Open Doors to Foreign Shores

Statement

I hear too often that the world's opinion of America is at an all-time low. Instead of being the world's greatest nation, critics argue, the war on terrorism is closing doors to America throughout the world.

This criticism is nothing new - in fact, it is a necessary part of leadership. Our country has never bowed to foreign interests before our own. We never will.

Just as Americans led at Normandy and on the front lines of the Cold War, we are leading the world in a war on terrorism. Just as fascism and communism put the interests of the ruling few far above the rights of the many, terrorism values the demands of a few violent fundamentalists far above human life itself. The hatred and destruction of terrorism are indiscriminate, violent, and primitive. We will not tolerate terrorism in our country, so we defend against it. We will not tolerate terrorism in the world, so we must seek it in the shadows and end its threatening menace.

Some of our allies linger in this initiative, but the people of the world are in total agreement that the rule of fear must give way to the rule of freedom.

As a leader, we will surely bear the brunt of the world's criticism. It is hard to understand, when their fate is tied so closely to ours, why we must sometimes stand alone. Leadership is not meant to be an easy task.

Because when the United Nations will not act, when other countries use sanctions as trade tools, and when the rest of the world comes face to face with the threat of terror and blinks - it is then that America is most needed.

However, before accepting the election-year criticism at face value, we should examine the facts of our involvement in world affairs.

Free nations in the Middle East see the opportunity to stabilize their region of the world. They see the chance to govern in good faith, without the pressures of murderous fanatics who try to influence politics. We are alert for terrorism linked to our elections. Spain suffered an attack tied to theirs because this tactic has worked in the Middle East for centuries. It will not work here.

We should also examine the spirit of cooperation in Libya, a nation far from being a U.S. ally, where we are working together to eliminate programs for weapons of mass destruction. Our efforts are paying dividends in East Asia, where we have partnered with nations to root out terror in their own countries, recognizing the possibility that the same network of violence could reach our own shores. We are even leading a diplomatic coalition to slow the progress of a North Korean dictator bent on acquiring nuclear weapons.

We must continue reaching out, as there is undeniably work left to do. America must play a role in ending the genocide in Sudan. We must stand behind countries struggling to feed their own people and help them using the bounty of our land. We must end special treatment and favoritism in so-called Free Trade Agreements at the expense of American producers and manufacturers.

The European Union, whose opinion of America grows less credible every day, is struggling with its own identity. Soon, a series of elections may reshape the EU as we know it. Their internal troubles should remind us of the same reasons our Founders left that continent -freedom, liberty, and self-determination are stronger than any single government.

In America, we know our identity well and highly prize our freedoms. We are a nation united, extending a helping hand. No one can say how long the war on terror will last or what form it will take, but we must win it nevertheless. We can no longer coexist with terrorism.

It is never easy to send our sons and daughters into battle. This is precisely why our efforts in international relations are so important. I rest a little easier when we are sending our men and women in uniform through an open door to a foreign shore.

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