Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke to the American people via satellite as part of a national Town Hall meeting, sponsored by the Better World Campaign.

VO: United Nations. Nations United. The UN reaches out to America. Now, from United Nations Headquarters in New York. Walter Cronkite.

WC: Good morning. One month ago, the world changed dramatically. In a scant 2 hours time, the lives of almost 6,000 persons of many faiths, cultures, and societies, from all over our world, were lost. Their lives ended when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and when a fourth attack was foiled by heroic passengers who died when their plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field.

These tragic events touched us all in ways we are just now beginning to comprehend. America stands united as perhaps never before in its resolve to wage a global fight against terrorism. We do not stand alone, however. The United Nations stands at the center of an unprecedented global coalition, mobilized against our common enemy.

Today, as a demonstration of that unity, for the first time in history, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, speaks to communities all across America. But before I introduce the Secretary-General, let me tell you a little bit about today's event and its sponsors. This interactive, national Town Hall meeting is being produced by the Better World campaign, a project of the Better World Fund. The Better World Fund was created from a portion of an initial gift of 1 billion dollars from America philanthropist and businessman Ted Turner.

The event also is being co-sponsored nationally by the United Nations Association of the United States of America, the League of Women Voters, and the United Nations Foundation. Each of the 10 cities participating in this broadcast is equipped with a 2 way satellite connection, so that we can all see and hear each other during the dialogue.

And now, it's my distinct pleasure to introduce the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan. Ghanaian by birth, Mr. Annan has had a remarkable 30 year diplomatic career. Recently appointed to a second term, Mr. Annan is the first Secretary-General to be elected from the ranks of United Nations staff.

He studied at two of the communities we'll be talking with today. He completed his undergraduate work in economics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and as a Sloan Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT, he received a Master of Science Degree in management.

Throughout his distinguished diplomatic career, Kofi Annan has become accustomed to delicate political situations. Whether it be promoting the transition to civilian rule in Nigeria, or resolving a stalemate between Libya and the Security Council over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, he's been tireless in his efforts to bring about peace. Mr. Secretary-General, welcome.

SG: Thank you very much. Happy to be here.

WC: Mr. Secretary-General, we're going to begin with a taped message from the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell. I know the two of you are well acquainted. Let us hear what Secretary Powell has to say to us.

CP: Hello. I'm pleased to have this opportunity to let the American people know what a critical role the United Nations is playing, to help mobilize the international community against terrorism. President Bush and I applaud Secretary-General Annan's leadership, and also the swift and steadfast response of the Security Council and the General Assembly, following the tragedies that occurred on the 11th of September.

The very day after the attacks, both bodies categorically condemned terrorism, and called for the planners and perpetrators to be brought to justice. The Security Council subsequently passed a resolution on September 28th, which gave even more concrete expression to the international community's condemnation and resolve. It obligates all 189 Member States, countries of every continent, culture, and creed, to deny financing and other forms of support and safe haven to terrorists, and to cooperate in bringing them to justice. No resources, plus no refuge, ultimately equals no escape.

So we cannot over-estimate the importance of that trail-breaking resolution. This is the second time in the last 10 or 12 years of my life that the United Nations has galvanized international action for world peace and security. The first, of course, was the Gulf War. We're also going to win the war against terrorism, but it's a different kind of war. And it's going to take sustained commitment on the part of the international community.

The UN is also helping to send the message that while the world condemns Osama Bin Laden and his vicious networks, and the Taliban regime that harbors them, it has great compassion for the suffering people of Afghanistan. The international community with the United States at the forefront, as the largest single donor, is working through the UN to feed and shelter millions of starving and displaced Afghans. This massive humanitarian effort already has saved countless innocent lives, and it will save countless more.

Beyond its invaluable contributions to the global campaign against terrorism, the United Nations is making a difference in the daily lives of ordinary men and women all around the globe, in a host of other ways. Whether it's disaster relief or peace-keeping, the world-wide fight against infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria. Or the setting of technical and legal standards that underpin the international system. Or fostering good governance and sustainable development. All of these things show what the UN is capable of doing.

I'm very pleased by the way that on October 5th, President Bush signed the legislation authorizing payment of 582 million dollars in back dues. The United States is committed to the United Nations, and will continue to vigorously support institutional reform, with the aim of strengthening the United Nations' effectiveness.

In the challenging years ahead, we very much look forward to working closely with Secretary-General Annan, and our fellow Member States, to build a safer, freer, better world for everyone. And I thank you for your interest in and your support for the United Nations. It works for your world. It works for you. Thank you very much.

WC: Mr. Secretary-General, Secretary Powell says that the United Nations is playing a critical role in mobilizing the international community against terrorism. Can you tell us this morning how you're accomplishing that?

SG: Thank you, Walter. Immediately after the attack, I myself issued a statement. But what was more important is all the 189 Member States rallied in a manner that we have not seen in this house before. The Security Council unanimously passed a resolution condemning the attacks, and so did the General Assembly. All the 189 Member States, within 24 hours.

Not only did the Member States here come together, but we saw around the world with capitals, candle vigils by students, by people all over the world, expressing their solidarity with the American people. But what the UN is able to do is to provide a basis for that broad international coalition, that we are putting together to fight terrorism.

The Security Council resolution provides a basis and demands of governments certain actions they have to take to ensure that terrorists do not prosper, and are not able to continue their evil work in our midst.

WC: The Secretary of State also mentioned that the United States is working through the UN to feed and shelter the millions of starving and displaced Afghans. How does the military activity affect that humanitarian work?

AC: The United Nations and its humanitarian agencies have been engaged in the humanitarian work in Afghanistan for quite some time. This is a country that has suffered a great deal in the past 2 decades, having been through many wars, having seen a drought in the last couple of years. And our humanitarian agencies are there from the High Commissioner for Refugees, that is looking after several million refugees on the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and in Iran, are now also engaged in helping the internally displaced people.

The World Food Programme is moving in humanitarian supplies. Of course, because of the war, we are not able to move as many supplies as we could. We had to suspend food deliveries because of the military action. But, we resumed them again yesterday, and we are beginning to move in about a thousand tons a day. But we need roughly 60 thousand tons per month to feed the Afghan population. So, we are planning to step up our delivery as soon as the situation permits.

But of course, to be effective, you need to have access and security, and this is something that we are monitoring very, very closely, and for the moment we've had to pull out our international personnel. But they will go back as soon as the situation permits. They are courageous men and women, working with their Afghan counterparts, who have taken enormous risks to ensure that the people get what they need.

WC: Mr. Secretary-General, we know that your schedule is tight. You are just a little busy these days. So we're going to head right into the questions from our community audiences out there. And the first city we're going to is Denver, where our local moderator, the National President of the League of Women Voters, Dr. Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins, is standing by with our local questioner. Dr. Jenkins, welcome.

CJJ: Good morning, Mr. Cronkite and Mr. Annan. Thank you for having us here this morning. I am Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins, the President of the League of Women Voters of the United States. And the League is proud to be a co-sponsor of such a historic event as today. We are at the Denver Performing Arts Center in Denver, Colorado, and we are also pleased to be joined this morning by the Consul General from Peru. And he is with us in the audience.

Our first question this morning will come from Jim Felton from the Breckenridge Ski Resort in Breckenridge, Colorado.

JF: Good morning, gentlemen. I am from the Breckenridge Ski Resort. We're located about 10,000 feet in the lovely Colorado Rocky Mountains. And my question today is, what is the UN's position on the use of force in response to the September 11th attacks? Thank you.

SG: I think the Security Council was very clear in the resolution it passed, 1373. It indicated that the attacks against the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania, were threats to international peace and security, and that it was prepared to take all necessary means to fight these attacks. It also reaffirmed the right for self-defense, individually and collectively.

And since the military actions began in Afghanistan, both the United States and United Kingdom, the two countries most actively engaged in this action, wrote to the Security Council explaining their actions in the context of the right to self-defense as enshrined in the Charter. So they gave the Council a full briefing on this, and the Council seemed satisfied.

WC: Well, thank you, Denver. Now we're going to go to Boston, where former Senator Tim Wirth is standing by. Senator Wirth is President of the United Nations Foundation, one of the sponsors of today's event. Senator Wirth, it always is a pleasure to hear from you, sir.

TW: Well, Walter, thank you, and thank you for being here, Mr. Secretary-General. Thank you for this great opportunity. We are in the Massachusetts State House, probably one of the most historic political institutions in the country. Our guest today, our questioner today, is Mr. [Mohammed Al Salaam]. Mr. [Al Salaam] works for the Massachusetts Re-development Authority, and he has a large family. One of his sons is a career Navy officer, currently in the Persian Gulf. Mr. [Al Salaam]?

MAS: Good afternoon, Mr. Cronkite. Mr. Annan. My question is, what has the United Nations been doing to counter international terrorism, prior to September 11th?

AC: I think the United Nations has done a lot to fight terrorism, and perhaps it is our fault that the public doesn't know too much about what we've been doing. We have adopted 12 conventions and protocols to fight terrorism. The last one was meant to suppress financing of terrorism. Right now as we speak, the 189 Member States are working on the 13th convention, a comprehensive one, that is intended to make the lives of terrorists even much more difficult than the 12 earlier conventions. I'm hopeful that the Member States, spurred on by the horror and the tragedy we all lived on the 11th of September, will press ahead, and endorse that resolution, that convention.

What is also important is that I sense a new urgency on the part of the Member States to sign and ratify all these anti-terrorist conventions, and implement them as quickly as they can. So, we've been fighting terrorism for a long time, and I think with the 13th convention, we will provide a common legal and framework for all 189 states to pursue their fight and struggle against terrorists.

WC: Thank you, Boston. And now we move to Seattle, where we're joined by Margaret Larson, who is moderating our discussion at the University of Washington.

ML: Good morning. To pose our question from Seattle today, we have the University of Washington President, Richard McCormick. Mr. McCormick?

RM: Thank you, Margaret. It is a pleasure for me and my University of Washington colleagues to participate in this National Forum with the United Nations. My question is, Mr. Secretary-General, what is the UN doing about the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan?

SG: We have mounted a major humanitarian effort, and last week I gave an Alert to the donors that we're going to need about 584 million dollars to pursue our humanitarian operations. Luckily, the response has been phenomenal. It's been over-subscribed, and today we've got 700 million dollars, with the U.S. being a major contributor. We are positioning food supplies in the neighboring countries. We are feeding the several million Afghan refugees in Pakistan and in Iran, and we are assisting the Afghans who have remained inside, and those who are internally displaced.

We will continue to move food supplies into the country. As I said, it was disrupted very briefly, but we have resumed the work. And here I take, once again, an opportunity to applaud our humanitarian workers, international and Afghan, for the work that they have done. We are determined to work with the international community to ensure that the Afghan population do not suffer as a result of the fight against al-Qaida. After all, they are not the intended targets, and we need to make sure that we look after their needs.

WC: Thank you, Seattle. And Secretary-General, we're now going to head down to Houston, Texas, where former Ambassador Bill Luers is moderating our discussion. Ambassador Luers is, I'm sure you know, also the President of the United Nations Association of the USA - a national co-sponsor of this dialogue. Ambassador Luers, good to see you this morning.

BL: Walter, thank you for doing this. And Mr. Secretary-General, you do us all a great favor by telling your story to the world, as you're doing right now. Our questioner today, speaking from the Baker Institute of Public Policy at Rice University in Houston, is Matthew [Morelis], who is a graduate student at the University of Texas School of Public Health.

MM: Good morning, Mr. Cronkite, and good morning Mr. Secretary-General. My question is, given all the media coverage about the Taliban and also their ongoing defiance, I would like to know, as [would] so many people, what is the role of the United Nations... what is the United Nation's position on the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan?

SG: First of all, let me say that the United Nations does not recognize the Taliban. It has not recognized the Taliban. The Afghan seat here at the UN is filled by a representative of the Northern Alliance. We have had our own problems with the Taliban in the past, because the Security Council urged the Taliban to release Bin Laden, following the attacks in Kenya and Tanzania. They did not do it, and so the Council imposed sanctions on them, and those sanctions did not compel them to release the leader of the al-Qaida organization.

And now, of course, we are in a major confrontation. There is a major confrontation between the Taliban and the international community, and we have also come up with resolutions on how to fight terrorism, which will affect both al-Qaida and the Taliban in the sense that it is protecting and harboring terrorists which the resolution is against. And I think in that respect, we have provided a basis for international action.

WC: Thank you. And now to St. Louis, where our moderator is Nan Wyatt, a reporter with KMOF's radio.

NW: Walter, thank you so much, and Secretary-General Annan, greetings to you from America's heartland, and thank you so much for spending some time with us today. We have so many folks here who would love to ask you a question. Laura [Gotch] is joining us. She was born and raised in St. Louis, and her sister is in service right now to the United Nations in Angola, and she has a question for you. Laura?

LG: Good morning. Could you tell us how the recent terrorist attacks and the resulting massive humanitarian response in Afghanistan and its neighboring countries will affect the UN's priority of addressing HIV and AIDS in the African countries?

SG: I think the fight against terrorism is important and is crucial, and we need to keep on with it. But of course, the UN's other activities, the UN's traditional work - fighting poverty, helping resolve conflict, fighting the scourge of HIV/AIDS are equally important. The publicity and the media in a way has obscured our other activities but they are no less important. And we are pressing on.

In fact, last week, on the 4th of October, I met with the Chairmen and CEO's of the seven largest pharmaceutical companies to discuss making the AIDS drug accessible to the poor, continuing our major struggle against the HIV virus, whilst we fight the terrorist threat. So, we will continue our activities. I think in some ways it is even much more important. We need to tackle some of the root causes, and conditions that breed desperation and sometimes encourages young men and young people to become terrorists.

WC: Thank you, St. Louis. And now we head to Atlanta, where our moderator is Ms. Angela Robinson. Good afternoon, Angela.

AR: Good afternoon, Walter, and thank you. Our question from Atlanta comes from Bishop Ron Rhodes.

RR: Mr. Secretary-General, in light of the tragic events of September 11th, how will the United Nations encourage greater tolerance among peoples and nations, and discourage efforts to foment a backlash against Islam?

SG: I think it was one of the tragic ironies, that the 11th of September, when the bombing took place, was the International Day of Peace. On that day, we usually ring a peace bell, and of course we had to postpone it on the 11th of September. We did it subsequently. This year is also the International Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations, which is intended to bring the Member States and religions and various societies together, to discuss culture, what they have in common, rather than what divides them.

And I think as we go forward with this fight against terrorism, it is important that we recognize that those who committed these crimes are criminals who should be dealt with, and not confuse them with Islam or with a particular region. And I think the leaders of the world, starting with President Bush and other leaders, have been very clear in telling the population ... do not take the law into your own hands, do not go out after Islam, because this is not the work of Islam, it is the work of individuals.

We also need to be aware that whatever response we take, we have to be careful not to increase divisions within societies, and between countries. All our societies are multi-cultural and multi-religious. And so if we were to get into that kind of friction and fight, we will start fighting within our own societies, before we go outside our borders. And I think that message of tolerance, that message to everyone to accept and appreciate and celebrate our diversity, as part of human existence, is going to be very important. Schools must speak out, leaders must lead, and the churches have a role to play. So do the Mosques and the synagogues. We should all speak out and educate.

WC: Thank you, Angela and Atlanta. Now we switch to a region of the country that was once home to Secretary-General Annan. From the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, we have Mr. Gary Eichton, a regular on Minnesota Public Radio, standing by with a questioner.

GE: Thank you, Mr. Cronkite. Indeed, the person who is going to be posing our question here in Minneapolis is the President of Secretary-General Annan's alma mater, Macalester College President Michael [Macpherson].

MM: Mr. Secretary-General. How can we sustain the international coalition against terrorism, when inevitably there will be differences among nations as to how we should proceed?

SG: Thank you, Michael, and it's good to see you again. Yes, there will be differences. There will be differences of opinion, differences of approach, and you do have this in all coalitions. You do have this in smaller groups, even. And we need to manage those divisions. What is important is that the objective is clear. And almost every country and every region in the world has suffered from terrorism.

And I have spoken to lots of leaders around the world, and the ambassadors here. When they watched the World Trade Center go down, they saw what happened in the Pentagon, and the plane go down in Pittsburgh, apart from that wonderful feeling of solidarity that came, born out of horror, and the unity that emerged, the sense was - this can happen anywhere. It's New York today - where would it be next day? And how do we all come together to fight it?

So we agreed on the common objective. As we move forward, there will be differences, there will be discussions, but I'm sure we will be able to overcome them. And that is why the work the UN is doing here is extremely important, by providing a common basis, either through Security Council resolutions, or the legal work of producing conventions that the General Assembly is doing. And with that common framework, we have a common basis for monitoring the response and the reaction of each of the Member States. We have a common benchmark, a common yardstick. And I think that's going to be important. And that should also, in the end, minimize some of the frictions that you inevitably have in a coalition this size.

WC: Now to Tampa, where we have Forrest Gossett of the Tampa Business Journal, who joins us from the campus of the University of Tampa. Mr. Gossett, welcome.

FG: Thank you, Walter. Welcome to the University of Tampa. I'm Forrest Gossett. I'm publisher of the Business Journal in Tampa. And we're delighted to join with 100 people at the University of Tampa today for this extraordinary forum. Our question, Mr. Secretary-General, for you comes from Dr. Jeffrey [Klepfor]. He is the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences here at the University of Tampa. Dr. [Klepfor], your question.

JK: Mr. Secretary-General. A recent associated press poll showed that 9 out of 10 Americans think the UN should play a major role in keeping nations united in the fight against terrorism. Why do you think this is the case?

SG: I'm delighted with the results of the poll, because I believe if we are going to defeat terrorism, we need to cooperate across borders. We either cooperate in this struggle and win, or we don't win at all. And I'm really delighted that the American public have come to that conclusion. Because it is only by denying them shelter across borders, by ensuring they do not use legitimate banking systems for their evil deeds, and ensuring that they have no logistical support, and all governments accept these basic premises and work together, that is the only way we will defeat terrorism.

The military operation taking place in Afghanistan is a very small part of the battle. We need to fire at them on a wide range of fronts. And that can only be done through international cooperation. And I applaud the American public for coming to that judgment. And by the way, I also would want to say that I know recently there has been lots of talk about "why do they hate us?" But I saw another, a bigger story, which I hope the press will write about sometime - the spontaneous support, the spontaneous friendship for the American Government and its people, that was demonstrated around the world.

So, I'm looking forward to reading the story, "why do they support us" or "why do they love us" or "we didn't know we had so many friends out there."

WC: Now, over to Los Angeles, where we're joined by Bill Rosendahl, who joins us from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Bill, welcome.

BR: Thank you, and good morning, Mr. Secretary and Mr. Cronkite. Los Angeles is pleased to be part of this historic Town Hall. Joining me is Mary [Kuhab], who's a Deputy Project Manager of the Lee Andrews group, with a question.

MK: Mr. Secretary-General, how will the UN's efforts towards preventing terrorism, such as arms control, change in light of the September 11th attacks?

SG: I think the task becomes much more urgent, and in fact, I talked earlier about the convention the General Assembly is working on. Alongside that convention is a proposal from the Russian Federation, asking the Assembly to take action against nuclear terrorism. And that is also being discussed by the Member States. I believe that what happened on September the 11th is going to push the Member States forward in their attempts to ensure that these weapons of mass destruction do not get into the wrong hands.

And I would hope that it would also encourage Member States to band together to sign the conventions on these weapons, including CTBT, to ensure that we are making sure that these weapons do not spread, with the possibility that they may get into the wrong hands. But that should also go for the land mine ban and small arms, which terrorists and drug dealers use a lot.

WC: Thank you, Los Angeles. Back to the mid-west now, we'll take our last question from Chicago, where our moderator is John Calloway, a veritable institution in Chicago broadcasting. John, it's always a pleasure.

JC: Walter, thank you very much, and Mr. Secretary-General, good afternoon. We're delighted to come to you from Chicago and to be a part of this. Our question comes from Dr. [Terrick Butt], who is a family physician at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago, and also a member of the Chicago Board of Education.

TB: Good morning, Mr. Secretary-General. Last week, the UN General Assembly had a five day debate on terrorism. What's the outcome of this debate, and what comes next?

SG: During that debate, almost all the Member States condemned the terrorist attacks, and condemned terrorism, and agreed to band together to fight it. Of course, as we move forward with that debate, there is one question, which has to be resolved. And you might it strange, it's a question of definition of terrorism. I think we will be able to resolve this issue, because one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter, or a nationalist trying to liberate his or her country. And so we need to find a definition that is clear for everyone. I think what happened in New York and Washington and in Pennsylvania were clear terrorist attacks. Any attempts aimed at civilians and senseless killing of civilians, whatever the cause, cannot be justified. And so I think the Member States will be able to come up with an acceptable definition. But the essential part is that they are determined to fight terrorism, work on the convention that is before them now, and try and get it approved. And, encourage their own governments to sign and ratify these conventions. And once that is done, and they've all signed it, we will have a common framework. The other thing we are doing here, following the Security Council's resolution, we recognize that some Member States may not have the capacity to adapt their legislative or banking systems, and we are taking steps to be able to provide them that support so that all Member States can abide by the Security Council resolutions.

WC: And this concludes this National Town Hall Meeting. Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General for joining us today, of course. I'm sure that I speak for all of those participating, those viewing at home, and many more of my countrymen, when I wish you, of course, all the luck in the world in your command efforts to bring about peace.

SG: Thank you.

WC: At this point, we'll be turning our meeting over to your local moderators, and panelists. We'll carry on the community dialogue. Thank all of you for participating with us today. From the United Nations in New York, I'm Walter Cronkite. Good day. *****