The United States should use a combination of diplomacy, economics and the military to respond to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, said former Secretary of State and Georgetown professor Madeleine Albright last Thursday in Gaston Hall. She said the Bush administration could choose to isolate the enemy, impose economic sanctions or track the financial sources of terrorist groups to combat the aggressors.
Albright began by reminding audience members that many of the individuals who died in the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Centers were not originally from the U.S.
“Public demands [the government] do something soon, [but the United States] cannot forget [that] more than 500 [of the] dead are from other countries,”Albright said.
Albright outlined a reactionary plan for America in response to the attacks, which she said will both “mark and mar the new century.” She said that even though the current public feeling holds a sense of urgency to take action, it is necessary for the Bush administration to act patiently and respond with the best possible option.
“The law of unintended consequences has not been repealed,” Albright said. She added that the United States must be careful of possible negative reactions to its own retaliatory responses.
In light of all of the attention that the Bush administration has given to Osama bin Laden, Albright said that America can tie a “noose around bin Laden,” but added that there is a small possibility he may not have been the perpetrator of the attacks.
To emphasize her point through a visual illustration, Albright asked audience members to raise their hands if they would support an American military response in the 24 hours following her speech. She then asked for the students who would never support military action to raise their hands. Both questions yielded the support of about 10 percent of the audience. Those remaining in the audience took more moderate stances.
Albright also addressed the possibility of taking economic action in response to the terrorist attacks. She said that America could try to deprive terrorist groups of financial means by cracking down on their fundraising practices within their own borders.
She described their purpose and enforcement, saying that America never deprived Iraqis of food or medicine. The Clinton administration, in fact, set up a plan to give Saddam Hussein both food and medicine in return for oil, she said. She blamed Hussein himself for injuring the people of Iraq.
“In the galaxy of evil people, he is up there,” she said.
Albright’s speech took place just three hours before President Bush’s address to the joint session of Congress outlining future military strategy. She encouraged audience members to watch the address and support the Bush administration’s actions.
Albright expressed hope that the President’s speech would be straightforward and clear in its message.
“Words matter, and hyperbole is like a boomerang,”she said.
