Clinton: "Globalization Can Help Win The War Against Terrorism"

Yahoo! ^ | October 30, 2001 | Paul Geitner

[mrobison]

Tuesday October 30 4:30 PM ET

By PAUL GEITNER, AP Business Writer

GHENT, Belgium (AP) - Global trade can help win the war against terrorism if the West spreads the wealth it generates more equitably, former President Clinton told a conference of globalization critics Tuesday.

``Not everyone who's angry is angry at the civilized world and wants to destroy it,'' Clinton said. ``A lot are angry because they can't be a part of it.''

Arguing for more globalization, not a retrenchment in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, Clinton said bringing terror suspect Osama bin Laden to justice is not enough.

``We need to reduce the pool of potential terrorists by increasing the number of potential partners in the 21st century world,'' he said.

He called on Western nations to foot the bill to raise living standards and improve education in the developing world to promote equal opportunity.

``Global trade is not bad, but there's not enough,'' Clinton said. ``We need to spread the benefits and reduce the burdens quickly to all the people.''

Clinton was invited to the University of Ghent by the current president of the European Union, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, who has sought to organize a debate on ``ethical globalization'' ever since anti-globalization radicals rioted outside an EU summit in June.

Rather than the attacks overshadowing the discussion, speakers agreed that solving problems like the growing gap between rich and poor - what Clinton called ``the dark side'' of globalization - has become even more urgent.

``In a way, the Western world saw the price of poverty flashed up on its TV screens on Sept. 11,'' Verhofstadt said.

``Poor unstable countries and regions that fall prey to gangs of criminals'' like bin Laden's al-Qaida network are part of the price, he said.

Some speakers expressed fears that the U.S.-led military response to the attacks would divert resources and attention from anti-poverty programs.

``It's a no-win situation for us,'' said Dr. Owens Wiwa, a Nigerian activist who expects a tougher time raising money for Africa's AIDS crisis.

Naomi Klein, a best-selling Canadian author and anti-corporate activist, said she was afraid the war atmosphere would make it harder to be publicly critical of globalization.

``People are afraid that being critical of the market is seen as being anti-American, even treasonous,'' she said.

But she said she felt that the needs of the poor and excluded would have to be addressed.

``It's become a security issue,'' she said.

[mrobison]

SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!

[M. Peach]

I don't mean to laugh - but you can see how much interest Clinton (D - Beijing) is generating - and deservedly so!

[sheik yerbouty]

"Get thee hence, Satan!"

[Brad’s Gramma]

Find a big deep hole. Fall in it. Stay there.

[Billy_bob_bob]

To those who only own a hammer, every problem in the world looks like a nail.

Believe it or not there are drawbacks and problems with globalization, and not everyone who disagrees with it is a radical or a luddite. I realize this idea is anathema for some, but it is true nonetheless.

Listening to Clinton shill for Globalism is like listening to Carrot Top shill for 1-800-CALL-ATT. You hear the words but you know they are only saying them because they are paid to say them in a convincing manner.

[Governor StrangeReno]

Something about increasing the number of partners leading to aids in a country that kills Christians for sport that I won't give a stuff about until identifiable efforts to join civilization occur...very disjointed reporter must have a red nose like Clinton.

[JD86]

Give me a break!!! If slick willie and the rest of the socialists are feeling the pain of the poor....they should give their money away...or better yet, move to one of those other countries and raise their standard of living.

[RLK]

``Not everyone who's angry is angry at the civilized world and wants to destroy it,'' Clinton said. ``A lot are angry because they can't be a part of it.''

-----------------------------

What's preventing them from being a part of it?

If America didn't exist and there were nobody here to steal from, would the entire world be in the stone age?

[arkfreepdom]

What a gufus billy is. All people around the world need to be part of our success is freedom and the rule of law. Our wealth and success has nothing to do with their incompetence.

[My Favorite Headache]

Clinton: " Me going to hell along with my wife will send a clear message to the terrorists that we will eventually deal with them ourselves one day" Bill Clinton always needing to get his word in.

[Nail]

With all due respect, nothing that comes out of Clinton's mouth qualifies as breaking news.

[patriciaruth]

Did I miss something? Wasn't it the World Trade Center that was jet fuel bombed? Isn't bin Laden's point that he doesn't want to be part of globalization?

[follow your bliss]

The once 'great orator' is now reduced to an irrelevant and disgraceful footnote in the dustbin of history.

It must truly suck to be Bill Clinton. All the fame and all the glory is past--with lots of years of life left to ponder the miserable failure he is.

[freedomnews]

i will save that one

[x]

I suppose this kind of drastic misreading is to expected from Clinton. These terrorists were middle class to say the least. It wasn't poverty that made them do what they did.

[skr]

OBL has plenty of money and the ability to use it to improve his fellow and less blessed Muslims. So why doesn't he, x42? Could it be that's he's just too full of hate? I don't think globalization can do a thing about that...

[xclusiv1]

Death to the New World Order!

[Torie]

It never occurred to me that Osama was a mad dog bigoted killer because he was poor and deprived. Spreading the wealth as the universal solvent for ethnocentricity and bigotry and dehumanization of the "other" is a dubious doctrine under seige. It is more complicated than that. A lot more complicated. Clinton no doubt knows that. He is slumming I suspect. It would not be the first time, nor probably the last.