Colin Powell on the New Threat to Civilization

In his remarks yesterday, Howard Owens mentioned the following:

.... In my own fumbling way a couple of times, I've tried to paint current events as not just hugely significant, but world changing. Core's piece linked to above is another attempt to talk about the unbelievable significance of the moment....

At the end of the Q&A at the World Economic Forum, Jan. 26, Colin Powell was asked how 9-11 affected him personally; he was at an OAS meeting in Peru that day, where I take up the story:

.... It took me seven hours to fly home. And during that time the thought overwhelmed me that I was back at war again. This time it was not against the Russian army on the north German plain, it wasn’t going to be along the 38th parallel in Korea. It was going to be against an enemy that had no borders, no territory, an enemy that was going to be difficult to fight, but an enemy we had to fight, not just that day but for a long period of time until we prevailed. It was going to be an enemy that was not just threatening the United States, it was threatening every civilized nation on earth. And every civilized nation on earth was going to have to come together to fight this enemy.

So for me this was a new war. And I’d be doing it not as a soldier but as Secretary of State. I had to help President Bush bring together a powerful coalition and not be afraid of what was ahead. To deal with individuals who are terrorists, to deal with terrorist organizations, but also -- we recognized early on -- to deal with those states that harbor terrorism, those states that were developing capabilities, horrible capabilities, that if they fell into the hands of terrorists, would do more damage than those planes did on 9/11.

And President Bush dedicated himself, his administration, and I think every international organization in the world came together, to dedicate themselves to the proposition that in this new century with the Cold War behind us, with fascism and communism and Hitlerism all in the dustbin of history, this new enemy was just as real and we knew it would be difficult and we knew there would be days when our anxieties would well up and our fears would well up and we would be afraid to take the next step.

But we knew we would have to take that next step. And we are probably approaching one such moment now where we will have to take that next step. And history will judge us as to whether or not we have the strength and fortitude and the willingness to take that next step....

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 03/12/03 06:51:00 AM
Categorized as Social/Cultural & Speeches and Suchlike.