9/11 and the race for the White House

Dems barely mentioned it, but Republicans can't use it as an excuse to justify ignoring other US crises.

By GIL STERN STERN TROY
twin towers 9/11 248.88 (photo credit: AP)
twin towers 9/11 248.88
(photo credit: AP)
A JPost.com exclusive blog While much of the presidential campaign excitement this week stems from John McCain's Sarah Palin-assisted post-convention surge in popularity, it is worth remembering the seventh anniversary of 9/11 which fell this Thursday. American politics remains defined by that trauma, for better and worse. For better, because underestimating the danger Islamist terrorists pose endangers all Westerners. The only way to ensure that the nearly three thousand victims of Osama Bin Laden in 2001 did not die in vain, is to remain vigilant, working to prevent future attacks. For worse, because a politics solely defined by 9/11 neglects today's economic, social, cultural, diplomatic and political challenges. As with all traumas, America's candidates should remember past horrors without being imprisoned by them. On this score, the two candidates - and their parties - pose an interesting contrast. Barack Obama and the Democrats seem to risk forgetting the lessons of 9/11. Democrats barely mentioned terrorism or 9/11 during their convention. Moreover, their disgust with George W. Bush's policy has soured too many on the entire War against Terror while misleading them that Bush somehow triggered the troubles. Democrats must remember that al Qaida declared war on America during Bill Clinton's enlightened reign, when America was actively seeking peace in the Middle East. Republicans, on the other hand, cannot use the continuing threat of terrorism as an excuse to justify ignoring America's economic, energy, and health crises. It is frustrating to watch as Republicans fail to encourage serious alternatives to oil, considering the estimated $700 billion America pumps annually into many oil-saturated, terrorist-friendly regimes. Welcome steps toward energy independence would change the geopolitical conditions that have financed terrorists. Underlying this division is a tactical debate between Democrats who tend to favor deploying "soft power" and Republicans who favor "hard power." This clash plays right into the ongoing debate about which candidate is a better friend to Israel. Obama Democrats tend to trust that soft power -- diplomacy -- will help Israel survive in the longrun. McCain Republicans tend to reverse Winston Churchill's famous maxim, believing that for the hard-bitten Islamist radicals of al Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, "war-war" not "Jaw-jaw" is the only alternative. Of course, the best response to terrorism, the best way to support Israel, is with a deft mix of soft and hard power, demonstrating a shrewd diplomatic touch backed up by a willingness and readiness to be tough when necessary. More broadly, this anniversary should compel both candidates to remember what unites them as Americans - in opposing terror, supporting Israel, and facing other challenges as well. Political campaigns emphasize the differences between candidates, creating a series of false contrasts. Just because John McCain is passionately anti-terror, Barack Obama is not pro-terror. Just because Barack Obama is in favor of preserving civil liberties even amid the terrorist threat, John McCain is not against civil liberties. Even amid the presidential campaign tensions, both candidates should make sure to affirm their and their country's consensus against terror and for civil liberties. Barack Obama should give a speech detailing where he agrees with George W. Bush's anti-terror strategy - before highlighting the disagreements. John McCain should identify what constitutional limitations he accepts when fighting terrorism - before justifying the emergency measures he feels the war warrants. Such statements would shrink the partisan battlefield, emphasizing the consensus Americans share with their two presumptive nominees in abhorring terror and cherishing the Constitution. Seven years ago, on a beautiful September Tuesday, Osama bin Laden's terrorists did not distinguish between Democrats and Republicans, blacks and whites, Muslims or non-Muslims, or even Americans and non-Americans. They killed indiscriminately, brutally. Living as we all do in a post 9/11 world, those who aspire to lead Western countries responsibly must reaffirm a common commitment to combating Islamist terrorism - and ensure that the nightmare of 9/11 never recurs.