Date: 24/09/2001
THE LAST WORD by Sally Loane
He couldn't get them in LA, he lamented; the flag shops had queues that went around the block. I promised to buy them here for him and mail them across. In Sydney over the weekend I noticed a couple of car dashboards bearing the Australian and American flags, crossed over. I had no idea whether they were put there by expatriate Americans or Australians wanting to show solidarity, but I had more than an inkling of how they, and Ric Birch, felt.
President George Bush's 35-minute speech to Congress last Friday was broadcast live into my 702 program. I'm sure I'm not alone in admitting I did not expect to hear such a hard-hitting yet moving speech from the US President, a man not renowned for his oratory skills or statesmanlike leadership.
This was the same man who, just a few short months into his presidency, pulled his country away from issues that the world was attempting to tackle together, like greenhouse, and who had cranked up the rhetoric against China. George Bush had reportedly not even travelled outside America before entering the Oval Office. His presidency immediately spawned a satirical television show in a country where taking the mickey out of politicians, especially presidents, is hardly the national sport it is here. Unless, of course, they have extramarital affairs.
With his Congress speech, President Bush assumed the mantle of a leader and collapsed the vestiges of his administration's nascent isolationism.
Brilliantly crafted, it was laced with human stories of courage from the New York attacks, emphasised tolerance towards Muslims and contained some memorable phrases - "[Terrorists] are the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century, following in the path of fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism. They will follow that path all the way to where it ends in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies."
President Bush repeatedly spoke of the peaceful teachings of Islam, the respect Americans had for the Muslim faith and the nation's Arab friends. He defined the terrorists as practising a fringe form of Islamic extremism that perverted the faith's peaceful teachings. He warned that no-one should be harmed or harassed because of their ethnic background or religious faith.
The campaign against terrorism would be, he said, far more than just strikes and instant retaliation, but would be prolonged and global, using the law, financial institutions, diplomacy and covert operations.
It's the former, almost certain to occur, that understandably worries many people. There are Australians, some of whom experienced our involvement in World War II and Vietnam, who don't want to be dragged into a conflict, and who believe, in the words of the Middle East analyst and journalist Robert Fisk, that George Bush is walking into a trap set by Osama bin Laden with "a blind arrogant punch". Fisk has no doubt that America has reaped what it sowed, and has been writing blunt and detailed accounts of why.
The why is important, but in the words of the Australian diplomat Richard Butler, it serves no purpose to blame the victim. Neither can we isolate ourselves from the solution - as John Howard said, with Kim Beazley's backing, we can't will a terrorist-free world and refuse to participate in its eradication. We now know from revelations about security at the Sydney Olympics that the chief concern was a bin Laden-organised terror attack from the air. George Bush told Congress there were thousands of terrorists in more than 60 countries.
I wrote this while watching America, a Tribute to Heroes on ABC TV. Gorgeous music and familiar faces telling now sadly familiar stories of loss and courage, working in an unfamiliar environment - no hype, no applause, no ads. Stark, simple, beautifully moving stuff, America at its very best.
Neil Young singing Imagine, Paul Simon's Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Willie Nelson's gentle, gnarly old voice delivering the most unsentimental, powerful version of America the Beautiful anyone's ever heard. Those of us who believe we have to rise up, to use Bruce Springsteen's words, and stand beside America also have the right to expect wisdom from the commander-in-chief and his armies. I'm sure it's not too much to hope for.
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