International -- Readers Report
A Civilized Response to Barbaric Attack
The American people, together with all the other people of the world, must rise up from this cowardly act. Let it not be a triumph for terrorism but instead, the opportunity to end it. Let it not bring us down, but instead force us to fight back and end this once and for all. These animals have injured thousands of families in New York and Washington, but they have not killed a democratic, free, and global way of life. I urge you to defend not only the American nation but also the world's dignity and freedom. A clear message must be sent. Terrorists and anyone else who makes attempts against freedom and life must know that there is no safe shelter for them in this world.
Rafael Olvera
Mexico City
The escalating rhetoric of the past few days scares me. It looks as if President Bush will miss a golden opportunity to show how a civilized state responds to a criminal and terrorist act. Rather than speaking of war, Bush should do the following:
First, collect evidence identifying the people who have personally and directly planned, directed, and executed the terrorist attack. Second, publish the evidence. Then, in "surgical actions," arrest the suspects and put them on trial.
If Osama bin Laden, or any other Islamic leader or group, is indeed the prime suspect, state publicly and repeatedly that only the guilty will be punished and that the Islamic peoples should not be blamed. At the same time Bush must make clear that it is the responsibility of all societies to control extremist and criminal elements. Similarly, let each of us control our primitive reaction calling for retribution.
Robert H. van Ligten
Zurich
Following the attack on the U.S. and the uncertainty about how to respond, I suggest that the U.S. follow the recipe used successfully by the State Dept. in our region. The first step should be a meeting between representatives of the U.S. and those of bin Laden or whatever other group is found responsible; preferably in a Scandinavian capital. At this venue, they should agree upon a Declaration of Principles, according to which the U.S. will perform a phased withdrawal of its imperialist overseas presence as part of a comprehensive "Peace Process." As part of this process, America's peace partners (previously known as "terrorists") will agree in writing to a gradual lessening of anti-U.S. incitement and an end to violence.
Most important, both sides will agree to change the nomenclature of the conflict as follows: 1) The ongoing acts of violence, while still organized and committed as before, will be ascribed to "rejectionist groups" over which the peace partners have no control. 2) The fatalities in any such attacks will no longer be called "victims of terrorism," but rather "sacrifices for peace."
Above all, it is important to remember that the struggle for peace is a long and noble one, justifying both extensive sacrifices of life and rewriting of the rules of the English language.
Ian Solomon
Jerusalem
Terror on a Wider Scale Than Even Japan Has Seen
To a Japanese, the World Trade Center evokes three experiences: our bitter memory of "kamikaze" attacks by brainwashed fighter pilots on American vessels in World War II; the Kobe earthquake in 1995, in which more than 6,000 died; and the religious cult named "Ohmu," whose plans to uproot the Japanese government ended in 1995 with the use of sarin, one of the most effective murderous gases, in crowded subway trains.
The U.S attack is all these combined, but on a larger scale, not confined domestically but beyond borders globally. In addition to military retaliation by the U.S., the world must from now on keep an eye on the metastasis of terrorists, which will be unavoidable during and after the war under preparation.
Masatoshi Katsuhara
Hokkaido, Japan
What about Other Atrocities?
The atrocities perpetrated on Tuesday, Sept. 11, were nothing short of heinous. And the reaction around the world was nothing short of momentous. Atrocities are atrocities, no matter how they occur or where their devastation is wreaked. Why didn't the hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children murdered in the 1994 Rwanda massacre receive a tenth of the international response the U.S. is receiving?
And why is there no determination to eradicate AIDS in Africa, as there is to stamp out terrorism--now that America has fallen victim? In the "global village," it shouldn't just be goods and services that are exchanged. Assistance and awareness of the plight of foreigners should be there, too.
Michael Silver
Maidstone, England
The Folly of Star Wars Is Now Revealed
Bush is insisting that the terrorist attack was an act of war because he can't defend himself politically from the fact that the largest terrorist attack in world history happened in his backyard, on his watch, and largely as a result of his abusively insensitive foreign policy. So it has to be an "act of war." As a "wartime" President, he cuts off the ability of people to criticize him, and he sets the stage for severe limits on public demonstrations and free speech.
There is little analysis of this fact in the press and little acknowledgement of the fact that his Star Wars defense has now been proved a ridiculous idea.
Dennis Burke
Phoenix
Tuesday's events in New York and Washington may have finally proved that the proposed strategic defense initiative, or "Star Wars," is irrelevant to meeting America's security needs. While we focus on Star Wars to protect us, a low-budget creative perspective was able to envision jets and lax airport security as a one-way ticket to carnage. No high-tech gadgetry has ever matched the prowess of human imagination, however dark its motives. Isn't it time we looked closer to earth for effective solutions to terrorism's horrors?
Douglas Reed
Morrisville, N.C.
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Copyright 2001, Bloomberg L.P.
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