John Kerry: “Security in a Dangerous World”

John Kerry is in Northern Ireland today to deliver a keynote lecture at the University of Ulster. Kerry’s speech is part of the Tip O’Neill series of peace lectures at the University.

The following is an advance copy of the speech as received by The Democratic Daily — “Security in a Dangerous World”:

This January, I took a trip of my own where I saw first hand the importance of applying this lesson of hope and perseverance to the challenges we face today. I saw emerging democracies in Afghanistan and Iraq struggling to overcome terrorism and sectarian strife as they work to create a better future. I saw Israel’s democracy persevere despite the incapacitation of its leader. I saw high-tech companies thriving in India in the midst of great poverty. In Pakistan, where tensions between a secular leader and a restless Islamist movement run high, thanks to the response of the world I saw 9,000 children emerge from the devastation of a massive earthquake go to school for the first time.

I saw open societies and closed societies, rich and poor, high tech and low tech, secular and religious. Everywhere I turned, there were disconnects. So many people desperately trying to connect to the rest of the world to make a better future, while so many others desperately cling to the past, doing everything in their power to prevent connection to anything unfamiliar.

These disconnects map the fault lines of today’s conflict and future conflicts. It is in these fault lines that radical Islamists recruit their followers by playing to stereotypes of western civilization. But it is here that the critical challenges of our time is defined: winning the struggle against terror and stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Frankly, we should start by better understanding what we are up against. The war on terror – as it is so often called – even exploited — is really a far bigger challenge than the words suggest. Terror is only a tactic. The bigger struggle we are engaged in is much more than a military operation in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it started long before 9/11. It is, above all, a much more complicated undertaking than some have made it sound. In fact, our long-term security is today as it has always been, dependent on addressing the multi-layered fabric of life which motivates those who use terror.

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