

Anncr: That was an editorial expressing the policies of the United States Government. If you have a comment, please write to Editorials, V-O-A, Washington, D-C, 20237, U-S-A. You may also comment at www-dot-ibb-dot-gov-slash-editorials, or fax us at (202) 619-1043.