The Press : Reacting to Oklahoma

The “torments of the era,” an editorialist for the Paris newspaper Le Monde called the the outrages of political terrorism that have swept the world and now, in the 1990s, have found targets in the United States.

Foreign cartoonists and commentators seemed saddened but not surprised that terrorism has reached the heartland of the United States. And the message was clear from people who have lived with the scourge: The United States will have to change. Americans must sacrifice some liberties for increased security.

Here are some examples in pen and prose.

Le Monde, Paris, April 21

America Confronted with Terrorism

Whatever comes out of the inquest, one conclusion has to be drawn: The United States is no longer immune to the urban terrorism that its Western European allies have lived with for such a long time, and of which Tokyo, Madrid and Athens--in the past 48 hours----have been the scene once again.

It is true, America had suffered the first blow two years ago with the attack in New York. The shock had been a traumatic one in a country used to thinking that it would be spared at least this kind of violence--urban terrorism. Americans then talked about their series of “barriers”--the well-informed police and the country’s geographical distance from one of the main foyers of terrorism, the Middle East. In fact, they thought the Atlantic Ocean would protect America from the turbulence of the Old Continent.

It is this vulnerability, on American soil, to contemporary terrorism that has been confirmed--and in a fashion that is more spectacular. If New York could be a tempting target in many ways, especially for those seeking a lot of media attention, then Oklahoma City, in the heart of America--a peaceful town in a state that is no less peaceful--could in all rights believe it would be protected from the torments of the era.

Even the most somber screenwriter wouldn’t have imagined it. This sad event has demolished all isolationist dreams that some American politicians may still have had.

Daily Mirror, London, April 21

Unite to Fight the Fanatics

It is the indiscriminate brutality of terrorism which makes it so uniquely horrible.

Earthquakes, hurricanes and floods strike indiscriminately, too. But these are acts of God.

Terrorism is an act of man. Against man, woman and child. Each one a random victim.

Modern weapons have created the ability to harm dozens, even hundreds, in a split second.

Modern transport allows terrorists to travel to any part of the globe to carry out their despicable acts.

The people of Britain, particularly those in Northern Ireland, lived with the threat of terrorism--and its effects--for more than 25 years.

So there is a special sympathy in this country for the victims of the Oklahoma bomb atrocity.

Americans have not had to live with the terrorist threat until now.

The Land of Freedom will not be as free in the future. It will have to become as vigilant as Britain has been.

It is terrible that modern society, with all its great benefits, has bred fanatics who kill for no sane reason.

How is it that any human can cause the slaughter witnessed in Oklahoma? Families wiped out. Innocent children torn apart. Young people crushed to death.

Every nation will unite with the Americans, not just in grief but in hunting those responsible. And those who would commit other atrocities.

Sympathy is not enough. There must be total commitment to the war on terrorists.