Antidote to terrorism

The work of the G-8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, is the best antidote to the mindless violence of yesterday's murderous assault on London commuters. Uniting to fight poverty and disease pushes back hard against terrorism.

The barbaric killers will be pursued, found and punished. As will their sponsors. International cooperation, and that kinship among those who have suffered such attacks, will prevail. The terrorists will indeed lose, and the forces of lawful, civilized society will win. Terrorism in the name of God is especially odious. Those murky, unknown souls claiming responsibility for nearly 40 deaths and 700 wounded defame the Muslim faith. Their grievances are so broad and ill-formed as to have no meaning.

Perpetrators of acts against the haves can find political traction among the have-nots when there is no hope, and no prospect for change. The timing of the attack is no coincidence.

Here was an atrocity scaled to defeat and distract attention from the humanitarian agenda of the Group of Eight industrialized nations. One focus, appropriately, was on Africa, which has 11 percent of the world's population, but accounts for only about 1 percent of the world's economic output.

The global war on terrorism needs to take a greater world view of the dimensions of the struggle. Purposeful, targeted humanitarian aid is a potent weapon to shove terrorists off balance.

U.S. leadership in international settings such as the G-8 is essential. In Africa, the Bush administration must ratchet up our giving, not brag about how much we already gave. Meaningful humanitarian aid mixes grants and debt forgiveness with examinations of U.S. trade policies and agricultural subsidies to find more ways to get African goods into U.S. markets.

A greater understanding by President Bush and other world leaders of the comprehensive needs of poor countries is an absolute must.

We can do better, and with less rhetoric. The White House calls for revamping programs to fight malaria, a treatable disease that is a top killer in Africa. But the president's 2006 budget cut funding for infectious diseases. His new malaria initiative does not make up the difference.

The world will spend nearly a trillion dollars on arms this year. For a fraction of that sum, poor countries could be provided with clean water, adequate health care and others things most of us take for granted.

As the G-8 summit concludes today, the potent role of humanitarian aid must emerge as one antidote to terrorism.