Latin American Reaction
By Max Cohen
On
the morning of September 11th, the United States was
the target of a premeditated attack by foreign terrorists.
In response, Americans have united on many fronts in
an effort to ensure that the events of that day are
never repeated. In his recent address to Congress, President
Bush outlined the administration's plan for coordinating
these efforts, under the umbrella of the Office of Homeland
security.
Latin American governments and businesspeople are quickly
trying to adjust to a New World order created by the
September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States.
The region has stood solidly behind the United States,
offering support for its "war on terrorism"
through resolutions at home and in the Organization
of American States (OAS). Even Cuba, the only country
in the hemisphere locked out of both the OAS and discussions
about a regional free-trade block, condemned the attacks
and offered counterintelligence expertise and humanitarian
aid. But while official support for the US government
is nearly unanimous, opinions vary on how the attacks
and their aftermath will affect the region.
Latin American newspapers greeted news of the attacks
with grim resignation. Mexico City's centrist Excelsior,
though it lent its support to the war on terrorism,
hoped that the next news would not be of more civilian
deaths. Buenos Aires' conservative La Nacion wrote that
this war is completely different from those of the 20th
Century and must not be allowed to turn into a "clash
of civilizations." Likewise, Bolivia's conservative
La Razon expressed concerns that the conflict might
still be perceived as a religious war.
Even Latin America's leftist press tempered its usual
criticism of U.S. policy immediately following the attacks.
Buenos Aires' Pagina 12, normally an acid critic of
U.S. policy, could only fault the United States for
its avowed efforts to contact more "unsavory characters"
in the covert battle against terrorism. Havana's government-owned
Granma saw the conflict between the richest country
on earth and one of the poorest as so lopsided that
it did not really deserve to be called "a war."
Worse, according to Granma's editors, in this case "the
remedy is worse than the disease." But compared
to Juventud Rebelde's contention that the war on terrorism
was merely "a pretext for expanding the political
hegemony and reactionary policies" of the Bush
administration, Granmna's criticisms seemed mild.
Peruvians questioned whether one of the casualties of
the unprecedented attacks in New York and Washington
would be President Bush's missile defense plans. Noting
that there would be "political consequences"
to the terrorist actions, Lima's El Comercio newspaper
pondered how the Pentagon could have been so vulnerable
as to be attacked by a hijacked commercial airliner.
"It is indefensible that the Department of Defense
is so vulnerable," El Comerio opined. Commenting
on the debate on Capitol Hill concerning the Pentagon's
budget requests for the fiscal year scheduled to begin
in October, the Peruvian newspaper questioned what would
be the purpose of spending so many billions on a "missile
defense" unless, as the paper noted, the Pentagon's
missiles would be prepared to shoot down civilian airliners
that had been hijacked.
The attacks that occurred on American soil were a low
blow on their so-called global supremacy, exposing weaknesses
that were not visible until September 11th. The attacks
revealed how the United States is not prepared for these
types of terrorist attacks. But a death toll of over
six thousand civilians makes not only American citizens
but also people around the globe call for an end on
terrorism. Latin Americans have demonstrated their complete
support towards the American cause. The main concerns
exposed by Latin American newspaper regards the fear
that American counter attacks will result on more civilian
deaths. But most importantly, that Americans will have
to focus on demonstrating the Muslim world that this
is not a war between civilization and yes against terrorism.
Related Links:
Office
of Homeland Security
Organization
of American States
Granma
La
Razon
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