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PROFESSOR KIMBERLY MARTEN ZISK TO APPEAR ON CNN SATURDAY MORNING; PROFESSOR ALEX COOLEY TO APPEAR ON WNBC ON SUNDAY MORNING

New York, N.Y., September 28, 2001 -- Kimberly Marten Zisk, associate professor of political science at Barnard College and a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, will appear on CNN on "America's New War" at approximately 9:10 a.m. Saturday, September 29, 2001.

And Alex Cooley, assistant professor of political science, will appear as a guest at 7 a.m., on Sunday, Sept. 30, on Weekend Today in New York on WNBC-TV.

Zisk, a specialist in Russia and international peacekeeping, has spoken this month at forums at Barnard College and at Columbia University, where she has warned that "the ultimate goal of these terrorists is to destroy the United States."

According to Zisk, the nation faces two dangers: overreaction and paralysis.

"The first danger is that we will react too rashly and carelessly, needlessly killing innocent civilians in Afghanistan or elsewhere in the Muslim world," Zisk says. "This would provoke a war between the United States and Islam as a whole. If that occurs, Osama bin Laden will have won, because surely the United States will be destroyed."

"The second danger is that we will be paralyzed by our own introspection. In recent days, some commentators have blamed the U.S. for bringing this attack on ourselves, because of our wealth, our power, our history of intervention abroad, or our unilateralism. Self-reflection must not prevent us from taking the actions necessary for self-preservation. These terrorists are not the downtrodden of the world, seeking justice; instead they are bullies, seeking thrills through violence and justifying their actions through a twisted ideology of hatred."

Zisk concludes: "To avoid these two dangers, and preserve ourselves, we must react with a carefully targeted and calibrated use of force to stop these terrorists from continuing their rampage against us."

Contact:
Kimberly Marten Zisk, 212-434-9743
Petra Tuomi, 212-854-7907
Lucas Held, 212-854-7583

 

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