LJWorld.com / Powell pushes democracy as weapon against terror

Archive for Tuesday, November 13, 2001

The Associated Press

November 13, 2001

United Nations — The war on terrorism must be fought with increased support to promote democracy and alleviate poverty so there will be no reason for terrorists to exist, Secretary of State Colin Powell told the U.N. Security Council on Monday.

Powell spoke at the first ministerial-level meeting of the 15-member council since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and just hours after another plane crash in New York City sparked fear that terrorists may have struck again.

The meeting focused on the global fight against terrorism. The council unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a U.N. counter-terrorism committee to help nations strengthen measures to stop financing, supporting and providing sanctuary to terrorists, as required by a landmark council resolution adopted on Sept. 28.

With public support for U.S.-led military action on Afghanistan waning in some nations that have joined the global coalition against terrorism, the foreign ministers stressed that military efforts alone would not succeed in eradicating terrorism.

"The war on terrorism starts within each of our respective sovereign borders," Powell said. "It will be fought with increased support for democracy programs, judicial reform, conflict resolution, poverty alleviation, economic reform, and health and education programs.

"All these together deny the reason for terrorists to exist or find safe havens within those borders," Powell said, in what U.N. diplomats said was his strongest statement on what must be addressed to win the war on terrorism.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov agreed.

"Military means alone are not sufficient. After all, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, absence of equal access to the benefits of scientific and technological progress force destitute people to join the ranks of extremists," he said.

Ireland's Foreign Minister Brian Cowen said the international community ignores these underlying problems "at our peril." "We must reject a world order in which the 200 richest people have greater assets than the 2 billion people at the other end of the spectrum," he said.