Fed: Aust has major regional role to play in war against terror
SYDNEY, Feb 11 AAP - Australia had an important regional role to play in the war againstterrorism, a leading US political scientist said today.
Stanford University Political Science and Sociology Professor Larry Diamond said thewar against terrorism could not be won by force alone.
"We have to rob the new Bolsheviks, and that's what I think they are, masqueradingas religious warriors, of the popular support, political sympathy, state sponsorship thatthey need to threaten civilised societies," he said today at the US Consulate Generalin Sydney.
Dr Diamond who gave a talk at the Consulate said this would be done by winning thewar of ideas as was done during the Cold War, doing more to address the ongoing conflictin the Middle East and attacking the root of much of the cause of terrorism.
"We need to do much more on a sustained basis ... to attack a large dimension of theroot of the problem which is bad, rotten, irresponsible governance in the countries fromwhich terrorism is often stemming," he said.
Dr Diamond said western countries must link aid with reforms in governance in thesecountries, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and Australia had a significant role to playin this region.
"If the challenge to a long-term strategy for fighting terrorism heavily involves improvinggovernance then Australia has a major role to play, certainly and especially in the SouthPacific and South-East Asia, in assisting countries to become more responsible in theirgovernance, more transparent, more democratic," he said.
Dr Diamond said the US was presented with the sharpest dilemma it had faced since theCold War, needing to work with corrupt and autocratic regimes to combat global terrorismwhile also being seen to support freedom and democracy as part of winning the war of ideas.
"We cannot sever our ties with these regimes, but neither can we simply cling to theirvenal coat-tails while they brutalise any sign of opposition," he said.
"In key countries such as Egypt, Algeria and Saudi Arabia, we need to pursue a delicatestrategy that works with these governments while also pressing for reform."
Dr Diamond said it was a source of comfort to Americans that Australia and Britainhad so unhesitatingly supported the US.
However, the support of continental Europe was needed.
"If we are going to have an enduring core (of western democracies in the war againstterrorism) we're going to have to listen to our allies, consult and adopt a collegialapproach," he said.
Dr Diamond said every American administration went through a learning process, beginningbrashly and then taking a more reflective approach, and he believed the Bush administration
would be no different.
AAP ph/arb/cjh
KEYWORD: TERROR AUST DIAMOND
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