The Taliban, which is the de-facto government of Afghanistan, must for the time being be counted as an enemy of the United States, because they have refused to fully cooperate with our demands that they extradite Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the attacks. This fact alone, however, is not sufficient justification for any kind of military action against them. There are many people away from the center of powers who hate our country. The last thing we need is for a government to declare holy war on us as well. Even if we must negotiate with the protectors of the very people who planned the assault against our citizens, America should not shirk from taking steps to prevent warfare and to ensure that if war does come, it is only as a necessary last resort.

Some may criticize this line of thought by comparing it to the policies of "appeasement" that European leaders used in dealing with Hitler, in an attempt to prevent world war. But the circumstances here are starkly different. Unlike Hitler, the Taliban have not forced its rule upon people of other nations. More importantly, the Taliban is an accomplice at worst, and even that has not been proven. It is not the real threat.

As Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld correctly noted, "The terrorists who are attacking our way of life do not have armies, navies or air forces. They do not have capitals. They do not have high-value targets that the typical weapons of war can go in and attack." Perhaps this is why he and others in the administration are so eager to find-and fight-a "traditional" enemy who does have these things. Unfortunately, since the terrorists do not rely on Afghan infrastructure (of which there is not much to begin with, after several decades of conflict), even series of missile strikes against Afghanistan will only further the suffering of an oppressed people, and deepen the hatred that many in the region feel against our country. A full-scale invasion, on the other hand, could destroy the Taliban government, which would almost certainly be a good thing both for the Afghan people and for Americans, but it would cause the further problem in dealing with the beleagured nation once the war is over. A ground war would likely also be lengthy and bloody-the Soviets could not defeat guerrilla forces (assisted by bin Laden) when they fought Afghanistan in the 1980s.

The fact is, the Taliban has been at least somewhat willing to negotiate-a committee of clerics recently recommended that the Taliban ask bin Laden to leave the country. Although far from sufficient, this is a step in the right direction. Afghanistan has repeatedly requested that the United States not attack it, and recently has shown signs of willingness to work toward preventing war. The White House, however, is not interested: "It's time for action, not words," press secretary Ari Fleischer responded.

Despite his hawkish rhetoric of retaliation, Bush has otherwise reacted to the tragedy in a fair and reasonable way. In his address to the joint session of Congress on September 20, he stated that "the terrorists practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim scholars and the vast majority of Muslim clerics; a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam." Sadly, many other Americans have not gotten the message. Within a week of the attack, the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee has compiled a list of over two hundred cases of hate crimes and other ethnically motivated incidents, which had allegedly resulted in reaction to the events of September 11. Several Americans of Arabic or South Asian descent have been killed, and millions have had their culture and religion slandered by racist thought, speech, and action. Nearly as shameful are the remarks of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, who blamed the attack on feminists, abortionists, homosexuals, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

It is time for all Americans, including the President and his advisors, to take a step back, and rather than thinking about how best to punish our enemies, ask ourselves how we can end the cycle of violence. The answer at this juncture is not clear; it will not come easily, but for the sake of all Americans-indeed, all citizens of the world-it is well worth pursuing. It must be.
a