TERRORISM AND DRUGS SLINK TOGETHER

After President Bush's initial "Wanted Dead or Alive" rhetoric against
Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda (the base) organization, we have united to
support each other: offering up prayers, flying flags, donating blood and
contributing money to the families affected.

These noble acts ultimately may prove to have been the easy part of this
tragedy. The true test of our commitment will come when the military body
bags come home from foreign shores, and able-bodied young men and women of
class and privilege choose safe havens abroad or seek the kind of
protective employment that will keep them safe from physical conflict.

Still, as President Bush stated unequivocally, the nation having been
attacked, we now are at war. All Americans must be prepared to fight. Given
the complex nature of terrorism, this war will require previously untested
strategies to attack targets while minimizing collateral damage of the kind
that kills innocent citizens.

And as we plan, we also must understand that there exists a possibility
that if killed, in death cowardly millionaire Osama bin Laden (who often
hides with his family in caves while his disciples roam the world to do
murder) could become a martyr inspiring even more terrorism.

So within the past week, Mr. Bush has been more deliberative and
analytical, informing us that in the throes of this first war of the new
century, we must be committed to fight a protracted battle over many years,
using unconventional approaches and national patience. Only by the
application of persistent, consistent commitment to this effort by the
international community, he warns, will we be able to eliminate the blunt
force and savagery that have plagued other nations for years and attacked
our shores Sept. 11.

Our foremost challenge is to acknowledge that stopping suicidal martyrs,
pitiless in their quest to die for a cause that they believe gives their
lives meaning, will demand inordinate sacrifices of the kind endured during
World War II. Accustomed to a free society with liberties unhampered by
government or curtailed by barriers that compromise our personal freedoms,
we are now called upon to honor the more than 6,000 killed Sept. 11 by
voluntarily accepting onerous changes that must come to establish a modicum
of domestic tranquility.

Speaking to the nation last week, President Bush said America will seek
international cooperation to follow the money trail of all who support or
donate to support bin Laden's destructive movement.

Bank records will be examined to identify those who contribute to Al-Qaeda.
Loopholes in our laws that allow domestic and international money
laundering to thrive unhindered will be carefully scrutinized to eliminate
opportunities for terrorists to exploit our freedoms to achieve their evil
goals.

Also, we may have to sacrifice our absolute freedom of movement or at least
compromise it with national identification cards containing
hard-to-duplicate information such as photos, handprints or retina
information that can be scanned by computers.

Everyone would have to use such identification to rent cars, buy airline
tickets and conduct other business transactions. Vehicles will be searched
at all borders. Public surveillance cameras and routine wire-tapping also
may be required to keep us safe from the terror that kills without mercy.
Though ample opportunities exist to abuse such a system and to
discriminate, we may have to accept such compromises of democracy to
sustain a reasonable measure of domestic safety from terrorists.

As we contemplate this war, remember that 30 years ago, America declared
war on drugs.

We all know more than 6,000 individuals and families have been destroyed by
that evil. Yet we long ago declared that war unwinnable. Like the profile
of terrorists, the profile of those who control the drug trade is not the
street hustler but often residents in upscale communities who launder their
money with the acquiescence of legitimate businessmen.

In this declared war on terrorists, we will likely discover terrorism often
gains sustenance from the drug trade.

We lacked the will to fight the drug war. The war on terrorism could
provide us a way.