Delivering justice where it’s needed

In response to the July 19 letters “Soldiers are murderers” (Steve Salter) and “Either all lives are sacred, or none” (Aaron Spector), I would like to clear up the distortions of my original July 5 letter (“Soldiers not terrorists”). Spector writes, “Steinfeldt’s claim that the deaths of seven Afghan teenagers will prevent a greater number of deaths sets up a tricky inequality.” Nowhere did I state that civilian deaths will decrease the total number of casualties. I specifically said al-Qaida deaths will prevent future attacks, and civilians were being used as human shields in that strike. Salter made a similar claim in referring to Iraq, which also was not mentioned in my letter.\nOn a more general note, both of the July 19 letters harshly criticized American foreign policy. Salter asserts, “Our highly trained, well-paid murderers did the killing,” adding, “America truly is a world leader in terrorism.” Statements like these only reinforce terrorist propaganda and strengthen our enemies.\nSalter and Spector attack our current policies, yet offer no alternative in fighting the global terror network. We are fighting an enemy who places so little value on human life they are more than willing to sacrifice their own lives to end ours. They proudly broadcast civilian beheadings, suppress women’s rights and prohibit virtually everything else considered “progressive” by American standards.\nThey attacked us on Sept. 11 and we correctly responded by bringing to justice those responsible for the attacks. In continuing operations, we unraveled an elaborate labyrinth of loosely based terror networks operating in the shadows of civilian areas.\nThis war, unlike any other, requires fighting stateless militias who, unfortunately, are largely operating in densely populated urban areas to blend in with civilians and avoid detection. The consequences will most likely include civilians being caught in the crossfire. The U.S. military will continue to limit civilian casualties, but complacency against such terror groups would lead to much graver consequences.