Editor,
All in together now - we're going to war.
There's no stopping us. Under such volatile circumstances, we shall confidently throw the dice on the board for a game of Risk with the grandeur of Armageddon. It's time for the showdown of good against evil.
In this case, some serious questions deserve immediate attention:
If we say, "let's go to war," do we truly understand the present definition of war? Under such unpredictable circumstances, can we predict what ends may come from today's means?
Considering that these morally indefensible terrorist acts struck us by such surprise, do we know what else those who oppose us have in store?
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Can we rest assured that we know all about the plot when we can't positively identify the conspirators?
We must address the current situation with utmost seriousness and without ignorance. We face many viable threats. We must confront the notion of sending American soldiers into man-to-man combat, and ask if we are willing to see other Americans perish under the hands of those responsible for attacking us.
We must deal with the question that if we enter a modern-day war asking the support of God for our cause, are we willing to enter into a war with religious motivations?
Shall we allow ourselves to be so provoked?
We must consider the attack against us under heavy light, and realize that our war may not take place on foreign soil. Although we were up until now largely unfamiliar with being attacked in our own land, we must not deny the possibility that we may see warfare here at home.
Unfortunately, all of our weapons combined prove no threat to chemical and biological attack.
We should be aware that children are the greatest victims in all war. We must ask ourselves if we could bear to see our children fall victim to such destruction.
We would be wise to think about the suffering that continues to occur due to war in the Balkan region, and to recognize the fate of Israel and Chechnya.
The reality of the situation, though, is that our country has already unleashed itself for drastic action, and we will see it. Whatever decisions develop, however, we cannot allow our nation to do anything in retaliation that may upset the rest of the world as much as the events of Tuesday, Sept. 11 have.
At this time we might be wise to take some advice from Jesus, who said, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who spitefully use you and persecute you."
Martin Neas
2001 UNM Graduate
