A new response to terrorism needed
I am obviously missing something. We hear there is a war on terror, but if that is true, why is only one side doing most of the fighting?
Terrorists blow up trains, crash through throngs of shoppers, and blow up buildings. Our response — and by “our” I mean all of the countries where these atrocities take place — is to say, “That was naughty and we will take away your smartphones for a week as punishment.”
It is particularly galling that terrorist organizations can claim responsibility for all the dead bodies with almost no fear of retaliation. It is also troubling that these radicals cloak themselves behind a legitimate religion, when religion actually has nothing to do with their hatred. I am sure real Muslims are just as appalled by this behavior as I am. To hate all Muslims because terrorists have hijacked their religion just doesn’t make sense.
In my view, there are two ways to address terrorism. One approach is to totally remove ourselves from the Middle East. We are being attacked because they believe we are threatening their ways of life. If we just left them alone, maybe they would hate someone else. Our ties with Israel, oil, and the loss of our influence all make this option undesirable.
I cannot believe I favor the second alternative, because war and killing are not usually behaviors I would sanction. That being said, the response I favor is fighting back. There is no doubt in my mind that our intelligence agencies know where these terrorists are being trained. I would like for our governments to say, “You will no longer be allowed to attack our communities and citizens with impunity. Every time a terrorist attack takes place, whether you take credit for it or not, one of your bases will be obliterated in a shower of rockets and missiles.”
Some might complain that many innocents would be harmed, but the terrorists opted to kill innocent citizens from the very beginning. We did not set the rules for this war. They did.
There is a country song with a lyric that suits this situation perfectly. The lyric is, “A little less talk and a lot more action.’ How many more citizens are we going to allow to be killed at concerts, sporting events, malls, and theaters before we finally say, “Enough is Enough?” It is time for a new response.
Stan Myers
Washington