Posted on: Thursday, December 30, 2004

ISLAND VOICES

By Jim Tollefson

Its criticism of security summit ignored the facts

Cleveland? What was ABC News thinking in its Dec. 17 hit-and-run on Hawai'i as the site of the second Asia-Pacific Homeland Security Summit and Exposition?

When 24 Asia-Pacific countries sent their top counterterrorist experts and special unit commanders to the recent 12th annual Pacific Area Special Operations Conference, they met in Honolulu. When the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies hosts conferences on security and terrorism, it holds them in Honolulu. When senior U.S. officials from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea hold serious talks about proliferation or the WMD threat by North Korea, they are held in Honolulu, in addition to their own capitals.

In fact, Honolulu is the focal point for numerous serious conferences relating to security and regional affairs. Honolulu is not only the headquarters for the Special Operations Command Pacific (which has the primary U.S. counterterrorism mission throughout Asia), and the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, it is also the seat of the Center for Strategic and International Studies — Pacific Forum, the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council, the East-West Center, the Honolulu Council on Foreign Relations, and other smaller organizations that host important conferences. Those more knowledgeable realize that the two ABC reporters' uninformed portrayal of Honolulu as only a resort simply does not wash these days.

Isn't it time for ABC to drop 1950s' stereotypes of Hawai'i as "lavish lu'aus" and sun and fun? Honolulu is emerging as one of the important conference and business hubs for the Asia-Pacific region. That's not because of its attractive environment, or in spite of it. It is in addition to it. It is because of Hawai'i's strategic location, its well-developed infrastructure of Asia-Pacific-focused think tanks, schools and operational headquarters.

ABC's criticism of the Department of Homeland Security's expenditures was closely associated with loaded words and phrases calculated to cast aspersions on Hawai'i. Hawai'i has nothing to do with Homeland Security's expenditures, but the tarring brush was already in the pot.

Consider "basking in the warm Hawaiian sun for the meeting" (not in the actual air-conditioned meeting rooms?), "lavish lu'aus" (as opposed to a Cleveland hotel's lavish buffet?), "short walk to the beach" (as opposed to a short walk to the hotel bar?). Sun, lu'aus, beach? Yes, Honolulu is proudly guilty of these apparently immoral assets.

ABC highlights an important strength of the kind of conference held in Honolulu as an ethical problem. It's all in the choice of words, as in the "too cozy relationships" between the U.S. companies that build the technology and equipment needed for achieving security from terrorists and the public officials who need to buy this equipment.

Did ABC fail to notice the full title of this gathering, which includes "exposition"? Coping with terrorism requires the latest technologies and equipment, and bureaucrats do not produce them — private industry produces them. Hence the wisdom of inviting precisely these companies to show their latest wares to hundreds of Asia -Pacific and U.S. officials responsible for the security of their citizens. And, yes, these companies also bear a share of the cost of the conference, rather than the taxpayer.

Did ABC fail to notice that terrorism in Asia — especially Southeast Asia — has grown dramatically? The growing threat to America's overwhelmingly Asia-based trade and investments, WMD proliferation and the threat to the world's access to critical oil shipping choke points make the terrorist operations in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, and North Korea's actions of critical importance to the United States and to Asia. The expertise concerning these subjects lies in Honolulu, not in a distant city on the Mainland.

Is ABC aware that Hawai'i is a leader in the field of effective, statewide, interagency homeland defense coordination? Nowhere are civil, military and private bodies more closely coordinated than in Hawai'i. It is a model for Asian countries and other U.S. states. In fact, it was Hawai'i's alert system that was adopted for the nation by Homeland Security.

As to the quality of the conference, the facts speak for themselves. Attendance has almost doubled — to 900 people from 40 countries — from Honolulu's first conference held in 2003. And this time, the secretary of homeland security gave his address in person, rather than remotely from Washington. Even ABC had to admit that the speeches and seminars were "mostly well attended."

Isn't it time for ABC to break out of outdated stereotypes and look at Honolulu and Hawai'i as it really is today? Yes, we are an attractive tourist state, but why ignore what else we have to offer? Isn't it time for ABC to give Hawai'i a fair shake?

Jim Tollefson is president and CEO of The Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i.