Donald Rumsfeld, October 22, 2002

Our central objective in the Global War on Terror is to stop another 9/11 -- or worse, a chemical, biological or even a nuclear 9/11 -- before it happens.

Whether that threat comes from a terrorist regime or a terrorist network is beside the point. The objective must be to prevent such attacks if humanly possible.

President Bush made this clear last January, when he told Congress: "By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic." History will judge us all by what we do to deal with these dangers.

We are working with the Afghan government to rebuild the country, train an Afghan national army and ensure that the country does not again become a haven for terrorists. At the same time, coalition forces are active across the globe, putting pressure on the terrorists by making it harder for them to communicate, raise funds, cross borders and plan new attacks.

The war on terror is like an iceberg -- 90% of what is happening is underwater, out of sight, but a great deal is happening.

The question is asked whether it is possible that countries elsewhere in the world might try to take advantage of the U.S. focus on Afghanistan and use that as an opportunity to invade neighbors or cause other mischief. Certainly there is a risk that someone might underestimate our capabilities, but let there be no doubt: The U.S. is fully capable of dealing with the important elements of the Global War on Terror simultaneously.

Last year, we fashioned a new defense strategy, which established that we will -- and do -- have the capability to near-simultaneously:

• Defend the U.S. homeland.

• Undertake a major regional conflict and win decisively -- including occupying a country and changing its regime.

• If necessary, swiftly defeat another aggressor in another theater.

• Simultaneously conduct a number of lesser contingencies -- such as Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Donald Rumsfeld is U.S. Secretary of Defense.