Congressman says U.S.

Congressman Brad Sherman

paid a price for apathy

Terrorists got the wrong message, Sherman says

By John Loesing

Acorn Staff Writer

America might have been "caught sleeping" during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks because it refused to take effective action against terrorism during the 1990s, said U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), speaking to students at Viewpoint School in Calabasas Monday.

Sherman’s 24th Congressional District includes Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks.

Sherman addressed the students on a variety of international and domestic topics, but spoke mostly about the war on terrorism.

Viewpoint sophomore Joe Clark suggested from the audience that the Clinton administration "left the door open" for the September attacks.

Sherman agreed saying, "We went back to sleep" following terrorist attacks on the USS Cole and U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

But he said in all fairness the blame is shared.

"You can look at the press, the Congress and the people, and you can say that we liked being asleep," Sherman said. "It’s not like President Clinton didn’t decide to respond."

Sherman said Democratic leaders feared that if they took major reprisals against the terrorists, the acts would be seen as deflecting criticism away from the Monica Lewinsky affair.

Sherman told the students that America’s fear of being attacked inside the homeland isn’t anything new.

"When I was in middle school, we would get underneath the desks and protect ourselves in case the Soviet Union sent a nuclear weapon to the Los Angeles area." But he added, "We don’t face that level of threat today."

Sherman acknowledged that the current face-off between India and Pakistan—both of which possess nuclear weapons—has the United States on high alert.

"We would hope India would be more restrained and we would hope that Pakistan does what it says it does and that is round up these terrorists."

"If Osama bin Laden has fled to Pakistan, what can we do about it?" asked Bradley Goran, a Viewpoint seventh-grader.

"Certain tribal leaders would try to shelter him," Sherman responded. "We need to increase our intelligence efforts to find him and if [Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif] has him, he will turn him over to us."

Sherman, who serves on the U.S. House of Representatives International Relations Committee, said he generally opposes the beefing up of America’s missile defense system. He said countries like China would be encouraged to accumulate even more nuclear weapons.

Sherman chided the Republican administration for "going a little far" in providing homeland security at the expense of personal freedoms. At the same time, he congratulated the House of Representatives for subjecting the so-called patriot laws to a sunset provision.

"This has got to be a temporary period. On the other hand, we have to give the FBI effective tools to go after these terrorists."

Sherman said that while the fear of terrorism is difficult to live with, most Americans are adjusting. Perhaps other things should be construed as more important, he said.

"You can go through life and find that terrorism is just one more threat and it is not the biggest threat … If you want to worry about your personal safety, avoid smoking and wear a seatbelt. This is far more important to a person than a terrorist attack."

On another issue, exchange student Michael Eickenberg from Germany wanted to know what the congressman thought about the recent introduction of the Euro-dollar.

"One problem," Sherman answered. "If 12 countries have the same money, they have to have the same monetary policy, which means interest rates have to be the same. You may have some tension."

Located at 23620 Mulholland Highway, Viewpoint is a private school that serves 1,060 kindergarten through 12th-grade students.