Americans' new found sense of unity in combating terrorism will be harnessed in solving pressing social problems, hopes former New York City mayor David Dinkins.

A board member of the United States Tennis Association, Mr. Dinkins is on the Island for this weekend's Lori McNeil/Elbow Beach Celebrity Tennis Classic, a fund-raiser for the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association's junior programme.

And he defended his decision to stick to the trip despite the clean-up effort still underway in his City.

"One of the things in which I have the greatest interest in is grassroots tennis, especially among young people because it gives them an option against anti-social and illegal behaviour," he said.

"Why I'm here is my affection for all children and my belief that we adults owe them the opportunity to achieve their potentials. I don't see it as leaving New York to come here and play tennis and lie in the sun. That's not what I'm about."

Mr. Dinkins is keen for his country to get back to addressing social problems with renewed vigour.

"All the problems that existed in our nation before the terrorists struck still remain and it is my hope that we can keep that same unity to fight problems of hunger, inadequate affordable housing and of course, first and foremost education," he said.

"These things are very important if we are to really enjoy and appreciate the freedom for which we fought and which the terrorists would take from us."

He said he was about to start a board meeting in midtown Manhattan when news came that commercial airliners had been hijacked and wielded as weapons against major US landmarks. The attacks obliterated the twin towers of the World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon and killed an estimated 6,000 people.

He agreed that it was important for the United States to work hard to resolve conflict in the Middle East.

"I think America will work at trying to resolve the problem because unless we can address the problem we are going to continue to have terrorists and people who for one reason or another want to attack the West and the free world."

But he pointed out that there could be no justification for attacking innocent civilians.

"I'm concerned," he said when asked about US military retaliation for the attacks. "I don't have all the answers by any means but I know it can't be a simple retaliation - a tit-for-tat. That won't solve the problem. We've got to root out the terrorists wherever they are. That's why it's important to isolate them so the people in the surrounding countries understand that it's not quite `you're with us or against us'. But it's pretty close to that."

Mr. Dinkins cites former South African president Nelson Mandela's post-apartheid leadership and the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as his number one reason for hope for a resolution of conflict in the Middle East.

"I suppose that nobody but he and Bishop Tutu could have pulled off truth and reconciliation. Imagine if following World War II and the Nuremberg trials, if somebody had said `hold off, we're going to have truth and reconciliation' we would have had World War III. But this amazing man did it. That's why I believe there will be peace in the Middle East and in Northern Ireland - because of what Nelson Mandela has done."

And while he applauds his successor, Rudolph Giuliani's leadership in response to the September 11 attacks, he opposes calls for a third term in office for the mayor, saying it would be a victory of sorts for those who planned and carried out the attacks.

"Mayor Giuliani has provided leadership that we all applaud," he said. "He called for me and my predecessor Ed Koch to join with clergy from around the city of all persuasions and we did. Koch and I and a group of clergy people are the ones that planned the event at Yankee Stadium. Notwithstanding that Koch and I frequently disagreed. Mayor Giuliani and Koch certainly have disagreed. This was something so important that everyone put aside grievances they may have had."

Asked about recent calls for legislative amendments that would allow Mr. Giuliani to seek a third term in office, he said: "One, it won't happen. We are a nation of laws not men."

Mr. Dinkins became the first African American mayor of New York in 1990, serving one term which ended in 1994 with the election of Republican, Rudolph Giuliani.