Editorial: It’s time for deeds, not just words

Thursday, Oct. 4, 2001 | 8:52 a.m.

It was refreshing on Monday to hear New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's blunt, honest talk on terrorism during his speech before the United Nations. The U.N., after all, is a place where diplomatic niceties and distortions of the truth usually take center stage. Giuliani told the U.N. in no uncertain terms that it must hold any nation accountable that supports or condones terrorism. "You're either with civilization or with terrorists," the mayor said.

Giuliani also was correct to dismiss any notion of moral relativism when discussing terrorism and the destruction it has sown. "We are right and they are wrong. It's as simple as that," Giuliani said. "And by that I mean that America and its allies are right about democracy, about religious, political and economic freedom. And the terrorists are wrong and, in fact, evil in their mass destruction of human life in the name of addressing alleged injustices."

The mayor's speech seemed to have an impact on most of the world's diplomats, especially since many of their families also live with them in New York. During Tuesday's debate in the U.N. on how to best fight terrorism, Arab nations pledged that they would fight terrorism, too. But don't get ready to break into a chorus of "Kumbayah" -- far from it. That's because many Arab nations want to place a condition on their support for anti-terrorism efforts, such as a quick settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict that would favor the Palestinians.

As the Associated Press reported Tuesday, the Arab Group, 22 nations represented by Libya -- yes, that's right, the nation that has funded terrorist activities against other nations, including against the United States -- claimed that they have been victims of "state terrorism, occupation terrorism, and the terrorism practiced by extremist groups." They called the Palestinians victims of "modern terrorism" by Israel. Of course their ludicrous claim conveniently omits the reality that Israel, the only truly democratic nation in the Mideast, is surrounded by nations hostile to its existence. And when Israel has acted militarily it has done so after it has been victimized by terrorist attacks, often funded or supported by Arab nations.

Libya's U.N. ambassador also contended that the United States committed terrorism against his nation with airstrikes in 1986 -- another laughable claim from the rogue nation. Sudan's ambassador told the U.N.'s General Assembly on Tuesday that his nation's "territory will never be a haven for terrorist groups," but Americans should be skeptical about that nation's sincerity. Granted, Sudan has been cooperating with the United States, providing intelligence information on Osama bin Laden's group since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but Sudan is the same nation that provided a safe haven for bin Laden from 1991 to 1996. Sudan also is one of seven nations on the U.S. State Department's list of states that sponsor terrorism, and Sudan also harbored terrorists that allegedly organized an assassination plot against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 1995. Not e xactly an exemplary track record.

The United States has been working to forge a wide-ranging coalition against Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network, an alliance that has included Arab nations that have countenanced terrorism. From the U.S. government's perspective, it is willing to be friendly with some of these less-than-desirable nations since it needs to stage some of its military operations into Afghanistan from bases in nearby Arab countries. It is possible that some of the Arab nations, in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that left more than 6,000 dead, have come to the realization that they have created a monster in bin Laden, and that he may have the ability to lead an uprising in their own nations that could toss them from power.

Even if many of the Arab nations cooperate with the United States, it still will be difficult for Americans to stomach some of those countries' twisted definitions of justice or terrorism. But wartime, as does politics, can create strange bedfellows. Arab nations may provide assistance or intelligence that could help destroy bin Laden's terrorist network, which is the United States' top priority right now. And so far the U.N. has been supportive of the United States and its allies' campaign against global terrorism. The key for the U.N. now is to keep its focus on the task at hand, which is to eradicate bin Laden's terrorist network. Getting entangled in side issues, such as Mideast peace talks as the Arab nations suggest, will make it that much more difficult to fight the war against terrorism.

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