Sorrow and Rage: The World Weighs In

If words failed us in the hours after last Tuesday’s tragedy, we found them in the days that followed. Collected below are excerpts from editorials that ran in newspapers around the globe. The commentaries were unsigned unless otherwise noted. ( Compiled by Patricia Brown )

CYPRUS

If one thing was brought home on Tuesday, it is that the isolationism that [President] Bush embraced has no place in today’s interdependent world. The U.S. now needs to work with the governments of all the major countries in order to defeat, or at least contain, terrorism. For terrorism is not just a threat to the U.S. but to all of the civilized world. On Tuesday, passenger planes were used to commit the carnage, but what if terrorists one day get their hands on nuclear weapons? That dreadful possibly cannot be safely ruled out.

--Cyprus Mail

ENGLAND

The message of Tuesday’s incident is that, for all its horrors ... it is not politically significant. It does not tilt the balance of world power one inch. It is not an act of war. America’s leadership of the West is not diminished by it. The cause of democracy is not damaged, unless we choose to let it be damaged. Maturity lies in learning to live, and sometimes to die, with the madmen.

-- The Times (By Simon Jenkins)

FRANCE

At this tragic time, when words seem too poor to express the depth of shock we feel, the first thing that comes to our spirits is this: We are all Americans. We are all New Yorkers as surely as John F. Kennedy, in 1963 in Berlin, was a Berliner. During these gravest moments of history, how can we not feel profound solidarity with this people and with this country, the United States, to whom we are so close, and to whom we owe our liberty, and therefore our loyalty? But the reality is also of an America whose own cynicism has finally caught up with it: If Osama bin Laden really is, as American authorities seem to think, the commander of the 11th of September, how can we not recall that Bin Laden was himself created by the CIA, that he was one of the elements of an anti-Soviet politics that the Americans believed was wise. Is it not then the United States itself that has given birth to this devil?

-- Le Monde (By Jean-Marie Colombani)

IRAN

Punishing the culprits responsible for Tuesday’s tragedy is fully justified, but it only deals with the effect rather than the cause. To remove the cause, world leaders must set aside their individual, narrow nationalistic interests in favor of the interests of humanity as a whole. They must temper their zeal to promote only their own preferences with justice for all the members of the human race in order to end the destructive phenomenon of terrorism early in the 21st century. In the 19th century, piracy on the high seas was finally eradicated when all the nations concerned decided to act.

-- Iran News

IRELAND

There is in American culture a fundamentalism no less strong than that of those who may have plotted Tuesday’s carnage. The tendency to divide the world between the forces of God and the forces of Satan, the elect and the damned, is, ironically, one of the things that America shares with its most ferocious enemies. Just as there are deluded people who believe that murdering thousands is a blow against the Great Satan, there will be a strong tendency in America to demonize whatever enemy is responsible and to visit a godly punishment, not just on the perpetrators but on a whole category of humanity.

--The Irish Times (By Fintan O’Toole)

ISRAEL

Putting an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict [has become] an essential pillar of the forthcoming global campaign against terrorism

-- The Jerusalem Post (By Naomi Chazan)

JAPAN

The matter is not simply political. The closure of the New York Stock Exchange may throw the world economy into chaos. And it will have an incalculable impact on the Japanese economy, as well.

The United Nations should immediately convene an emergency summit to discuss the measures to be taken. The world must be spared an outbreak of confusion fueled by anger and helplessness. The international community is asked to display solidarity and wisdom.

--Asahi Shimbun

JORDAN

As inhabitants of a region torn and consumed by more than five decades of Israeli occupation of Arab lands, Jordanians have long known what a blind and inhumane monster terrorism is, and they have spared no effort in resisting and trying to eradicate it

[But] American leaders might also pause and use this time of national grief to do some soul searching that could help their country become even stronger.... U.S. decision-makers should evaluate whether they have steered the world’s only superpower to dominate under the insignia of justice and international legitimacy, or succumbed to short-term interests, shortsighted considerations and the power of arrogance.

-- The Jordan Times

KENYA

It is not pleasant to contemplate what might happen if someone does not put a gentle, restraining hand on President George W. Bush and the hawks in Congress .... And yet, that is the way it must be, for it would be lethal for the U.S. to show any signs of hesitation, for those might be interpreted as cowardice. And it is in the nature of sneaking cowards to detect that trait in their victims if they so much as blink.

-- The Daily Nation (By Andrew Ngwiri)

KUWAIT

The sad attacks of Tuesday are condemned by the world. The Arab people are hoping the perpetrators are not Arabs or Muslims, since that’s what Israel is going to manipulate against the Palestinian people. Therefore, it’s important that the Palestinian factions not rush to claim responsibility for the acts, which are more sophisticated and well organized than any Palestinian organization is equipped to do. This act could be the act of the Israeli Mossad to widen the gap between the Arabs and America and to tighten the relation with Israel .... It’s sad to see President Bush vow revenge in a country that believes in the law of justice and the integrity of the judicial system.

-- Al-Qabas

LEBANON

It can be difficult for Arabs to see past U.S. policy and appreciate America’s qualities. But on Tuesday, they were the centerpiece of a sad but proud display. Apart from measures taken to ensure the security of the country’s senior leadership, the tragedy was handled with admirable openness and surprisingly little venom. America has been made to know the suffering that so many other countries understand all too well. Now it should lead the way in finding solutions to the problems that breed violence and desperation.

-- The Daily Star

Peoples from very different countries and with apparently very divergent views [need to] see that, at bottom, their beliefs do not clash at all: History has simply put them at opposite ends of a dilemma whose solution can only lie in understanding. Only in this manner can the universal evil to which America has been subjected be a catalyst for a new era, one for which subsequent generations everywhere will be eternally grateful to their predecessors. Even for those whose anger at Washington’s pro-Israeli stance predisposes them to applaud American suffering, cooperation with the war on terrorism should be high on the agenda for one simple reason: self-preservation.

-- The Daily Star

MEXICO

The United States leadership must maintain a sober mind so that it will not commit attacks against friendly nations. We ask the people and the government of the United States to avoid any syndrome resulting from this tragedy. The United States will not show clear thinking if it gives in to xenophobic hatred and lets loose feelings against immigrants from all over the world--Mexicans included--who have contributed to the greatness of the United States.

-- El Universal

PAKISTAN

The attacks must provide an occasion for the United States to pause and think whether the hard line they have adopted is proving to be counter-productive. The desperation of the attackers, whoever they may be, reflects that some individuals, groups or organizations were so strongly driven and fired up against the U.S. that they not only stopped caring for their own lives, they did not [hesitate at] claiming the lives of hundreds and thousands of other innocent victims .... If America was preparing and waiting for an Armageddon, it has now happened.... If ever there was a wake-up call for the world to resolve simmering issues, this one has been the loudest and the costliest.

-- The News International

PALESTINE

The painful tragedy that hit America and destroyed its economic and military structures has shocked the world because terrorism hit innocent civilian women, children and men. Indeed, the scene of destruction reminded the Palestinian people of what’s happening in Palestine, with destruction of homes and intrusions into the Palestinian towns and villages. The Palestinians have feelings of sympathy for the Americans in spite of the total bias of America in favor of Israel and the use by Israel of sophisticated American weapons against the Palestinians in their uprising.

-- Al-Quds

PERU

In light of the horrible terrorist acts suffered Tuesday by the United States, we must express our sincere repudiation of violence, from wherever it may come, and our solidarity with the United States. International terrorism fools itself into thinking that, by attacking the heart of the United States, it will debilitate democracy worldwide. To the contrary, the only result it will have is a universal repudiation, because the hearts and minds of sane human beings don’t understand nor accept the cowardice of the Dante-like destruction of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

--El Comercio

RUSSIA

On Tuesday, the world watched the prelude to World War III. In the U.S., it was already being said, almost unanimously, that if Afghanistan is found to be involved in these events, it will simply be wiped off the face of the Earth .... The West’s complaints about Russia’s “unwarranted use of force” in the fight against Chechen terrorists will now be replaced by calls to wipe them out. The war against terrorism will henceforth be aimed at complete annihilation.

-- Komsomolskaya Pravda (By Elena Ovcharenko and Yevgenii Umerenkov)

The terrorist attacks in the United States may ... lead Moscow and Washington to soften their criticism of each other on several fronts, such as the war in Chechnya and the future of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

-- Moscow Times (By Ana Uzelac)

SOUTH KOREA

Americans are indignant, and one can easily predict they will cry “we are ready for war.” There needs, however, to be calmness when it comes to concrete methodology .... The U.S. has the intelligence and the ability to pluck someone ... from the other side of the planet and sit him in an international court, and we believe [that would be] the most appropriate [action] at this time.

-- The Digital Chosun

We express our deep condolences to the people of the United States, our allies who risked their lives for democracy and peace on this land, and hope they will overcome the unprecedented tragedy. We also hope all the peace-loving nations of the world will join forces to use every means available and determine who masterminded the brutal act and to punish them.

-- The Korea Times

SPAIN

If well-intentioned [American] citizens have the right to demand that this crime not go unpunished, they also should hope that Bush does not give in to the temptation to make a blind counter-attack ... Even if it is confirmed that the suspects belong to an extremist Islamic group, this would do nothing but heighten the appetite for acts of aggression against the West.

-- El Pais

SRI LANKA

The humanitarian assistance offered by countries and peoples to the U.S. in this hour of grave crisis, irrespective of political, religious, cultural and geographical barriers ... is proof that a new world order more befitting humankind could yet be forged through a collective effort of peoples everywhere. This is something the world’s major powers need to ponder on.

-- Daily News

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Many now fear the terrible vengeance the U.S. may wreak for intrusion on its soil by whom they believe to be foreign perpetrators. Already, senior government personnel are talking of and pointing fingers at one person, claiming only that person has the desire, the money, the motivation and ability to carry out such audacious acts of terrorism. Yet that is far from the truth, for there are many terrorist organisations around the globe, including in the heartland of America, that could equally demonstrate such audacity, given sufficient provocation.

Which is why even those governments which have sympathized with America in these troubled times have expressed hope that the U.S. errs on the side of caution and seeks no revenge and takes no action until its allies are similarly convinced of the guilt of the perpetrators of these acts. For should America jump to conclusions and act precipitously, it will lose much of the compassion and support it has gained in the past few days.

-- The Gulf News

To be sure, as the UAE has said, terrorism in any form or manifestation cannot be condoned or tolerated. It has to be dealt with firmly and eradicated permanently from the world. But at the same time, terrorism and the threats of terrorism cannot be stopped by unilateral military actions based on hasty judgments colored by a desire for revenge. Unilateral actions in the past have not only failed to bring about the desired results, they have provided more ammunition and motivation to aggrieved parties to resort to terrorism to draw the world’s attention to their neglected causes. Indeed, it is an article of faith among present-day conflict-resolution experts that terrorism cannot be tackled by military means alone; a combination of political and military approaches [must be taken]. The reason is obvious: Terrorism merely represents the symptoms of an abnormal political condition. Attacking the symptom without addressing the underlying cause is thus a recipe for failure.

-- Khaleej Times

*

Translations by Liesl Schillinger, Lorenza Munoz, Andrei Ryabochkin and Kamal Abu-Shamsieh