NEW YORK, April 22 (UPI) — NEW YORK, April 22 (UPI) — In an article by Akram Baker, a former communications advisor to the Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs (the late Faisal Husseini), and published by UPI on April 18, the writer strongly admonishes the Israelis for their occupation.

Much has been said in reaction to President Bush's characterization in his State of the Union address of Iraq, Iran and North Korea as the "axis of evil." An overwhelming consensus here at home and abroad seems to have emerged that the president's characterization is, at best, misguided. Lumping all three nations together as if we could deal with them on equal terms only undermines our national interest and the war against terrorism.

The Arab world will probably never be the same as it was before September 11th. The question is what kind of changes will we witness? Will they be the type of changes geared toward meeting public yearnings for human rights, freedoms, better social and economic conditions and personal security or will they be cosmetic and therefore only intensify the social and political discontent leading to political instability and escalating violence.

The year 2001 will especially be remembered for the unforgiven attack on our way of life, with the images of the destruction of the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon defining our new perspective of ourselves and our nation. We can now allow ourselves to focus on the events of September 11, wage a successful war to eradicate the perpetrators, and be satisfied to end there or, use the war as a means to realize a broad international agenda that has the potential to yield far- reaching benefits globally.

Winning the war for the hearts and minds of the peoples of the Muslim world may prove considerably harder than winning any military campaign. Our military victories will neither have any lasting effect, nor will we see the end of terrorism unless we persuade the Muslim masses that our war is against

Many Americans are perplexed about the connection between Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism. The fact that every known terrorist captured or being sought by the United States is of Arab or Muslim origin creates both real and imagined links that only add to the concern and confusion. To suggest that there is no connection between the two is wrong, but to view Islamic fundamentalism as synonymous with terrorism is just as wrong and misleading as well.

The fallout from the tragedy of September 11 indicates that those who masterminded the attack seriously miscalculated the reaction by the United States, the international community and the Arab and the Muslim world to the scope and the consequences of the attack. We must now fully exploit the perpetrators' miscalculations while remaining alert to their ruthlessness and insidious fatalism.

The question that has been asked most frequently in the wake of the horrific terrorist attack of September 11 is why America is hated so intensely, so much so that individuals are motivated to kill indiscriminately and in the process die without hesitation. A number of reasons can provide the "

Striking back at Osama bin Laden and other terrorist organizations in Afghanistan and destroying, to the extent we can, their training facilities and infrastructure are necessary for two reasons. First, the perpetrators of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks must be punished for their horrif