by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright May 15, 1998
All Rights Reserved.

think it’s high time that the civilized countries of the world make it plain that there’s no room for terrorists . . ." said a feisty Ronald Reagan, poking holes in president Carter’s policy which resulted in the kidnap and takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Twenty years later, terrorism is just as fashionable today to advance a radical political agenda. Only today, with the 'third world' experimenting with nuclear bombs, the stakes are becoming unfathomable and time is no longer on our side. "The most fearsome of [these] threats," said a sober president Carter, "is if one of these radical states who believe in terrorism as a policy gets their hands on nuclear weapons." Since Carter’s prophetic words, the world is clearly less safe from,'the most fearsome of threats' Whether recent events serve as a wake-up call remains to be seen.

       While some people have questioned the timing of the U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile attacks on the 'pharmaceutical' plant in Khartoum Afghanistan and Bin Laden’s Zhawar Killi Badr terrorist camp some 200 kilometers from Kabul, few can argue with the U.S.’s right to launch preemptive, defensive strikes at suspected targets. Thirteen days after the terrorist bombings of the East African U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the U.S. finally matched its rhetoric of ‘swift and effective’ retribution. Although many are consumed with assessing the extent of the actual damage via satellite reconnaissance imagery, the real message is psychological: Attack U.S. property or its interests and you’ll pay a draconian price.

       Politics aside, the Clinton administration’s unequivocal actions to defend American interests boldly implement president Reagan’s unredeemed terrorism policy of 'swift and effective retribution.' While it’s true that national security concerns trumps domestic political issues, it’s also true that the U.S.’s response to terrorism is long overdue. Attributing the recent U.S. military strikes to a calculated diversionary tactic plays well in certain political circles but fails to recognize the long history of unpunished acts of terrorism against the U.S. — including the 1983 and 1984 attacks on the U.S embassy and marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. While terrorism is always a shadowy enterprise, improved intelligence has enabled the U.S. to identify those responsible and act more decisively this time around. To the terrorist world, the U.S. can no longer be regarded as a paper tiger. Bravo to the Clinton administration. It’s about time!

       Despite this growing consensus, there’s another rising tide of skeptics suggesting that the present military response against terrorism will invite waves of retaliation by our enemies. Preferring to debate philosophical issues on the 'level playing field' in the U.N., the same chorus of anti-Americanism has to accept the fact that the U.S. must act unilaterally in its own defense. Condemnations of Yankee aggression — in the Islamic world and elsewhere — can’t deter Uncle Sam from finally implementing a coherent policy on terrorism. You can’t have it both ways: The U.S. can’t protect its vital interests by remaining passive and fearing reprisals from radical groups threatening to attack American interests — either foreign or domestic.

       Millionaire outlaws like Osam Bin Laden, whose organized network of terrorist training represents a provocative threat on all civilized nations, must be dealt with by military force not just flowery propaganda. Within hours of the current U.S. strikes, the terrorist propaganda machine was already grinding out disinformation condemning the U.S. attacks as acts of ‘unmistakable terrorism.’ Pandering to the third world, Boris Yeltzin was hasty to denounce the U.S. military response as unjustified. The U.S can no longer afford to lose both the military and propaganda battle. And yet the U.S.’s past reluctance to use military force was often regarded as evidence of weakness and a failure of nerve. Today’s evolving policy, as expressed by secretary of defense Cohen, ". . . that we have contingency plans that we are developing and there will be more in the future," indicates that the U.S. has turned the corner on its terrorism policy. Whether or not we choose to admit it, there’s no turning back.

       For too long the U.S. terrorism policy has lacked a methodical preemptive strategy, waiting to react like a pinball only after U.S. interests were attacked. While the present round of military responses were clearly prompted by the bombings of U.S embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the ‘new’ U.S. response must preempt terrorism whenever possible. Aggressively pursuing terrorists — like the millionaire renegade Osam Bin Laden — is a step in the right direction. Asserting, as Bin Landen has, "that he will retaliate against U.S. targets" is, in effect, a declaration of war which gives the U.S. the moral and political right to take any and all measures of self-defense, including, as secretary of defense Cohen suggests, further preemptive military action. Crying now, that the world’s remaining superpower has awakened from its semitorpid state and is finally acting in its own defense, is a little late in the game.

       Unlike domestic political matters which are measured by popularity polls, the U.S.’s world position isn’t determined by its popularity in the third world or elsewhere. Making the global community safe from terrorism requires more than condemnations in the court of world opinion. By drawing the line in the sand and using the military option in a measured and timely manner, the U.S. is sending a new message to radical groups attacking American interests. The fact that thugs like Bin Landen continue to huff and puff, shouldn’t interfere with U.S policy to protect its own interests and make the world a safer place.

About the Author

John M. Curtis is director of a West Los Angeles think tank specializing in human behavior, health care and political research and media consultation. He’s a seminar trainer, columnist and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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