I've been grappling with myself, trying to come to terms with what has happened, but as well, what is to be done about it. Because of the enormity of the tragedy, my gut reaction has been to bomb the sh** out of both those responsible -- terrorists and governments, indiscriminitely, no matter the civilian loss. F**K 'em. They can blame their own governement if they want, but it was the "natural consequence" of their government's decision to support these bastards. But the more I think about it, the more filled with despair I become. Because killing innocents will only leave those remaining with the bitter antipathy for America, and thus the cycle of hate and violence will continue. Sure, maybe governments in the near future may be dissuaded for the time being from harboring or financing terrorists outright, but it will only be a matter of time before more displaced, angry civilians rise up again, fueled by this hatred. So what can be done? When I go down deep inside myself, I think, I know, that, as corny as it sounds, the only way to combat hate is with love and mercy. This does not mean that we don't do anything -- our action should be fierce, but also responsible. We should set an ultimatum for all of the countries that we believe are harboring these terrorists and others, that unless they turn them and their associates over immediately , there will be consequences. And those consequences won't be an all out attack or reckless blitz, but a methodical, measured and firm removal of the terrorists as well as offending governments who fund them, replacing many of them with governments that believe in the freedom and democracy that we all take for granted here. But more than that, we need to provide the citizens of these countries with initial support, such as technological and monetary relief. Many of the people in these countries are treated very poorly, do not have access to many of the resources that other countries do. They join these terrorists groups and support these governments because they literally have nothing to lose. And their leaders, in turn, use hatred of America as a rallying cry to unite them. Some might say that we could not effectively remove a country's government; that given the choice, people would choose familiar dictators rather than, as they perceive, 'political puppets.' Of course this is true if we are only using that government for our own advantage. But if we can give them a reason to believe that democracy and freedom is better than the oppression that they are living with now, and there is mercy behind our actions, then I want to (have to?) believe that they would choose that which provides them with a better quality of life. What then could future generations be angry to America about? I don't know, maybe I'm just being naive (probably), and haven't thought things through, which is true - I don't know the specific details about that region in depth. Or maybe I'm just so hurt right now, and have been for these past 4 days, that I want to believe that there has to be way for us to severely punish all of those involved while also not continuing the cycle of hatred and violence that terrorists rely on to populate their organizations, and that I'm almost sure will continue if we are indiscriminite and merciless in our retaliation. I have to believe that there is a third alternative that will punish the evil, yet preserve the good. Can anyone else think of a way to to do both? I would love to get more insights. Because right now it hurts to much to consider the alternative. "You could say I'm a dreamer . . . But I'm not the only one."
