Jake Moore presented a number of serious myths and misstatements in his article on Wednesday. Mr. Moore stated that Osama bin Laden wants to eliminate any person of another religion. Bin Laden has never said this, and Mr. Moore's statement is only meant to create more hate towards someone that is infamous in our country. If you would like to know bin Laden's true views, read the English translation of his latest tape (http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/79C6AF22-98FB-4A1C-B21F-2BC36E87F61F.htm).
Mr. Moore also suggests that bin Laden and the "terrorists" hate us because we "enjoy wealth disproportionate to our population and that the pervasiveness of American culture can make other cultures feel overrun." If the bombing of innocent women and children is what Mr. Moore calls "disproportionate wealth and the pervasiveness of our culture," then I agree that this is why others hate us. The "terrorists" are just regular, peaceful people, who decide to resort to violence only after seeing countless atrocities committed by a country that has no penalties for itself. After the great tragedy of Sept. 11, about 3,000 innocent civilians lost their lives. Between 13,000 and 15,000 innocent civilians have lost their lives due to the U.S. bombing campaign in the current Iraq conflict. Pick any nation that the U.S. has ever played a part in an armed conflict, and you will see huge numbers of innocent civilians murdered because of us, even more than our losses on Sept. 11.
The "terrorists'" rage is justified. Osama bin Laden is responding to punish a nation that otherwise would not be punished. In the English translation of his latest tape, he explains that he wanted to live a peaceful life, like anyone else. If you are one of the countless people to say that we should not be punished for something our government takes part in, you are also wrong. Just as supporters of terrorism are also guilty, we, as taxpayers support our government-funded terrorism. All "terrorists" are people who wanted to "live and let live," but could not because they saw friends, family and neighbors being killed by a far-off nation that faces no consequences.
Mr. Moore states that "to attack someone who has pledged to destroy you is not aggressive, it's simply sane." The United States has pledged to destroy all "terrorists," which we have created through our own violence, so by Mr. Moore's logic, they are not aggressive, just sane.
I also agree with Mr. Moore when he says that "terrorists must be made to suffer the consequences of their aggressive agendas until they're ready to join the 21st century in a live-and-let-live philosophy." If you also agree with Mr. Moore, then the United States must continue to suffer tragic losses of innocent life until we stop killing countless innocent women and children around the world.
Violence cannot stop terrorism; it can be seen throughout history. For example, the British used force in an attempt to stop terrorism in Northern Ireland, which led to more terrorism. The Israelis have responded with force towards terrorism, only to cause more bombings in their own country. Clinton bombed Afghanistan and the Sudan in response to the bombings of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, but it did not stop the tragedy on Sept. 11.
The solution to terrorism is not more violence, but rather, we should get out of the arms business and help countries by building an infrastructure that supports stability and empowers the people.
Jeff Sturgeon
senior
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