Countries That Lost Citizens in the World Trade Center Attacks Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Australia Austria Bangladesh Barbados Belgium Belarus Belize Bolivia Brazil Canada Chile China Colombia Czech Republic Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Ethiopia France Gambia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras India Indonesia Iran Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Korea (ROK) Lebanon Liberia Luxembourg Malaysia Mexico The Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Nigeria Norway Pakistan Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Russia Slovakia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka St. Kitts & Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent & Grenadines Sweden Switzerland Thailand Trinidad & Tobago Togo Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom United States of America Uruguay Uzbekistan Venezuela Yemen Zimbabwe

W hen the articles in this issue of FORUM were written, the 11 September murders in New York and Washington of almost 3,000 innocent men, women and children from more than 80 countries had not yet taken place. While those attacks vividly demonstrated the threat terrorism poses to security, prosperity and peaceful development, they did not achieve their intended purpose. Rather than dividing the nations of the world they brought them together, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. For any still waiting for more concrete evidence of al-Qaida’s culpability in spite of the Pakistani government’s almost immediate confirmation, there eventually came Osama bin Laden’s own videotaped acknowledgment. Although al-Qaida terrorists declared a holy struggle, it is no sacred war, and we should all be offended that terrorists attempted to speak on behalf of one of the world’s great religions. Absolutely no U.S. or international conspiracy exists against Islam; Americans and our coalition partners have fought for the lives and freedom of Muslims in Kuwait, Bosnia and Kosovo — so that they, too, could be free from the oppression of others. In fact, the United States has the greatest regard for the tolerant form of Islam practiced throughout the Asia-Pacific region, as well as in our own country. All government leaders in the region immediately denounced the attacks, even Kim Jong-il in North Korea. America’s treaty allies and many other nations immediately offered support for Operation ENDURING FREEDOM to defeat international terrorist networks and the government that provided them sanctuary. Support included armed forces for combat, mobility, intelligence, humanitarian assistance and other logistics needs. It was so rapid and extensive that the U.S. air bridge for ENDURING FREEDOM, originally planned to go eastward, went west-ward across the Asia-Pacific region instead. A great deal of the support offered by Asia-Pacific countries came even before any-one knew what would happen or how long it would take. In the midst of the sorrow, that was a good news story, because it showed trust exists in the region, alongside a common resolve to live free from terrorism. Not only were the World Trade Center and the Pentagon symbols of success and security, they were also highly populated work places. The Asia-Pacific region has both the highest and greatest number of skyscrapers in the entire world: the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the Jin Mao Building in Shanghai, the Central Plaza and Bank of China buildings in Hong Kong, Baiyoke Tower II in Bangkok. Scheduled for completion in 2008, the Centre of India Tower in Katangi will be half again as high as Petronas. Do any of us in the civilized world want our families to live in fear of being in one of these fantastic architectural achievements? Failing to confront terrorism now would mean no one could ever feel safe working at the office. Peace of mind is far too precious to let slip through one’s fingers, to give away without reflection or action.