Consider peace, not war

The bloody events of Sept. 11 have driven many Americans to call for revenge. Without regard for the consequences, the Bush administration is preparing for what they originally called "Operation Infinite Justice." Yet to support the administration's call for a war against terrorism without considering the outcomes or understanding the philosophy of Osama bin Laden and his supporters is irresponsible. Indeed, bin Laden may be more correct in his conclusions than most people dare to think.\nMany citizens have praised President George W. Bush for not blindly lashing out against the "enemies of America." What this observation fails to consider is that in bin Laden's view, the United States has blindly lashed out since the end of World War II in promoting policies that have created misery and suffering across many parts of the world. \nAt the center of this history for many Arabs and Muslims has been our country's support for Israel. The American reluctance to criticize Israeli policy in the occupied territories, backed by American-made automatic weapons, tanks and warplanes used in the removal and oppression of the Palestinians, provides ample evidence that the United States will never seriously take into account the perspective of Arabs.\nBin Laden also notes the United States' support of Arab governments that are engaged in suppressing liberty and freedom for their own citizens. Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern and North African countries tolerate enormous disparities in economic wealth between the rich and the poor. Unfortunately, the right to protest against these conditions has been effectively curtailed. \nAmerican foreign policy has supported these undemocratic nations because of economic interests arising from oil and the military necessity of maintaining stable governments in geographically sensitive areas, like the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Finally, the 20,000 American troops based in Saudi Arabia, the holy land of Islam, provides further proof of the United States will to control that part of the world.\nBin Laden has concluded that the United States supports Western imperialism and Israeli colonization in areas dominated by Muslims. When added to the history of European and American slavery, colonialism, racial segregation and genocide of native peoples, bin Laden and his supporters argue that Americans have benefited from the suffering of others. \nSince mothers and their children in the Third World have suffered, and since Americans have supported this by continuing to elect governments that sustain these policies, then in his view American citizens should suffer as well.\nObviously, I do not agree with bin Laden's methods. Nevertheless, his analysis is essentially correct; "Infinite Justice" will be a war to defend American privileges. Yet it does not have to be that way. A different approach for truly patriotic Americans would be to oppose this war and call for a new direction in U.S. foreign policy. \nSome local campus groups are congregating, looking for a peaceful solution to this problem. \nTheir paths suggest the possibility of developing a new strategy for addressing the world's conflicts through dispute resolution and attending to the needs of the poor and disfranchised. \nAdditional suffering cannot be the answer to the events of Sept. 11. Unfortunately, a war against terrorism will actually be adverse to our interests as Americans and as world citizens.