The bleeding heart liberalism on this campus in terms of the US – Afghani conflict has gone unopposed for too long, to the point of being absurd. Statements such as “Masturbate don’t retaliate” were plastered outside the University School Thursday morning. We have two questions: First, is that really the message of peace that you want kindergarten students to see? Second, what does that even mean, “Masturbate don’t retaliate?” We would love the genius mind that came up with that to explain it to us.
We are sick of the soft arguments held by the anti-war stance on this campus. Not to say that peace is not ultimately the desired conclusion, but we contest that there is a time for peace. The events in New York and Washington, D.C. were acts of war, war against all humanity. The United States’ government, military, and citizens are fully within their rights to attack these terrorists and anyone harboring them. The Afghani government has known of bin Laden’s existence and intentions for far too long without any action towards his removal. Let’s go back to 1998 when Osama bin Laden’s Al Qada bombed two US embassies in Africa. Bin Laden was not removed from the country of Afghanistan.
If a terrorist network operating within the United States maliciously attacked another body of government, you can bet the CIA, FBI and even the US military itself would be beating down their door with intentions to send them to their deserved fates determined by those countries which they attacked; this however is not the policy of countries like Afghanistan and Iraq who harbor, and on some levels, encourage this behavior.
Some contentions that arise on the anti-war side of this argument claim that there is no proof that bin Laden is the culprit. Do you really believe that the U.S. government would put all this time and effort into this attack if they weren’t sure he was the one? Of course our government isn’t going to release its exact findings to the public or any other foreign government officials. To do so would allow the enemy, and the whole world, to know our tactics for obtaining such information and would reveal too much of our plans for response. Allied countries have made it clear that they do not need this type of release of information. These countries have done their own investigations and have concluded that bin Laden is undoubtedly behind this. For an average citizen to say that we do not have enough evidence pointing to bin Laden is ridiculous. The average citizen does not have the information available to them to make that judgment, and rightfully so.
Some have been favoring a negotiation approach with these individuals and their countries. Lets try and negotiate and reason with bin Laden. What would our premise of that argument be, “How about we pull all U.S. military personelle out of the Middle East and you don’t bomb us anymore?” or “How about we stop being a capitalist nation?” We are not fighting a conventional enemy. We are fighting terror itself. This enemy is driven by hate. They are not afraid if they and everyone else die for that cause. Trying to reason with someone capable of the magnitude of this kind of evil is an exercise in futility. We MUST make a strong and decisive stand.
We have also heard the argument that innocent Afghani lives will be lost. This is true. It is a sad but true fact of war. These terrorists specifically targeted innocent civilians when their attacks were carried out. It has been made very clear that civilian areas in no way would be targeted. At some point, however, the people of nations must be held accountable for the actions of their leaders. It is a sad truth of government. The Afghani people have allowed the Taliban to harbor this international criminal.
We are not intending to send any Afghani civilians (and U.S. soldiers for that matter) to their deaths, but it is unfortunately a reality that may have to be faced. I don’t hear a whole lot of sympathy for the thousands of German CIVILIANS whose towns and homes were wiped out during WWII. Do you think every German citizen supported Hitler? Of course not, but it was a war and that is what happens in wars. No one likes it but it is a necessary evil to achieve a common good.
On the other hand it is not fair to compare this war to any other preceding it. Rest assured this is a new war unlike any other for the focus is on clearing out certain terrorist cells that reside within these nations. We are not directing attacks on a country as a whole like wars of the past and for this reason loss of civilian lives will be much more avoidable.
Swift justice needs to be brought to those responsible for the attacks on Sept. 11. The Clinton administration had a horrible track record with terrorists: Somalia, Yugoslavia, and the 1998 attacks on bin Laden’s camps all fell well short of their goals.
The United States had one of the greatest armies in the world; it’s time to prove to the world that it is still the greatest military force ever. The United States must send a message to the entire world that this will not be tolerated; this is not an attack on the Islamic culture. This is an attack on a new evil driven by inconceivable hate. To let this hate prevail would be a crime against all humanity. The message needs to be sent that this will not be tolerated now or ever.
As horrific as this war on terrorism will be for all involved, it will make this a safer world for everyone to live in at its conclusion. America has been involved in some gruesome wars – the Revolutionary War, The Civil War, Vietnam, Korea, WWI and WWII – all in the name of freedom for all. If we do not retaliate and defend this freedom, we dishonor all who have died for it.
This world has seen a new evil in recent years. Until now we have not seen the extent of what that evil is capable of. These actions will not be tolerated. We have a duty to mankind to not allow evil to triumph.
This is not a time for negotiation. This is a time for the rest of the world to send these individuals a message in the only language they are capable of understanding – FORCE.
