It's time to step up efforts in war on global terrorism

There is a simple explanation for the increase in terrorist activity in Iraq: A power vacuum exists, which global terror organizations are trying to fill. But what is happening in Iraq should come as no surprise. As long as Osama bin Laden and deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein elude capture or death, their disciples will be emboldened to continue their campaign of death and destruction.
President Bush was right Sunday in declaring Iraq to be the focus of the U.S.-led war on terrorism in the Middle East -- the bombings of the United Nations headquarters and the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, and the daily killings or wounding of American soldiers justify such a declaration -- but he must not ignore the broader truth: Bin Laden's Al-Qaida terror network consists of cells or offshoots in more than 60 countries.
Indeed, shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America's mainland that claimed more than 3,000 lives, the president warned Al-Qaida and other such organizations: Your days are numbered.
But as the Christian Science Monitor story on the front page of Tuesday's Vindicator points out, "... Al-Qaida is a weaker, more diffuse organization, but one that can still mount substantial attacks -- in the United States and abroad."
Preoccupation
Although the rebuilding of Iraq, both politically and physically, is preoccupying the White House and demanding larger chunks of the federal budget, the war on global terrorism must remain on the front burner. The president, in light of his national address Sunday on post-Saddam Iraq, should let America's allies and even unfriendly nations know that the existence of terrorist organizations within their borders is our business.
After all, the attacks on 9/11 were conceived and planned abroad and financed by bin Laden, the mastermind of global terrorism and America's avowed enemy. His escape after the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan that resulted in the ouster of the Taliban regime and his ability to stay one step ahead of the posse show that he still enjoys support in the mountain region dividing Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Pakistani government, which enjoys a close relationship with the administration as a result of its assisting the United States during the Afghanistan war, must become more aggressive in chasing down leads and beating the bushes in the search for bin Laden.
Likewise, the rulers in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria must understand that the Bush administration will not sit quietly while their countries are used as launching pads for terrorist activity in Iraq. American soldiers and others involved in the rebuilding of Iraq are in harm's way, and the president has every right to protect them.
The war on global terrorism has many fronts and requires a concerted effort on the part of all nations to dismantle the networks that bin Laden and others have created.
The capture or death of the world's leading terrorist must remain a top priority for the international community.