America was both humbled and =
provoked=20
yesterday by unknown terrorists' acts of cowardice. Terror =
came on=20
the wings of commercial airliners and struck a devastating =
blow to=20
the nation's financial and political capitals -- the heart =
and soul=20
of U.S. enterprise and values.
The coordinated attacks at the Pentagon and =
the twin=20
towers of the World Trade Center in New York were audacious =
and=20
outrageous. Their single-day toll on innocent American lives =
is=20
unprecedented, a peacetime tragedy replicated in scale only =
by the=20
most catastrophic acts of God and nature -- the floods, =
earthquakes=20
and hurricanes that sweep away lives by the hundreds or =
thousands.=20
Bush: `Terrorism against our nation
will not stand.'=20
But the true toll of the attacks will be told only over =
time,=20
measured by subtle changes in our collective psyche, in our =
sense of=20
security within our own borders and in the concrete changes =
that we=20
make to ensure that no terrorist ever again intrudes so =
insidiously=20
into our midst to wreak such destruction and pain.=20
President Bush expressed Americans' sentiments when he =
promised,=20
``Terrorism against our nation will not stand. =
. . .=20
Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish =
those=20
responsible.''=20
Although no one immediately stepped forward to take=20
responsibility, the attacks stand apart as unique in their =
precise=20
execution and bloody calculation. Four planes from two of =
the=20
nation's largest airlines were commandeered to strike a =
deadly blow=20
at some of most visible U.S. icons. The logistics, =
coordination and=20
money required to carry out such a plan is staggering -- and =
within=20
the capability of only a few groups.
In the investigation of the 1993 bombing of a parking =
garage=20
beneath the Trade Center, FBI agents found documents in =
which one of=20
the conspirators wrote that the attack was meant to =
demoralize=20
Americans by ``blowing up the towers that constitute the =
pillars of=20
their civilization.'' Yesterday's attack seems a lethal =
fulfillment=20
of that idea. More than 200 hapless passengers on the four =
planes=20
were sacrificed as part of the plan to destroy buildings =
that stood=20
as U.S. icons. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, more people in =
and=20
around the buildings were sacrificed as well.=20
The attacks exposed a special weakness in America's =
national=20
security. As a nation, we spend billions of dollars to =
ensure that=20
our military defenses are second to none and that we can =
repel any=20
conventional attack. President Bush wants to spend billions =
more on=20
a missile-defense shield that would have been useless =
yesterday.=20
The country always has responded to national calamities =
with=20
specific, appropriate solutions. Metal detectors were =
installed at=20
airports to combat increased hijackings in the 1970s; the =
explosion=20
of a Pan Am jetliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, led to =
tighter=20
security at airport check-ins and more scrutiny of luggage; =
and=20
Timothy McVeigh's bombing of the federal building in =
Oklahoma City=20
led to security safeguards at federal and other government =
buildings=20
nationwide.=20
Yesterday's attacks undoubtedly will lead to even more=20
safeguards. However, with each new protective measure, we =
subtly=20
shift the balance between our freedoms and security. How =
much the=20
equation will change will unfold in the coming weeks and =
months. But=20
already, even before the dust and rubble settled in a =
10-story pile=20
where once stood the soaring World Trade Center towers, the =
sorrow=20
of the tragedy was beginning to yield to aching questions =
about what=20
was or was not done, could or could not have been prevented. =
The=20
attacks exposed
a special weakness in our national =
security.
Besides the issues of culpability, many questions remain. =
The=20
planes that hit the towers and the Pentagon were diverted =
from their=20
original flight paths. What was the timing and sequence of =
their=20
flights and what alarms did the airlines sound? What =
authorities=20
were advised and what did the authorities do? If the area of =
Manhattan was a ``no-fly'' zone after the first airplane =
hit, why=20
was there nothing to prevent another plane from flying into =
the=20
second tower? What more could the airlines, the Federal =
Aviation=20
Administration and air-traffic controllers have done to =
avert the=20
hijackings? How could an aircraft penetrate one of the =
country's=20
most-restricted air spaces to target the Pentagon?
Even as the necessary probes begin, the United States =
first must=20
confront and overcome its shock and horror and then share in =
the=20
deep sense of communal loss. We then must commit to making =
this a=20
stronger and safer nation and sparing no expense or effort =
to bring=20
the perpetrators responsible for such heinous evil to the =
bar of=20
justice.