Five years after the September 11th terrorist attacks killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States within hours, countries across the globe including The Bahamas continue to fine tune their defenses to more aggressively fight the war on terrorism.
For U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas John Rood, it is a move that calls for nations to continue to stand in solidarity to confront an ideology which promotes hate, destruction and death.
“Our long-term success will be determined less by tactical victories than by advancing freedom and human dignity and promoting the spread of democracy,” Ambassador Rood said on Monday.
“For where terrorists exploit political alienation, democracy gives people a stake in society; where terrorists exploit grievances to blame others, democracy offers the rule of law, the possibility of compromise and peaceful resolution of disputes and where terrorists exploit misinformation, democracy offers freedom of speech and exchange of ideas to discredit falsehoods.
“That is why our partnerships as nations that value democracy, human rights and freedom of expression [are] so valuable. For at its heart, the fight against terrorism is a fight for the cherished values and principles that both our nations hold dear.”
Ambassador Roodﾒs comments came during a brief tree planting ceremony to honour the memories of the 9/11 victims. The ceremony took place at the ambassadorﾒs Sandford Drive home in New Providence.
On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four jetliners, flying two into the World Trade Center in New York, and one into the Pentagon just outside Washington. Another was crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.
Ambassador Rood said that a day prior to the attack, he was with U.S. President George W. Bush during his visit to Jacksonville, Florida.
“Like most people, I couldnﾒt believe when it happened. I thought it was a joke or something, but little by little, the reality set in and we were shocked,” he recalled.
“Later on that afternoon, our whole company got together and prayed and weﾒve never done that before, and so I think it brought people together. It was a day that many people will never forget.”
Since the 9/11 attacks, innocent people from Indonesia to Morocco, Spain to Australia, Jordan to England and India to Egypt have been killed by Islamic extremists.
But local and U.S. officials have also admitted that such acts have taught very powerful lessons.
“I donﾒt think one person after 9/11 has not looked at their life differently. Three thousand people were not ready to end their lives and so maybe itﾒs important to spend some more time with loved ones, to thank people, mend broken bridges. Just live life differently,” Ambassador Rood said.
“As a country, there are things we had to do differently. We had to improve communication with our allies within our government and do things a little bit better to make sure that this type of thing does not happen again.”
U.S. officials have said that over the past five years, good progress has been made in removing sanctuaries for terrorists, disrupting finances, capturing key operatives, breaking up terror cells and preventing planned attacks.
“I think weﾒre all more aware and weﾒre a little bit more concerned that weﾒre vulnerable, but itﾒs something that we have to get used to. We have to keep our guard upﾅUltimately we have to hope for the day when we do not have to face these types of challenges; we donﾒt have to resort to that type of violence to move along an agenda.”
But while great strides have been made in this regard, Prime Minister Perry Christie said one could never be satisfied when it comes to security in a country like The Bahamas.
“In one way our strength is our weakness in terms of being an archipelago region, and so to a great extent we have the benefit of our relations with America in the form of various treaties, programmes and initiatives that we are taking. We are talking about even strengthening these further with respect to our airspace and how it is managed,” the prime minister said.
“But we are always conscious of the fact that we have cruise ships traversing our waters, significant investments by Americans and so clearly, it is for us to ensure that we are able to protect our country as best we can. The only way we are able to do that is to have continuous strong relations with the United States.”
Also in attendance was Governor General Arthur Hanna, who stressed the need for every country to stamp out terrorism.
“In this age, we must separate ourselves from evil men and I am sure that The Bahamas gives its fullest support in assisting the United States in trying to track down the evil doers,” the governor general said
And so, with a shovel in hand and flanked by the governor general, the prime minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell, the ambassador led the way in planting a Poinciana tree, one he felt best symbolized strength, endurance, beauty and hope.
“As it takes root in the rich soil here, it will stand strong during the many storms that pass over it. It will have long life, so that many years after we have moved on, those who follow in our steps can stand here and recall the sacrifices made for our freedoms,” he said.
“Its deep roots symbolize to me the depth and endurance of the values that underpins the United Statesﾒ friendships with The Bahamas. Finally, the annual bloom and beauty of the tree symbolizes our hope for the future and our desire to build a world of peace, free of terrorism, where liberty, democracy and respect for human dignity are universally honoured. To me, this is the best way to remember those who perished in the attacks of September 11.”
Memorial observances were also held across the United States where moments of silence were observed and the names of the victims were read. Similar events were held in other nations around the world, including Great Britain and Russia.
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
