Violent conflict not a practical response

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The United States won’t be pushed around. The Taliban is
reluctant to give up bin Laden. NATO is committed to the effort.
All signs point to war.

But America needs to hold its fire.

Though many Americans believe our country needs to retaliate for
the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 by bombing every square inch of
Afghanistan, retaliation doesn’t have to be violent.

We should be focusing on how to stop terrorist attacks, not
fueling their anger to strike again. Leading an international
bayonet charge across Afghanistan in a manhunt for Osama bin Laden,
no matter how tempting, will do more harm than good.

Even if the United States could wipe out Afghanistan and bin
Laden, it would merely be a symbolic gesture to assuage the
collective conscience of the American people, which accomplishes
little.

The threat of terrorism will still exist, and terrorists across
the world will see the assassination of bin Laden as another
motivating factor in the long list of grievances they have against
the United States.

Terrorists’ hatred and resolve against the United States
is rooted deep in their ideology, their culture and their twisted
interpretation of religion. Why give them any more reason to wage
their cowardly war?

As the most powerful nation in the world, even America will
quickly grow tired of fighting an unrelenting enemy which has no
face, no name, no homeland and no fear of being killed.

Instead, we must beat terrorism through other methods. Our
country’s leaders need to give other countries a reason to
join us in this struggle against terrorism ““ not coerce them
into our corner out of fear for their country’s existence if
they don’t stand with us.

We need to realize the inherent differences between countries
who harbor terrorists and our own, and cooperate with these
countries. We need to help these countries realize that to avoid
war, they need to be willing to cooperate with the United States in
halting terrorism within their borders.

While this is easier said than done, diplomacy is the best
answer in a time of crisis when there are no good answers.

America, stand fast. War is not the answer… at least not
now.