Now that the country has finally started beating the war drums, it would seem that ending the process that has begun will be the natural course to follow. In retrospect, I think an alternative could have been more effective.

The sights of the Sept. 11 attacks will cause the blood of any patriotic American to boil. The same is true for foreigners who have lost hundreds of their fellow countrymen. It is only natural that Americans will wish to avenge the happenings with force. The wide coalition that the government has painstakingly built is highly commendable. The coalition stood unanimous in its call for the end of terrorism. The slow and steady build-up of pressure on the Taliban had proved to be a very effective strategy, which ultimately forced it to rethink its stand on Osama bin Laden. However, the final act of actually taking action could have been improved.

Terrorists, I believe, are too insignificant to deserve this kind of military action. They are like a virus. We do not use guns to fight virus, do we? Had we indeed used guns, we would have simply ended up injuring ourselves and those around us and this holds true in the case of terrorism. It is a basic human instinct that arms and ammunition, however well-intentioned they may be and however we try to gift wrap it with humanitarian aid, will always be viewed with apprehension. So it is quite possible that, even though the United States’ desires to benefit the people of Afghanistan in the long run, it could end up doing just the opposite. Further, it could also raise passions in the neighboring countries.

In this situation, a more tactful approach would have better served the purpose. Surgical strikes, freezing all sources of income and not giving any opportunity to the terrorists to find an excuse for committing their deplorable acts are a less violent but more effective ways to combat terrorism. In this regard, I support President Bush’s war, in which he strongly emphasized that it will be fought not simply militarily, but on many different fronts. Terrorism should be removed, in the same way we cure a disease – treat the root cause, not the symptoms and the germs will die automatically.

The American point of view has also to be understood in this regard. Since the World War II, the United States has stood as the vanguard of the free world. It has taken upon itself the duty to protect the freedom of people anywhere in the world and has always met with success. So the fact that any country or any particular individual can actually carry out the horrendous Sept. 11 attacks is simply unthinkable. The U.S. military is based on the philosophy that it will be able to simultaneously wage two wars overseas. So when the unthinkable happened, it is quite natural that the United States will want to unleash its lethal force to protect itself from such attacks.

Perhaps the time has come to make an assessment for improving the effectiveness of the military in the present climate. While it is quite hopeless for any country to declare war on the USA, smaller groups of people with much less resources available, can unleash more chaos. It appears as if the age of large conventional battles is finally over.

A good way of treating diseases is prevention – Prevention is always better than cure. The United States has developed a unique culture – a glorious civilization of its own. In the annals of history it will be remembered on the lines of the other great civilizations of the world. In many respects, the rest of the world sees it as an ideal nation and often despises it for this reason. So why shouldn’t this country set an example for others to follow?

Understanding the feelings of the people of other nations will go a long way in endearing itself to the world. Once it succeeds in winning the trust and confidence of people all over the world, there will not be any reason for a few individuals to incite the passions of the people. Terrorism itself will then be its greatest enemy. War has never brought peace in the world. A few tactful and positive measures are all that is needed to destroy terrorism. The whole world is watching.

Jay Mukherjee is a graduate student in electrical engineering. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].