This is not a time for peace
Trey Obering
class of '73
I was deeply saddened and outraged by the tragic terrorist attacks in our great country against innocent men, women and children on Sept. 11.
I was inspired by the courage, selflessness and spirit of the American people — from the heroes aboard United flight 93, to the NYPD firefighters, to the small groups of Boy Scouts waving American flags in my town last Saturday.
Then I read your editorial section on Sept. 17, specifically an article from Mr. Aaron Kreider. I was stunned by the perspective of this graduate student that terrorists are reasonable people not to be blamed because the United States and allies controlled world economic and political systems spawning conditions for such behavior. In addition, he implies the key elements of this control, the U.S. CIA and military, should not be allowed on Notre Dame's Catholic campus. Mr. Kreider's sweeping generalizations attempt to take advantage of the terrible tragedy to quickly pass judgment on our government, intelligence agencies and military without coherent justification.
Terrorists are not reasonable — they are psychopaths who are often very calculating. Early investigation reveals that unlike Mr. Kreider's description of destitute individuals suffering under U.S. oppression, these attackers are middle-class, well financed individuals with a fanatic hate for America. Michael Radu, a senior fellow at Foreign Policy Research Institute, specializing in the study of revolutionary and terrorist groups worldwide, writes that "the problem [these fundamental terrorists have] is not U.S. policy toward Israel, the Gulf or anywhere else, the problem is the United States itself — not what we do, but who we are."
A biographer of Osama bin Laden was asked in a recent interview, what could America do to satisfy bin Laden? His answer: "Move to another planet." Why? Because he fears what America represents: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of economic opportunity. While it is true that we must address the terrible economic conditions reflected in many parts of the world, the sources are primarily remnants of communism, colonialism, tribalism and religious fascism — not "U.S. oppression." In fact, the United States has done more than any country in the world to improve living and working conditions for millions living in third world countries. On the other hand, what has Bin Laden done? If he were interested in helping, he would use some of his massive fortune to improve their status, not to feed a global terrorist network bent on destruction.
Mr. Kreider's implication that Notre Dame should prohibit CIA recruiting and military ROTC is extremely self-serving. Is Mr. Kreider saying that the U.S. should not have an intelligence capability or military? Or that Notre Dame men and women should allow others to perform these vital roles for our country?
I believe as we look back on the tragedies in New York and Washington, we will see the dismantling of the CIA's human intelligence capabilities in the '70s as a leading cause of our inability to stop the madmen — a dismantling fueled by people like the author Mr. Kreider quoted, Mr. Agee, who later defected to Cuba. Finally, as an Notre Dame graduate of ROTC having served 27 years with the Air Force, I can verify that there is not a finer institution in this country than the U.S. military. I have seen the courage of fighter pilots under incredibly dangerous conditions going to great extremes to avoid civilian casualties. I have seen the selflessness and character of thousands of our airmen conducting humanitarian relief operations around the clock throughout the world.
Make no mistake, forces of evil have attacked and wounded our great country. They have challenged our very foundation as a freedom loving people. They are not reasonable people. As described in Ecclesiastes, "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven ... a time to kill, and a time to heal ... a time of war and a time of peace." This is not a time for peace.
Trey Obering
class of '73
Sept. 24, 2001
All Viewpoint Stories for Tuesday, September 25, 2001
