TEN years ago we, like the rest of the world, watched in horror as heartless terrorists murdered almost 3,000 human beings in co-ordinated attacks on the United States that have changed the world forever.

Our pain at this heinous act was brought home even closer by the fact that Jamaicans also perished in the inferno that was the World Trade Centre twin towers in New York, after the terrorists flew two hijacked commercial jets into the buildings.

We recall that amidst the grief and severe trauma the hijackers were being hailed as heroes in some parts of the world where there exists strong anti-American feelings.

But, as we have always held in this space, the men who took so many lives in those attacks were merely cowards who used Islam as a cloak to perpetrate one of the most abominable acts ever against humanity.

While we accept that people may have good reason for disliking America — after all, US forces have been involved in countless military conflicts on foreign soil — we are strongly opposed to the use of violence and, worse, murder to demonstrate differences of opinion on social, cultural, religious and political issues.

In reality, what that evil action achieved on 9/11 was widespread suspicion and, in some instances, rejection of Islam which, ironically, does not promote the use of violence.

The hysteria following the 9/11 attacks was understandable, but it created a political atmosphere receptive to retaliation. The problem though, is that terrorists are difficult to find, since they are not organised as armies which can be eliminated by conventional warfare.

While the response to 9/11 did make national security a growth sector, creating thousands of jobs, it resulted in American troops going to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those wars have, however, contributed to a skyrocketing of oil prices and to a serious escalation in the US national debt and budget deficit in a time of global economic distress.

The fight against terrorists of the sort that organised and executed on September 11, 2001 therefore, must quickly and in a sustained way extend beyond military action and reconstruction to soft power and development. Democracy cannot be instituted by force of arms, it must be willingly demanded by those motivated by the force of ideas.

At the same time, we should not submit to the climate of fear that the hijackers, their puppet master, the now late Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda terror organisation, wanted to create by their actions.

Every opportunity must be taken to emphasise the fact that murder and mayhem will not shake our belief in the ideals of democracy, freedom and tolerance of cultural diversity.

In fact, the American president, Mr Barack Obama, articulated this point very well in his weekly radio and Internet address yesterday. “The terrorists who attacked us that September morning are no match for the character of our people, the resilience of our nation or the endurance of our values,” he said. “And no matter what comes our way, as a resilient nation, we will carry on.”

To do otherwise would be to surrender to the terrorists whose sole aim is to quench their thirst for blood while salivating at the thought of people living in fear.

So today, as we reflect with the American people and the families of those Jamaicans who were victims of this slaughter, we again express our sympathy but affirm our commitment to the ideals of freedom, democracy and tolerance shared by our two nations with a long history of partnership.