Sunday, August 9, 1998

Terrorists must be brought to justice

The terrorists responsible for the fatal bombings at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania must be found and brought to justice, as President Clinton immediately vowed.

That's one of the surest ways to avoid endless repetitions and to make the world a little safer, a little more civilized, a little more sane.

The bombings, meanwhile, are reminders of two other national needs, one of which was underlined by House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

"We need much better human intelligence, much more sophisticated efforts to go after terrorists and others," he was quoted as saying.

The United States also needs to do everything within reason to halt the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction so that they will never be used against U.S. targets in like manner.

The more that are out there -- especially when in the hands of a rogue nation -- the more likely it is that terrorists will get their hands on them or that irrational officials will believe they can get away with using them.

For those Americans who died or were wounded in Africa in the service of our country, we offer our deepest respect. Although they may not have anticipated this attack, they knew they faced dangers in their assignments and were still not deterred in carrying out duties important to the nation.