THE WHITE House Spokesman in the administration of George Bush, the elder, uttered a few memorable words early in 1991 to announce the start of the Gulf War. “The liberation of Kuwait has begun,” said Marlin Fitzwater to a larger-than-usual Press corps in the White House.

And yesterday, over ten years after the Gulf War, Mr Ari Fleischer, Spokesman of the White House in this administration of George W. Bush, cut himself a niche in history when he announced the commencement of military action against the Taliban and the Osama bin Laden organisation in Afghanistan, “We are beginning another front in our war against terror, so freedom can prevail over fear,” Fleischer stated.

The only surprise about yesterday’s military strike against forces in Afghanistan was that it took so long to happen. The world has been mentally holding its collective breath ever since Tuesday, September 11, when suspected followers of Osama bin Laden hijacked four aircraft and converted three of them into the most potent weapons of mass destruction.

Two of the aircraft were ploughed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York and one was smashed into a section of the Pentagon in Washington. The fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania, after, it is believed, brave passengers, understanding the intent of the hijackers, engaged them in a death struggle to thwart their evil mission.

Although it is fast approaching four weeks since the atrocities were perpetrated on a totally unsuspecting and unprepared America, those persons who survived the ordeals are still traumatised. Husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, children and siblings who have not recovered the bodies of their loved ones are still clutching at the barest thread of hope that they will be found alive.

Over 5,000 persons are still listed as missing as workers at Ground Zero - the site where the Twin Towers imploded - meticulously shift and remove every fragment of concrete, steel, glass and other building materials for later analysis and investigation. Tons of debris have been removed yet the work has barely begun, so great were the mayhem and chaos that followed the despicable actions of the hijackers.

The terrorists sought to destroy the symbols of prosperity and might of the United States by attacking the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. What they may not have known was the reality that the nationals of dozens of countries had jobs at the World Trade Center. Whether they were vice-presidents of companies, financial analysts, waiters of the Windows Restaurant or humble security functionaries, thousands of persons earned their living in the Towers and in all probability may have had nothing to do with the dispossession of the Palestinians. As one writer pointed out, they may even have been in sympathy with the cause of some Arabs or Muslims. Those victims died at the hands of the terrorists without knowing why they were targeted.

Twenty-seven days after that fateful morning in September, the negative effects of the terrorists’ actions continue to ripple through the world economy. Already some 100,000 jobs in the aviation industry have been cut. Some airlines in the United States have cut back flights by 30 per cent. In Europe, one airline company folded while some of its planes were still in the sky.

The tourism industry in the Caribbean is also taking a beating because tourists are afraid to fly. The result is empty hotel rooms and idle armies of workers in the hospitality industry. Jobs are being cut as hotels and resorts struggle to remain open with the hope that the situation will soon be reversed.

With the commencement of military action against bin Laden and the Taliban, it is unlikely that a reversal of economic fortunes will occur any time soon. However, one must continue to hope that better times are ahead, and that freedom would indeed soon conquer fear.