Terrorists must reap what they have sown
Mike Zodda
sophomore
The United States doest not negotiate with terrorists.
Clearly the tragic events of Sept. 11 demand a response from the United States. There has been much debate over just what that response should be. Sad to say, I feel the only viable response is military action.
Other responses that have been presented are simply impossible for us to use. Some on this campus say we should reexamine our foreign policy to find out how it has provoked terrorism. The terrorist organization Islamic Jihad agrees with them. "What happened in the United States today is a consequence of American policies in this region," said Islamic Jihad official Nafez Azzam.
We absolutely cannot modify our foreign policy in the face of terrorism. To do so would send the message that terrorist acts will accomplish terrorist goals. If we give in even the smallest bit after this attack, we invite the terrorists to blow up another building next week so that we'll give a little bit more.
I'll be the first to admit that the United States is not a saint among nations. We've done some things we shouldn't have done. But no civilized person could claim that this justifies the barbaric attack we suffered Sept. 11. Still, some say we should try to reason with our enemies, find some common ground.
In my opinion, you don't reason with someone who killed 5,000 of your countrymen, you bring them to justice. If these enemies of ours had come to us like civilized people and attempted to open a dialogue with us we would have been able to come to some agreement. It probably wouldn't have been a likely outcome, but the point is now moot. They instead viciously attacked us like wild animals. Our hands are tied as far as our response goes. Negotiation is out of the question. Economic pressure has proven time and again to be ineffective. Military force is the only viable response available to us.
I'm no warmonger. A war is horrible for everyone involved. But sometimes the cause of peace can only be advanced by war.
This is not about revenge; it's about bringing criminals to justice and preventing further crimes.
Some say that military action will only breed more hatred for the United States. I say that's fine, as long as they learn to fear us. We must show the world that terrorism will bring nothing but death or imprisonment to terrorists. I'm not saying we should indiscriminately bomb Afghanistan, but we must go in and get bin Laden or whoever the culprit is. Innocent people will probably die, but our enemies in this war have already shown a callous disregard for our innocent people, and unless we act, we might as well start counting down until the next heinous attack. It is the terrorists themselves and the governments that harbor them that have placed their citizens' lives in danger. They have made their choice. Now they must reap what they have sown.
Only when the violence has stopped will we be free to negotiate with those who oppose us.
Mike Zodda
sophomore
Alumni Hall
Sept. 18, 2001
All Viewpoint Stories for Wednesday, September 19, 2001
