also in this section The War Prayer by Mark Twain From out of the woodwork, and from under every rock Three journalists arrested and charged with criminal defamation by President Mireya Moscoso Pinpoint the cause, not the blame, for September 11 CPJ briefing on Colombia's worst enemy of the press

SHARED PAIN, SHARED RESOLVE:
THE EXPRESSIONS OF PANAMANIAN SUPPORT HAVE GRATIFIED US ALL

By Frederick A. Becker

Charge d'Affaires, Embassy of the United States of America in Panama

September 11, 2001, is, and forevermore will be, a date of horror. Its incredible images of death and destruction, wrought by an evil fanaticism, will be an indelible stain on the history of humankind.

The almost unimaginable attacks on New York and Washington have changed the entire world with a violent suddenness that stuns us even in these modern times of rapid and dramatic change. The toll of human suffering has been overwhelming.

The prompt and emphatic expressions of support and solidarity from the Government and people of Panama have gratified and touched all of us in the U.S. Embassy community. So many of us have received personal expressions of sympathy, sorrow, and brotherhood from Panamanian neighbors, friends, and professional contacts. I was deeply moved by the vigil that hundreds of Panamanians held in front of the embassy this past Sunday. This is indeed a shared pain, and the mourning continues.

In addition to expressing the appreciation of my Government and Embassy for the outpouring of support from Panamanians from all walks of life, I want to assure all U.S. citizens who call Panama home that your security and well-being remain priority concerns of this diplomatic mission. We are here to serve you all and will remain steadfast in doing so.

As President Bush has stated, we are now in a state of war against international terrorism. And in responding to these crimes against humanity, the United States will not distinguish between individual terrorists and the states that protect or support them - politically, financially, or by any other means.

Secretary of State Colin Powell warned that this war "isn't going to be solved with a single counter-attack against one individual. It's going to be a long-term conflict, and it's going to be fought on many fronts. And it's a war not just against the United States. It's a war against civilization. It's a war against all nations that believe in democracy."

During the past century, the world's civilized nations fought against the evils of fascism, nazism and communism, and together - certainly at great cost - we triumphed. In this new century, we have an immediate new policy priority: to aggressively confront and defeat international terrorism. This policy will place extraordinary new demands on America and on all our allies and friends who join us in this cause, for the terrorists clearly respect neither sovereign borders nor the rules that govern civilized societies. Terrorists count on their capacity to divide us over the costs, hardships, and inconveniences that their atrocities create. The goal of these fanatics is to force us to live in fear and submission and to abandon our cherished values. We cannot, and will not, allow this to happen.

Eliminating terrorist attacks and dismantling terrorist organizations will require a unified, coordinated, global response, and immediate U.S. efforts are dedicated to galvanizing that response. The United States is calling on all its friends and allies to take real, concrete steps to join the fight against international terrorism. We must be ready to endure the tests that will come. The sense of solidarity that this tragedy today has inspired is a mark of our humanity as well as a badge for the common cause we must maintain against such evil.

We know now how real the threats are, how urgent the mission is. At stake are our long-term hopes for sustainable democracy, personal security, economic opportunity, and social justice for all, everywhere in the world.

The United States seeks a world of societies that are free, where individuals are secure to pursue their individual ideals under a shared umbrella of peace and opportunity and where there is respect for differences of color, faith and creed.

Our success against international terrorism and the preservation of our way of life rest squarely on our sense of community and common purpose. Judging by the world's outrage and reaffirmation of hope and resolve that arose from the ashes of those terrible acts of terrorism, we will assuredly prevail.