September 11

July 24, 2001: The LTTE attacks the Bandaranaike International Airport, destroying several aircraft and damaging buildings. The international community condemns the incident, but it hardly registers in the collective conscience of the global population.

September 11, 2001: Four civilian airliners are hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists on US soil. Two of them ram into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in Manhattan. Anther nosedives into the Pentagon.

The fourth airliner, probably headed for the White House, crashes - as the hijackers are overpowered by passengers. More than 3,000 people are dead. The world wakes up to the sheer senselessness of terrorism, realising that not even the most powerful nation is immune to its devastating reach and effects. The whole world is stunned by the terror attack, relayed live to millions of TV screens.

As the Le Monde put it, the whole world became Americans that fateful day. We Sri Lankans did not need any soul-searching to become "Americans" - having experienced the disastrous consequences of terrorism for nearly two decades. Sri Lankans were just coming to terms with the LTTE attack on the airport when 9/11 happened. It was a sense of deja vu, though on a much bigger scale.

It would not be wrong to say that 9/11 changed the world. It marked the beginning of a 'War on Terror' that is still going on. It also marked the beginning of a wider debate on religious extremism.

Given that the terrorists involved in the 9/11 carnage were Islamic extremists who had misused the very name of their religion (Islam means peace), tensions arose in the West between Muslim and other communities.

Sri Lanka always advocated a more pro-active approach towards terrorism, a cause that had only a few backers, including the US itself and India, until 9/11.

These two countries had already banned the LTTE and a host of other terrorist organisations. Yet, global action against terrorism was slow-moving and several important anti-terror conventions remained without being ratified. The LTTE and other extremist/terrorist organisations had a free run in many countries, including those in Europe.

Post 9/11, this picture changed drastically with Governments around the world clamping down on all forms of terror. Many other countries suffered terrorist atrocities - the bus explosions in London and the train bombing in Madrid come to mind - but the global resolve to fight terror has not diminished. Cutting off terrorist finances and money laundering avenues has become one of the most effective ways of strangling terror groups.

One adage must be kept in mind when dealing with terrorism: Governments have to be lucky all the time, but terrorists have to be lucky only once.

Constant vigilance and intelligence gathering on a global level are the keys that can unravel the terrorists' abominable designs to cause mayhem and destruction.

It is in this context that intelligence agencies around the world are assessing Osama bin Laden's latest video, released to coincide with the twin tower attack anniversary.

Today, Iraq and to a lesser extent, Afghanistan, have become breeding grounds for insurgents. Al-Qaeda and other terror are exploiting the situation to their advantage, fuelling religious fanaticism and sectarian violence.

It would be a pity if these countries themselves become victims of the war on terror. The future of these countries must be decided on by their peoples. Quelling the insurgency and winning the war on terror will be easier if that were the case.