U.S. needs to understand why it is a target

PACKET EDITORIAL, Sept. 25

By: Packet Editorial
   In his otherwise stirring and memorable speech to a joint session of Congress and the American people Thursday night, President Bush offered the following words to describe why the United States has become a target for terrorists:
   "They hate what we see right here in this chamber, a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms — our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other."
   These are emotional times in America. The president may be forgiven a few rhetorical excesses as he rallies the country from the depths of grief to the resolute purpose of waging a wholly justified war on those responsible for the horrific events of Sept. 11. They are our enemies. They are evil. They fully deserve to be hunted down and punished for their unconscionable deeds.
   There is an important difference, however, between delivering a simple message and making a message simplistic. In ascribing to terrorists an abiding hatred of liberty and democracy, the president characterizes the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as an assault on American values — when, in fact, there is reason to believe it was much likelier inspired, in large part, by American behavior.
   As Professor Frank Von Hippel of Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs described the terrorists’ motivations at a peace action rally Friday evening: "There is widespread feeling in the Islamic world that the U.S. is not on the side of ordinary people. And this atmosphere makes it easier for some to become terrorists."
   Granted, this is not what a lot of Americans want to hear right now — but it is a realistic assessment of our country’s standing in the Islamic world and it offers an explanation for terrorism that Americans need to understand. This in no way excuses or justifies the terrorists’ savage attacks on innocent American citizens. Understanding why our enemies behave as they do is not the same as condoning their actions, and it certainly should not be misread as providing sympathy, aid or comfort to them.
   We recognize that Thursday night may not have been the proper occasion or setting for President Bush to engage Congress and the American people in a public discussion of policies that have made the United States the target of such antipathy in so much of the Islamic world. But neither was it necessary or wise to demonize with excessive rhetoric an enemy whose actions require no embellishment to be characterized as evil.
* * *
   Speaking of embellishment, we would be remiss if we did not take note of former Jersey City Mayor and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler’s acid-tongued criticism of the response, on this side of the Hudson River, to the attack on the World Trade Center.
   First, Mr. Schundler claimed the State Police didn’t show up at Liberty State Park until 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 11, and that they didn’t do very much once they got there. Then, he released a memo written by a local hospital president complaining of lack of readiness on the part of some National Guard units.
   It turned out that the State Police actually spent all day bringing survivors from Manhattan to New Jersey. It also turned out that the hospital president’s memo was confidential; he wanted to get his thoughts down on paper so that all emergency responders, including the National Guard, would be better prepared in the event of another catastrophe of such magnitude.
   Some New Jerseyans say they have found Mr. Schundler’s brand of shoot-from-the-hip politics a refreshing change from the bland, cautious approach favored by most modern politicians. In our view, this unfortunate episode serves only to raise serious questions about his fitness to be governor.