(Published in Spanish in) EL MUNDO, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2006
                      MUNDO

OP-ED

“FIVE YEARS”

By Eduardo Aguirre, U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra

There is, I trust, no need to recount the details of the events of that day. There is no need to explain to Spanish readers the consequences of those attacks. We all remember the horrific images. We cannot, we must not, forget the victims. And we cannot escape the simple fact that open societies today face a grave and existential threat.

The world is now embroiled in a conflict with transnational terrorism that preaches violence, intolerance and extremism - and we need to understand the nature and ambitions of our enemy. Perhaps some readers are uncomfortable with my using the word ‘enemy.’ They have murdered thousands in New York, Madrid, London, Mumbai, Amman, Bali, and far too many other places. They speak openly about their unquenchable desire to kill many, many more. Their indiscriminate bombings at mosques and markets and their horrific beheadings of hostages leave no doubt about their glorification of ruthless violence.

Mass murder is not merely their tactic; it is their objective. What other term is accurate?

September 11 did not open an era. But it opened our eyes to a threat that had been gathering strength, and had begun killing, years before. Had we looked more carefully a decade earlier, we would have discerned the determination and deadliness of these terrorists.

Their ambitions, like their brutality, are also clear. In numerous declarations they have reiterated their unending war against freedom, against democracy, and against any who oppose their rigid vision of utopia. The Taliban regime offered a glimpse of what they seek to impose across the globe: a vicious, tyrannical, perverted dogma that oppresses millions, where girls are forbidden to attend school, women are imprisoned in their homes, and religious police beat and whip those they deem insufficiently pious.

This is the nature of our enemy. Needless to say, this is not an ideology we can negotiate with. The terrorist fanatics cannot be dissuaded or reformed. There can be no peaceful coexistence with those whose purpose and whose goal is to annihilate us.

This is not mere crime - the nature of this conflict is very different. Traditional police and law enforcement methods used to fight drug trafficking and forged documents and pirated movies will not suffice against this enemy. In 2001, an entire country had turned itself into a terrorist sanctuary and training camp. That country hosted an organization that plotted attacks in four continents and killed 3,000 innocent civilians in the span of one hundred minutes. A military facet was necessary and inevitable, and so the United States used force to destroy the Taliban regime and the Al Qaeda safe haven. Today, the U.S. and its NATO partners – with Spain playing a valued and important role – are still working to ensure stability in Afghanistan, eliminate the remnants of the Taliban, and help that country move toward becoming a successful democracy.

But it’s a mistake to believe that military actions are the extent of the U.S. response to terrorism. This fight demands close coordination and cooperation among law enforcement, intelligence and financial authorities, and that’s just what Europe and the U.S. are doing. Together we are freezing terrorist financial assets and disrupting recruiting networks. We’re tracking down, arresting and prosecuting the organizers and inspirers of terrorist violence. While there can be no absolute guarantee against terrorist attacks, we’ve achieved many notable successes - not all of them known publicly - in thwarting planned attacks in the U.S. and in Europe.

These are all necessary and appropriate responses to the threat of international terrorism – and yet they are not enough. This is an ideological conflict against a violent political force opposed to everything open and democratic societies stand for. And only by winning the ideological battle, over years and across generations, can the threat of terrorism be defeated.

The first step is to reject the ideology of the terrorists. There is no moral equivalence between the calculated mass murder perpetrated by terrorist organizations, and the responses – even, if you so believe, the mistaken and misguided responses - of democracies acting to defend themselves. The blame for the deaths caused by terrorism rests solely with the terrorists, not with those who resist it.

Terrorists cannot persuade, so they seek to intimidate and mislead and deceive. The overwhelming majority of the victims of Islamist terrorist attacks have been Muslims themselves – because, despite the terrorists’ rhetoric, their most formidable foe is not the West – it is the moderation and tolerance and human decency of the immense majority within Muslim societies. And throughout the Muslim world, people of faith and peace and tolerance are showing that they reject the extremists’ path. Only they can prevent its growth, sap its strength and counter its poison. It is they who will be the victors over pseudo-Islamist extremism.

We can help them. Through programs such as the G-8’s Forum for the Future, the U.S. is supporting homegrown initiatives in countries throughout the Muslim world to promote greater political and economic openness, strengthen civil society, and create expanded opportunities for women. This is the second, vital step, and inside and outside the Muslim world, the U.S. is supporting the forces of moderation and denouncing the advocates of violent extremism.

But we need your help, too. Silence and refusing to get involved works in the favor of the extremists. We need our friends – the friends of moderation, peace, tolerance and democracy- to raise their voices as well.

At stake is the security and openness of our democratic societies. At stake is the possibility for a lasting peace. President Bush has called this “the great ideological struggle of the 21st century” and “the calling of our generation.” Together, we cannot afford to lose.

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