NATION'S RESOLVE SHOULD BE TURNED TO THE WAR WITHIN

Tuesday marked the three-month anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the
World Trade Center twin towers and the Pentagon.

Acts of unimagined horror meant to divide the nation and turn the wrath of
the Islamic peoples of the world on the United States in a global holy war
never materialized. Americans are more cohesive in spirit than at any time
since the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The majority of the world's governments stand with the United States in its
resolve to see the terrorists brought to justice.

Americans' trust in government has increased to levels not seen in more
than three decades. But will this increased trust in institutions be
long-term, like some public opinion shifts during earlier wars, or will it
fade quickly?

While public opinion is cyclical, it is possible the terrorist threat
changed something fundamental about how people perceive the government.

During World War II, Americans grew to accept women working outside the
home and learned that they could no longer cling to an isolationist point
of view while becoming a major player on the world stage.

The search for Osama bin Laden is winding down. Allied forces will find
him. However, the fermenting caldron of hate and terror that he so
diligently tended for the past decade may have produced others as bad or
worse than he.

We can never let down our guard to the pre-Sept. 11 level in the face of
repeated intelligence reports that bin Laden's band of cutthroats would
stage another domestic attack.

The coming months and years will prove whether it is true that Americans
are at their best in times of crisis.

It took an attack to bring out our resolve. But from this new perspective,
Americans must also look inward to the threats of drug and alcohol abuse,
crime, illegitimacy, poverty, violence and broken homes and apply this
new-found resolve to fight the war within.