Citation

Cannistraro VM. Mediterranean Quarterly 2002; 13(2): 1-8.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002)

DOI

10.1215/10474552-13-2-1

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The Bush administration has garnered deserved credit for its management of the war against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan and the fostering of an international coalition against terrorism. The coalition, a singular success for the Department of State and its secretary, Colin Powell, has raised the forgotten subject of political violence to the paramount spot on our diplomatic agenda and has effectively discredited regimes that tolerate the use of their territory by terrorists for violent attacks against other countries. It is a significant policy change from the Clinton years, but one made possible only as a consequence of the al Qaeda suicide bombings of 11 September 2001. It is essential that democracies work together to confront terrorist cadres and to pressure autocracies to stop harboring terrorists in their midst. A united coalition of democracies, determined to condition economic assistance and development aid on intolerance for terrorism, will be able to exert leverage against those nations that would continue to support terrorists. We have seen from Bosnia and Kosovo to the war in Afghanistan that a multilateral approach through an allied coalition of our democratic partners can be effective. Additionally, the United States will have to continue working closely with allies, both in law enforcement and intelligence collection, in order to root out embedded al Qaeda cells elsewhere as well as in North America. But temptations to go it alone in confronting global terrorism should be resisted as counterproductive to our national objectives. Democracies today do not have to be persuaded that terrorism from religious absolutists is a threat, but few will follow our lead into waging war against a secular Saddam Hussein.

Language: en

Keywords

foreign policy; geopolitics; international cooperation; Iraq; terrorism; United States