Remembering the One Hundred Days Since September 11

(Op-ed by U.S. Consul General to Hong Kong Michael Klosson) (970)

The following op-ed piece was published, in Chinese, by the Sing Tao
Daily News in Hong Kong December 25:

(begin text)

Remembering the One Hundred Days Since September 11:
The World Pledges to Unite to Eliminate Terrorism

U.S. Consul General Michael Klosson
 

The terrorists who leveled the World Trade Center and smashed into the
Pentagon on September 11, thought that they would change the world
forever. They did, but not in the way their evil plot intended.

Where the terrorists sought to divide and destroy, the world instead
joined together in a mighty coalition to eradicate terrorism. Where
the terrorists tried to intimidate, the world responded with courage
and determination. Where the terrorists imagined they could hide, the
coalition is relentlessly turning them out of their lairs, and will
bring them to justice.

It has been just over 100 days since those terrorist attacks, 100 days
since the world joined forces to eliminate terrorism. Acting together,
members of the coalition have used military power to pursue and
eliminate the terrorists in Afghanistan. One hundred thirty-six
countries have offered a diverse range of military assistance in this
effort. The coalition has also worked hard to cut off the flow of
terrorist financing worldwide, to disrupt their operations and to make
it more difficult for terrorists to cross borders to carry out their
murderous plans. Over 142 countries and jurisdictions, including Hong
Kong, have issued orders freezing terrorist assets.

While the coalition's military objectives--the elimination of the
Taliban and al-Qaida terrorist threat--have not yet been fully
achieved, a great deal has been accomplished in this first hundred
days. Afghanistan is no longer a safe haven for terrorists. It is now
back in the hands of Afghans eager to rebuild their country; girls are
returning to the classroom; women are free to venture outside their
homes; children can once again fly kites; music is once again heard in
the streets.

Afghans, with the help of the United Nations and the international
community, have put aside their differences to form an interim
government, and to work together to rebuild their country. Afghan
women will take their rightful place in this new government, and the
Afghan people will once again govern themselves.

Thanks to coalition action in Afghanistan, humanitarian aid,
interrupted by the Taliban, is once again flowing to those Afghans
most in need. Bridges and roads from Afghanistan's neighbors have
re-opened, and international humanitarian aid workers have returned.
Millions of Afghans, facing hunger due to the long years of civil war,
drought, and Taliban misrule, must be fed through the winter. While
the U.S. is the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance, many
other countries are also helping to provide the food that will save
Afghan lives in the coming months.

The network of terrorists in Afghanistan has thus been disrupted and
dismembered, but make no mistake: there is still much to do to make
sure they and others like them can never again launch their
destruction on the world community. The elimination of al-Qaida and
other terrorist groups will be neither quick nor easy. However, with
the sustained commitment of the international community, terrorists
will be brought to justice, whether it takes a week or a year or a
decade.

The campaign against terrorist financing is one of the outstanding
successes in the overall war on terrorism. Law enforcement agencies in
countries worldwide are also contributing to the progress by sharing
information in order to apprehend terrorists before they strike. Yet
much more needs yet to be done. United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1373, passed on September 28, requires all nations to adopt
and implement wide-ranging anti-terrorism measures, especially those
suppressing financing to terrorist groups and improving international
cooperation hindering the free movement of terrorist operatives. In
addition, the twelve United Nations conventions against terrorism
constitute the bedrock of the international community's response to
the terrorist threat.

Even in a city like Hong Kong, many thousands of miles from
Afghanistan, this is not a time for complacency just because the
coalition has made progress on the military front. Indeed, continued
prosecution of the campaign and prevention of further terrorist
attacks remains essential to restoring economic confidence and world
economic growth. Going after terrorist assets is a critical task on
which the U.S. has taken a strong stand. As a major international
financial center, Hong Kong too has a significant role to play in
countering potential terrorist exploitation of its infrastructure or
preventing other terrorist inroads into the East Asia region. Hong
Kong is moving forward on legislation that will implement UN
resolutions directed against terrorism financing, and a senior Hong
Kong official is chairing the multilateral Financial Action Task Force
spear-heading the coalition's efforts in this area. Looking ahead,
U.S. and other FATF officials will meet here in Hong Kong January 28
for a week to review these international efforts and the need for all
governments to adopt strict new standards that deny terrorists access
to the world financial system.

The December 7 visit of Secretary of State Powell's Counter-Terrorism
Coordinator, Ambassador Frank Taylor, on one of his first trips abroad
since taking office, underscored the overall importance of Hong Kong's
cooperation in this global campaign and of its prompt implementation
of the new UN Security Council and FATF requirements. As Ambassador
Taylor said at the time, we are heartened that Hong Kong "has answered
the call of the coalition so magnificently" and has reaffirmed it
stands foursquare behind the United States in this campaign. We are
exploring opportunities to enhance that cooperation, including the
possibility of joint training.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)