Solutions other than
Jeff Sepeta
class of '91
Our best weapons against terrorism are not guns, planes and bombs. It is instead our devotion to the pursuit of liberty and the creative means with which we pursue it.
Some reactionaries might call for war, but a War on Terrorism is likely to end up just as much a failure as our War on Drugs and our War on Poverty. War against an ideology is not felled by soldiers but by civilians with open minds and open hearts. An important part of winning a traditional war is demonizing one's enemies to stir up passions. That's exactly the opposite strategy required to win this new war that our President has declared.
If we would focus some of our energy inward to reflect upon why certain people are so angry with the United States, we might understand that to be better accepted by foreign nations sometimes it's better not to throw our weight around like the world's bully. There's no way to befriend everybody all the time, but it's possible that if we paid more attention to the consequences of our actions we could avert all but the most militant of our enemies.
And perhaps we should try leveraging the goodwill we share with our allies in order to freeze Osama bin Laden's assets, or even turn over his bank accounts to the people who lost their loved ones in the tragic attacks. This is just one example of a creative way to strike back against a known terrorist that would limit unnecessary bloodshed.
Simply flying into Afghanistan, guns ablazing, will not shut down a terrorist network like Al Qaeda. That's because any Muslims we kill would likely become martyrs. Defusing the time bomb of terrorism will require honest dialog amongst our friends — and enemies. It will mean recognizing governments that we don't like, such as Afghanistan's Taliban. It will also mean changing course on silly plans that the entire world is against, such as the militarization of space through a Missile Defense Plan. If we actively participate in making the world a better place for everyone, instead of making our decisions in an "I don't care what you think" kind of vacuum, we'd win more respect from friend and foe alike.
Jeff Sepeta
class of '91
Sept. 13, 2001
All Viewpoint Stories for Friday, September 14, 2001
