Anyone who caught a glimpse of the television within the past five days was doubtless reminded firsthand of the realities of the world we live in today. The Mumbai shootings give further example of the evils that exist in this world. When stopping to think of the atrocities committed in India this past week, I can’t help but be reminded of the same horrors that took place 26 miles from my Rockville Centre, Long Island home on Sept.11. I cannot lie and say that in the midst of this holiday season that I don’t feel a certain amount of true hatred in my heart.
What justification can anyone give to defend the actions of these terrorist groups?’ These terrorists did not use diplomacy or any civilized means to air their grievances last week. If you need any reminder of the depth of their brutality, think of your fellow Americans, like 13-year-old Naomi Scherr, or the parents of the newly orphaned, 2-year-old Moshe Holtzberg, who’s tearful face while being brought to safety by a nurse has become the poster image for this event’s horror. These Americans, who were in that area of the world to promote understanding of another culture, were targeted for their American heritage, then slain as innocent hostages.
The days of trying to understand and show civility towards this kind of radical ended on 9/11. The events in Mumbai this past week have brought up a somewhat morbid question: When hunting down the vilest of American enemies, should we show them the same level of ‘mercy’ and ‘respect’ they have shown us? I think so.
During this time of thanks and family bonding, the missing table settings and empty seats at 48 of my neighbors’ Thanksgiving dinner tables weighed heavily on my mind. On Sept. 11, their family members were civilians who died by being crushed under tons of rubble, burned alive at extreme heats or jumped to their deaths from skyscrapers, rather than experience a worse fate.
Our fellow Americans died horrific deaths on that day, as they did in Mumbai. We should do everything in our power to appropriately avenge such victims. Why should the American military set an example of understanding and sympathy when dealing with enemies who have shown no respect for American lives? When death is not a deterrent to these radicals who have attacked us, it becomes more and more arguable that we should go beyond our current rules of punishment.
The way the rest of the world will see our decision should not affect the debate over this issue. We are not middle school girls; others’ opinions should not affect our actions. If anything, it is America’s idealistic image as the police force of the world and our actions in nations that do not concern us that has infuriated our enemies. But we should be police. We should not be idealistic any more; we should be realists, and as realists, we should only look to retaliate against terrorists, not intervene in conflicts that do not concern us. Deterrence is not in terrorists’ vocabulary. We should show force only for suitable retaliation toward those who have attacked us. Our choice of retaliation and degree of severity is our choice and business alone.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that there are no international laws or universal human morals.’ By saying such a fairy tale exists and alienating cultures that don’t adhere to it, we have created the kind of enemies who attacked us on Sept. 11 and who targeted us this past week. The evils and corruption that exist in the rest of the world are perhaps too numerous and great for the United States to fix.’ The American military’s use of force should only be carried out against those who have directly attacked us, we can no longer intervene in all the dark corners of the world. It is a somewhat depressing idea but all the same a reality that people must accept.
I’m not calling for a new rash and impetuous approach to U.S. foreign policy, but a practical and efficient one. No more wars on ‘isms’ but specific tangible enemies. We go after only those who have attacked us and set an example.’ Use any means possible to obtain the information in order to find them, then, for lack of better words, blow them off the map.
In an era where our enemies are not represented by flags and their quarrels with America are not over land or conquest but our way of life, our approach to foreign policy must change with the times. Unfortunately, the days when America embodied the ‘City upon a Hill’ idealism first declared in 1630 by John Winthrop to his crew moments before landing on these Massachusetts shores and referenced again by John F. Kennedy in 1961 and Ronald Reagan in 1989, are behind us. That ship has sailed. Darker days look to be on the horizon.
The evil forces that exist in this world today and have attacked America are not worth second-guessing or patronizing. When dealing with today’s American enemies, punishment that shows rehabilitation and civility is naive and outdated. The post-Sept. 11 American foreign policy should revolve around realism, retaliation and, to a certain degree, isolationism. American armed forces should go outside our borders only to seek out enemies who have attacked Americans, thoroughly destroy them. Then go home.
I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving this year.
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