HOW HE SEES IT Noose is tightening on terror

By Sen. JOHN CORNYN
KNIGHT RIDDER/TRIBUNE
The noose is tightening around Al-Qaida, and it's our allies who are helping us hold the rope. The aid provided by coalition partners in this fight is paying high dividends, most recently in the capture of Abu Farraj al-Libbi by Pakistani forces. The capture, announced Wednesday, is a victory for those working toward freedom and security around the world, and a crushing blow to those who daily plot our destruction.
The fight against Osama bin Laden and his ilk is a global war and requires a global response. Nations that recognize the threat, and the need for a continuing response, are not hiding behind isolationist walls and false hopes. They are not relying on inertia to protect them from Al-Qaida's reach. Rather, they are taking the fight to those who would replicate 9/11 on any nation at any time.
With the support of U.S. equipment, intelligence and arms, nations have achieved great success. Though most actions and successes will not receive the publicity of the al-Libbi capture, every day brings new advances and new success.
This global cooperative effort benefits both the nations involved and our own interests overseas. The truth is, we must secure more than our own borders, we must defend our citizens and their economic and diplomatic efforts.
We have been hit at our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; we have been hit at the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia; our Navy was hit at the USS Cole in Yemen. And, of course, our allies have seen attacks in Bali, Madrid and Beslan.
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush decided, with the authorization of Congress at every turn, that we would use pre-emptive action against those who seek to harm America and those who threaten world peace and supply sanctuary to terrorists.
We also decided that it was in America's interest to take the battle to the terrorists where they live, where they plot, where they plan, and where they train and build weapons -- not to wait until we are attacked again and where innocent civilians' lives are lost and innocent blood is shed. The post-9/11 reality is that America must choose to fight this terrorist threat on their ground, or they will fight us on ours.
Greater cause
In 1944, Winston Churchill spoke in Royal Albert Hall to the British troops, and reminded them of the greater cause they served. "We are joined together in this union of action which has been forced upon us by our common hatred of tyranny," he said, "shedding our blood side by side, struggling for the same ideals, until the triumph of the great causes which we serve shall be made manifest. ... Then, indeed, there will be a day of thanksgiving, one in which all the world will share."
There is much work to be done in this global fight against terror. But the difference our forces and those of our allies have made in such a short time is undeniable. Pakistan, India and our allies in that critical region are on a daily hunt for terrorists, are arresting their leaders and disrupting their plans. A few short years ago, Al-Qaida and their Taliban sponsors had free rein in Afghanistan. Now that nation is an ally in Al-Qaida's demise.
Until recently, the idea that the Iraqi people could live free was perhaps a concept that some found hard to take seriously. Now, they have an elected government and are on the path to security and a stable democracy -- a beacon of hope in the Middle East.
Our nation, and free people around the world have been attacked by evil men who wanted to leave us weak, vulnerable, and divided. Instead, the world saw a nation strong, determined and united, and a new alliance of the free standing firm against terror.
Al-Libbi and his ilk gravely underestimated our resolve. America will never surrender to terrorists or tyrants; we will not cut and run in the face of danger. Instead, we are taking the fight to freedom's enemies, fighting wherever else necessary, so that terrorists can no longer export their evil to our streets or those of our allies.
With the arrest of the No. 3 leader in Al-Qaida, we are yet another step closer to capturing Osama bin Laden and breaking the back of his organization of terror. It is now just a matter of time, not a question of if, we will succeed.
X Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, heads the Senate's Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services