On the Attacks in New York and Washington September 11, 2001

New York

The Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism deplores and condemns the violent attacks today in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. We extend our heartfelt condolences and support to those who have lost friends and family members in this odious assault.

There can be absolutely no moral or political justification for such monstrous acts.

Terrorist actions can only undermine the moral, political and economic struggle for global justice. We, together with other socialists, people on the left and progressives throughout the world, believe that such actions are assaults on humanity and on peace and security.

Those who planned and executed this horrific act bear full responsibility for it, and should be held accountable. At this time, however, the perpetrators have not been identified, and past experience shows that no hasty assumptions should be made about their identity.

This attack underscores the fact that the world in which we live today has become an unprecedentedly tightly-knit place, in which the security and well-being of one's own nation and community depend on peace and justice for all.

Clearly, the roots of terrorist violence extend beyond the immediate perpetrators. Repressive government actions to suppress people's movements for freedom, democracy and social progress fuel an escalating cycle of violence, official and unofficial. Some of those who today perpetrate terrorist violence, including acts directed against our country, were organized, trained, armed and financed by our own government in the past. The forces unleashed by counterrevolutionary wars waged from Afghanistan to Cuba, from Nicaragua to Southeast Asia, blow back across the planet, spreading death and destruction.

As in similar situations in the past, we can anticipate that in the hours and days ahead there will be many unsubstantiated rumors and accusations and calls for acts of retribution. This tragedy must not be allowed to serve as cover for unwarranted acts of war and expressions of ethnic and religious intolerance.

Neither can it justify assaults against civil liberties in the name of defending democracy.

We reiterate our conviction that terrorism is bred and continually nourished by the alarming growth in poverty, social upheaval, epidemic diseases and deadly conflicts which are a direct consequence of the widening gap between rich and poor in every corner of the world. We believe the realization of peace and security for people everywhere can only flow from a commitment to and concrete actions to achieve liberation, justice and social advance across the globe.

In the coming days, many aspects of these events will require much thought and collective response from the progressive community. We consider this statement to be only an initial contribution to that discussion.

signed: Leslie Cagan Charlene Mitchell Mark Solomon