From the issue dated September 28, 2001
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Needed: a Sustained CampaignBy RICHARD PERLE
I don't want to sound callous, because I was among those who thought we weren't doing enough and that it was only a matter of time before we could expect the events of last week. But if you look at the losses through terrorist activities, I think a lot of officials thought that what we were doing was appropriate. It is now clear that the danger is far greater, and the consequences of allowing terror networks to operate against us are unacceptable by any measure. What we've already begun to see is a level of effort to deal with this that dwarfs anything that we considered before. It is a quantitative change that is so large that it is also a qualitative change. I think we have to see a sustained campaign to eliminate or significantly diminish the terrorist networks that are out there. In the past, we focused pretty much on trying to prevent those networks from actually carrying out acts rather than going after the networks themselves. The most vulnerable point is not the terrorists themselves but the governments that support them. Without that support, terrorists could manage the occasional car bomb and other isolated acts, but nothing on the scale we have seen. These governments provide sanctuary but are also very important for logistics and communications, tradecraft, technical expertise, and money. The terrorists can hide, but the governments that support them can't. I think we will now see a sustained attack, not something that's going to take place overnight, and they may be sufficiently concerned that they will change their policies -- countries like Syria. I think we need to be careful, but to suggest business as usual, that's quite a mistake. It isn't going to be business as usual. Richard Perle is a resident fellow of the American Enterprise Institute. http://chronicle.com Section: The Chronicle Review Page: B9
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Copyright © 2001 by The Chronicle of Higher Education
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Reflections on the Fractured Landscape |
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