2001 Speeches
Forbes CEO Conference
Franklin L. Lavin - U.S. Ambassador to Singapore
September 19, 2001
Let me begin by expressing my thanks to Steve Forbes and Forbes magazine for organizing this conference, with special thanks to Will Adamopoulous for his good work. The organizers have assembled an impressive display of talent and leadership and I am grateful to be included. My good wishes are all the more heartfelt in light of the tragic circumstances of last week. Terrorists win when they are able to cancel conferences like this. So despite the shock and the grief it is important we carry on.
This takes us to the theme of this morning. These recent events are a grave reminder of two sad facts of life:
First, we are reminded that we have murderers in our midst. We, the civilized nations, host well-organized, well-trained, well-financed killers who are devoid of normal human and moral constraints. They have perverted one of the world’s great religions and they are willing to harness the best technology this planet has to offer – all to their evil ends. The historian Daniel Boorstin called the terrorists, "the New Barbarians" because as with the barbarians of old, they had a single-minded focus on the destruction of culture, civilization, and rule of law. At conferences such as this where we reaffirm the importance of open minds, open expression, and open markets, we are reminded of the danger brought by those with closed minds.
A second point is that the more advanced societies have some special vulnerabilities regarding these terrorists, for several reasons. Only an advanced society can have its prosperity harmed by these events. The more technological, the more international, the more abundant the society, the greater the likelihood that these criminals can inflict damage. So we have the sad situation of Singapore shipping companies and airlines, along with all of their employees, customers, and vendors, having their lives and livelihood disrupted by the heinous acts of last week.
We have people who have spent their lives prudently saving and investing in Singapore companies only to find these life savings diminished because of the market shocks of last week. And we have tourists, students, and business people -- and all of the financial benefit they carry with them -- put at risk. The British author E.M. Forrester is remembered by his injunction "Only connect" in which he stresses that which is common across all humanity. We could conclude that these New Barbarians’ motto is: "Only disrupt." Whether society depends on the free movement of people, of goods and services, and increasingly, electronic impulses, the events of last week have shown us how devastating a disruption can be. By striking at the heart of the world economy, the Barbarians have inflicted their punishment upon Singapore, Asia, and the World.
It is no surprise that there were citizens of 62 countries among the dead last week. They constituted a United Nations of cooperation, of economic advancement, of human intercourse. And it is no surprise that the terrorists chose to attack on a weekday, when they could do the most damage, rather than simply try to destroy the buildings.
The nations of Asia are in the main, trading nations, who have propelled themselves to the front ranks of the world by virtue of the international commercial network they have carefully built over the years and decades. Now this is put at risk.
Fortunately, there are political relationships that buttress the economic networks. The Asian nations have friends and allies as well as customers and business partners. This helps the world stand together against the blight of terrorism. This stand has been taken by leaders from every corner of the world, embracing all of the world’s cultures, races, and religions. If I may add a personal aside, amidst the formal interplay and statements of our political leaders, I have been most struck by the hundreds and hundreds of letters, notes, and emails I have received from Singaporeans from all walks of life. Their anguish and their condolences over these tragic events remind us that the intended victim last week was not any particular nation, but humanity writ large.
As self-evident as a forthright stand against terrorism might seem to us, it is not without domestic political costs in some countries, so we applaud the statesmen who make a public stand for the right.
And we need to prepare ourselves for a sustained effort. Although terrorism can be and must be defeated, this effort is likely to be a persistent one, much as police work is always needed to combat ordinary street crime.
Finally, we must guard against several temptations. We cannot ennoble the Barbarians by ascribing any merits to their case. There are many peoples and nations around the world who have grievances, or believe they have grievances, but they do not commit mass murder.
There are many peoples and nations around the world who have serious, at times even bitter, policy disagreements with the United States, but they do not commit mass murder. So let us not desecrate the victims or ennoble the perpetrators by suggesting in any sense there were underlying "reasons" for these crimes. Those with criminal agendas will frequently try to harness them to political agendas. But let us not make the mistake of believing that dealing with the political points will resolve the criminal impetus.
Indeed the right way to honor those who have fallen, those who had their life snatched away from them along with the families who were shattered in an instant would be to make sure that these crimes could not be repeated. The poet John McCrae reminds us of this point when he speaks of the war dead in his poem "Flanders Field." This is the voice of the deceased:
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Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from falling hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with those who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders field.
Let us give those who perished last week the chance to sleep. Let us ascribe some dignity to their deaths and some comfort to their families. And let us protect our loved ones and our way of life, by ensuring this terrible deed cannot be repeated.