austalia in war on terror

Courage Against Evil

By ALEXANDER DOWNER
July 16, 2004;

The first duty of any government is to the security of its people. So it is only natural that when we are confronted with the harrowing images of hostages in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, governments wish to do everything possible to save their citizens. We are moved by the plight of these innocent victims; we feel the deepest sympathy for their families, loved ones and fellow citizens.

But caving in to terrorist bullying is not the answer; it only emboldens the perpetrators and intensifies the dangers for us all. Governments must be resolute against terrorism. While we appreciate the terrible dilemma confronting the Philippine government, we hope they will show courage in the face of the kidnapping of one of their citizens and reconsider their decision to withdraw the Philippine humanitarian mission from Iraq ahead of its scheduled departure date.

A decision to stand firm would have the full support of the international community. Showing such resolve is not always an easy choice, but it is the right choice. When any government does otherwise, it can mean that many others will pay a heavy price. For this reason, I welcome the resolve of South Korea's President Roh Moo Hyun and Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov in their brave stand against the terrorists-cum-kidnappers in Iraq. Their actions have sent a clear message to the terrorists that the international community cannot be intimidated. All nations with citizens in Iraq are grateful for their courage.

If we bow to terrorist demands we invite them to commit further atrocities. We are in effect saying to them, "Kidnap our people; and you will get what you want." Have no doubts: Terrorists learn and profit from our weakness. They cannot be appeased.

We should ask ourselves, if we give in to the terrorists once, what will be demanded of us in future? Are we prepared to concede every time we are attacked or threatened? Our compliance will not bring an end to these brutalities. Quite the contrary -- terrorist demands will escalate and these pitiless people will exact an even more terrible toll.

In taking hostages, the terrorists want to sap our morale and instill fear and uncertainty. They seek to undermine our confidence and values, to sow division and intolerance both within and between nations. The spate of recent kidnappings in Iraq is a textbook example of their merciless divide-and-conquer strategy.

The terrorists aim to split the members of the coalition that is helping to bring Iraqis the prosperity and stability they deserve after decades of rapacious dictatorship. They want to deny the Iraqi people the opportunity to live in a society where tolerance, pluralism and openness flourish. They seek to do that through intimidation, murder and kidnapping. They dare not rely on force of argument to achieve their goals because they know they would lose.

The terrorists also know that a world united against them poses the greatest risk to their chances of success. That is why governments must stand firm against them and make clear they will not be intimidated. There is no other way to defeat them.

The Australian government has just released a white paper analyzing the international dimensions of contemporary terrorism. It reiterates Australia's unwavering commitment to stand up to the terrorist menace and points out that the terrorists' ambitions and presence are global and their operations are transnational. Those facts shape the way we must respond. All nations need to continue to work together to identify and literally outlaw those who threaten us on a global front.

We face a terrorist threat quite different from anything experienced in the past. Our enemies aren't interested in limited hostilities and extracting concessions from us. They wage a version of total war and they want to destroy us. They despise the values and aspirations we hold dear as the epitome of decadence and weakness.

Stable, open, tolerant democracies are the antithesis of the retrograde, oppressive regimes they want to foist on the Muslim world. The threat comes from a fringe group of Islamist extremists. Obscure and largely marginalized, they are contemptuous about the observance of Islam in Muslim countries and would reform them along premodern Taliban lines with fire and the sword. They are also convinced that their destiny is to contain and eventually overshadow the democratic West.

In that tumultuous clash of values, the establishment of a stable, democratic state in Iraq has become the test of everything civilization stands for. Terrorist insurgents know very well, better in fact than many in the First World, what is at stake. That is why they are hell-bent on sabotage.

A modern Iraqi state would pose an intolerable threat to their world view and its plausibility. But a failed Iraqi state would be an immense blow to the prestige of America and its coalition allies, a triumph for fanaticism in the battle of ideas.

The battle against this terror could last a generation. But just as the threat is global, so must be the strength of resolve to defeat it.

Mr. Downer is Australia's foreign minister.