Retaliation should come between two extremes

I have a few things I want to touch on. The whole mentality of Americans toward war against terrorists that were responsible for the devastation on Sept. 11 bothers me. I have heard many opinions touching on the two extremes; total annihilation and total pacifism. Neither of these is possible.

Some people express a mentality that roughly translates as "Nuke 'em!" Hmm. You know, if we did that, our retaliation wouldn't just affect those responsible for Sept. 11, it would affect those countries forced to share a border with Afghanistan. They'd be a bit peeved. Meaning they would probably retaliate (hey, we're mad about deaths in our country; wouldn't they be upset, too?). Hmmm … what would they use? Probably nukes, too, if they could find them, otherwise biological or chemical warfare. (People, none of us get smallpox vaccinations anymore. Think about it.) Lets see … this evolves into … Oh yes — the Middle East vs. the West. Not a good thing. Result: millions of deaths.

Others express a wish to keep the peace. I'm all for that. Unfortunately, it's not going to happen. The Taliban won't leave Afghanistan to come to a peace conference. So we'd have to send a diplomat. If we sent a woman, they'd get offended because they think women are inferior. We also can't send a Christian or a Jew. And I doubt they'd negotiate with an American Muslim. In the best case, they won't negotiate. I'm not going to mention the worst case; I'll leave that to the imagination. Not to mention the Taliban and other religious fanatics in the Middle East have started to prepare for "jihad" (holy war) with the United States. That's a sure sign they don't want to negotiate.

The best answer to this issue is somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.

Emily Jo Scalzo

Freshman, School of Liberal Arts

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Retaliation should come between two extremes

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