<

Pacific Rim Leaders Unite Against Terror
Tuesday, October 29, 2002
By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

The leaders reaffirmed their statement on counterterrorism adopted in Shanghai, China, Oct. 21, 2001, in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the United States. In last year's statement, the group acknowledged the need to immediately combat by all means, threats to international peace, security and economic sustainability of the region caused by terrorist acts.

WASHINGTON -- AFIS
President Bush and other Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders attending an Oct. 26- 27 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Indonesia, the Philippines and Moscow and pledged to accelerate counterterrorism cooperation.

Secretary of State Colin Powell told the group that the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan successfully ousted the Taliban regime and destroyed al Qaeda there, but that al Qaeda's network continues to function. He called on APEC members to redouble efforts to go after terrorists' finances, to use law enforcement efforts to locate them, to use intelligence systems to find them and learn where they're going to strike next.

"Nobody is immune," Powell said. "This is a war against all of us. Every nation represented here, every business represented here, every leader represented here is a potential target of terrorist activity of the kind perpetrated by al Qaeda."

APEC leaders issued a "Statement on Fighting Terrorism and Promoting Growth," declaring "terrorism is a direct challenge to APEC's goals of free, open and prosperous economies and an affront to the fundamental values that APEC members share."
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

Dan