``We have to make sure that as we fight terrorism using military means and legal means and law enforcement and intelligence means ... we also have to put hope back in the hearts of people,'' Powell said. ``We have to show people who might move in the direction of terrorism that there is a better way.''
The nearly 3,000 attendees - a who's who of business leaders, politicians and celebrities - kicked off the five-day meeting Thursday as hordes of police on Manhattan's streets braced for unrest that never materialized. Forum participants painted the Sept. 11 attacks as a global wake-up call and encouraged efforts against poverty, the AIDS epidemic and other scourges that have bred frustration and anger toward wealthy countries.
This year for the first time, delegates at the 32nd annual forum gave up their usual lofty retreat in the Alps to come to terrorism-shattered New York, pledging to turn their attention to the world's needs instead of its balance sheets.
The move from Davos, Switzerland was meant to show sympathy for New York - and to improve the image of the forum, often seen as a pricey retreat for rich businessmen.
``This is a defining moment in history,'' Irish rock star Bono said during a plenary session Thursday evening. ``There is an emergency in the world, and I don't think that's hyperbole.''
The meeting site at Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria hotel was surrounded by 4,000 police to guard against the violent protests that have marred international economic meetings in recent years in Seattle, Canada and Italy.
But there were no major disruptions Thursday or early Friday, and police made a grand total of eight arrests.
In Thursday's largest protest, about 1,000 union workers and other protesters marched on a Gap store near the forum site to demonstrate against the globalization of industry. More protests were planned for later in the conference, including a teach-in and a video news conference on Friday.
The meeting opened Thursday with an accounting of the world's economy following the Sept. 11 attacks. Economists predicted that the U.S. economy would bounce back by year's end, with Europe expected to follow closely behind. But they said there was no end in sight for Japan's 10-year-old slump.
Helping the weakest economies and creating strong middle classes there are the best ways to fight terrorism in the long term, panelists said at an afternoon discussion.
``When you have that, it's easier to have democratic values and practices,'' said Alain Dieckhoff, the research director at France's Center for International Studies and Research.
The panel also warned the Bush administration that using force against other countries could hurt relations with its allies.
They said President Bush should use diplomacy instead of military might in his dealings with Iran, Iraq and North Korea - the three nations Bush identified as an ``axis of evil'' in his State of the Union address.
More than 2,700 participants from 106 countries are attending the meeting, including 30 heads of state, 100 Cabinet ministers and 74 ambassadors.
Speakers include King Abdullah II of Jordan; Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations; Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, president of the Philippines; Michael Dell, chairman and chief executive of Dell Computer, and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.
Many forum participants said they saw the terrorist attacks as a watershed event marking the end of the high-flying 1990s and their euphoric economic growth.
``I think it is a good thing ... that the United States has all of a sudden stopped thinking that the be-all and the end-all of existence is quarterly earnings and the rising stock market,'' said Roberto Civita, president of the Abril Group in Brazil.
``This is healthy for the planet, to be back to reality.''
http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/2/199332