Rallying the Global Troops

President Bush’s planned speeches and meetings with audiences foreign and domestic next week are a necessary part of the battle against terrorism. It’s not enough to take action; the action must be explained and justified, not once but often.

The basic fact to be repeated is that nearly 5,000 people from scores of nations were killed in terrorist attacks on innocent victims Sept. 11. Time diminishes horror; it cannot be allowed to erase memory.

There are lies abroad that the U.S. counterattacks are a fight against Islam or against innocent Afghans. Rather, they are a fight against terrorists, with the first targets Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda organization.

There are reasonable questions about strategy and tactics. Is the bombing of Afghanistan hurting the United States in the arena of public opinion more than it is helping in destroying bases of the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan who shelter Bin Laden? When bombs hit a Red Cross warehouse or fall on villages and kill innocent Afghans, what is done to prevent similar occurrences? Will continuing the bombing of Muslims during the month of Ramadan turn Islamic moderates against the United States?

Condoleezza Rice, the president’s national security advisor, and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Thursday stressed the need for patience and reminded people that the war on terrorism has many components. Arresting suspects here and abroad, freezing bank accounts, persuading other nations to provide intelligence information all are important in the effort to disrupt hostile networks.

Bush’s Sept. 20 speech was an effective explanation of what the nation confronted and what would be required. But there have been major developments since then: the bombing campaign, the spread of anthrax. Next week’s speech will have to be every bit as good as the address to Congress, a blend of explanation, reassurance and rallying cry.

The president also will speak by satellite to officials from Central Europe gathered in Warsaw to discuss the war on terrorism. That’s an opportunity to express thanks to nations supporting the battle and to remind them that terror can threaten any nation. Many countries knew that before Sept. 11.

Bush plans to meet with the leaders of several nations attending the U.N. General Assembly meeting next week, among them British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has done a good job articulating the allies’ position on his trips to the Middle East. Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is also on the meeting list. Both India and Pakistan have supported U.S. actions, yet the two nuclear-armed nations remain at each other’s throats over the territory of Kashmir. Bush should assure Vajpayee that Washington values the friendship of a fellow democracy and urge that the quarrel with Pakistan not escalate.

The hiring of ad agency executive Charlotte Beers as the nation’s spin-master will not persuade the world of anything. But spelling out U.S. reasoning is important in the new type of battle in which the nation finds itself. It needs to be done well and constantly.