|
opinion:
our view
Swift action
needed
The shocking terrorist
attacks in the United States Tuesday were, at the very least,
a wake-up call. Not only did it convey how vulnerable we are
as a nation, but how terrorism can no longer be tolerated in
any form.
Retaliation against
those behind Tuesday's massacre is imminent; the only problem
is finding the exact targets to hit. However, it should not
stop there -- all forms of terrorism from this day forth should
be answered swiftly and strongly.
Innocent people
can no longer die for religious, land or other unknown purposes.
Universal punishment should be implemented for an IRA bombing
in Northern Ireland, a car bomb attack in the Middle East
or the killing of innocent civilians in Africa.
Images of planes
crashing into the World Trade Center offset by video of Palestinians
celebrating in the streets reinforces the need to not only
find the perpetrators of Tuesday's attacks, but how all deplorable
acts of this nature should be quashed now.
Should the United
States be the world's police force? No, but by banding together
with other nations, terrorism on a whole can be severely disabled.
Forming a worldwide alliance to deal with terrorism is vital.
Nations at or on
the verge of war should also fall into this group. How many
people know India and Pakistan are on the brink of nuclear
war?
This is President
Bush's time to justify the Supreme Court's coin flip. The
hokey, "I'm just a good ol' boy" image must be dropped.
He must now show the nation he is our leader. And as a nation,
we must support the decisions Bush makes -- even if these
decisions are the brainchild of Dick Cheney, Colin Powell
or even the elder Bush.
In other words:
For Bush and his cabinet, it's gut-check time.
Some may think
these measures are extreme. Maybe they are. But if Los Angeles
or San Francisco were attacked Tuesday, West Coast views on
this subject would have been radically different.
An image of a dead
child in the street in the name of a cause can no longer be
tolerated. The United States needs to act swiftly to bring
the perpetrators of these heinous acts to justice.
How much help we
receive from the other countries of the world will be an indication
of their true willingness to stamp out world terrorism. Future
financial and military should be adjusted based on assistance
given in our quest for justice.
Terrorism in all
its forms can no longer be tolerated and must be stopped.
|
