by Bernie Munk

I was in NY on Tuesday, attending the National Association of Business
Economics---at the Marriott World Trade Center.
(It no longer exists). At the first explosion, in the first tower, we
rushed out of the breakfast session and all of us evacuated the hotel to
the corner of Liberty and Vesey Street. You have seen what we
witnessed...sights that will be with us the rest of our lives. The
first explosion, the fire, the desperate and despairing jumps by people from
the upper floors confronted with death from smoke and burning and then the
second attack. We have all seen modern commercial jets landing-but none
of us have before yesterday seen such aircraft turned into a flying bombs.

I watched the second plane 500 feet over my head--- diving into the
south tower. You have all seen the result. Then, we struggled through the
smoke that followed from the collapse, as we were directed through the
southern-most portions of lower Manhattan. The smoke, confusion,
sirens made it seem like the pictures of London under the Blitz. It took me
about 3-4 hours to get to upper West side where I spent the evening last night
with friends and returned today to Villanova when Amtrak finally
re-opened.

My losses were small---a computer, luggage and some clothes----but the
United States and world have lost a great deal more. There are uncounted deaths,
injuries and human tragedies of all kinds...
There are huge losses in economic values and the likelihood of more
losses in the future.

There is a deep sadness in our country, not only for its human and
financial losses, but for the implicit loss in our way of life. We have lost our
easy transits. We may have lost our willingness to first accept strangers and
only then to ask questions. We have permitted many to enter, stay, to
live and to work. That may no longer be possible in the aftermath of these
multiple tragedies. These are only two aspects of freedom that are now
in great jeopardy.

Tonight, my daughter and her husband were evacuated from 34th street as
a bomb scare took place at the Empire State Building and Penn Station. It
was an anxious hour of broken telephone calls and lack of knowledge as to
their safety. Fortunately, the alarms were false, but it was no doubt a
harbinger of the awful future into which we have plunged.

This horrible act has opened a door which I am afraid will not shut for
many years----The violence will get much, much worse until the free world
truly unites in every respect against terrorism. We have now taken a very
large step down the road of violence and undoubted retaliation and the weapons
used yesterday, as terrifying as they were, may be only a shadow of far
more menacing threats.

Much of the threat of terrorism is aided and abetted by international
commerce that fails to ask essential questions relevant for the world's
safety. Too many countries and too many companies have participated in the
provision of assistance to terrorists, for simple, economic reasons.

Many of you celebrate, as do we, the freedom associated with the growth of
free markets around the world. Unfortunately, perfect freedom that
allows untrammeled trade may no longer be consistent with safety in today's
world. The world will have to choose between "ask no questions," or "ask the
hard questions and require absolute surety that one's activity does not
assist terrorism."

We shall see what the world does...but is hard to be an optimist based
on history.