As the military campaign against the Al Qaeda terrorist network and the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan continues, it becomes important to determine whether the military campaign should carry on during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield have stressed that our military action will take time. Certainly, it will still be going strong when Ramadan begins on Nov. 17.
If American military objectives have not been fulfilled when Ramadan comes, the U.S. and its allies should continue to carry out the current campaign through the Muslim holy month.
The operation underway is not merely a series of isolated attacks. Our president does not subscribe to the “Missile Diplomacy” his predecessor used so frequently with little effect. Instead of launching limited missile attacks or even bombing runs, the U.S. is committed to defending itself in more effective ways against an enemy terrorist organization, and the regime that supports and harbors it. Al Qaeda, through its leader Osama bin Laden, is prosecuting a pernicious war in which no targets are too sacrosanct and no methods too vile. To counter such an enemy, the U.S. must respond decisively. Each day we delay Osama bin Laden’s reckoning, is another day American lives are unduly put at risk.
As for our enemy, we know he will show little concern for Ramadan. By intentionally killing innocent men, women and children, Osama bin Laden has defiled the religion for which he claims to be fighting. Religious respect did not deter Iraq and Iran from fighting during this period, nor did it deter Egypt, Syria and Jordan from launching the Ramadan War. Haven’t heard of the Ramadan War? It’s a commonly used synonym for the Yom Kippur War of 1973.
As a reminder, in the past, many Arab countries have been unconcerned about fighting during Ramadan, or on the holy day of another religion. The U.S. should be and has been careful to differentiate between the followers of Osama bin Laden and the adherents to one of the world’s great religions. Those who claim to fight for Islam but desecrate its central tenets cannot be permitted to use Islam to hide their malignant goals. By ceasing bombing during Ramadan, we blur the critical distinction between violent extremists and practitioners of a peaceful faith.
Unfortunately, in deciding to press forward with our campaign, the U.S. will likely offend many Afghans, who, while opposed to bin Laden, desire peace for religious observance. Yet it was not the U.S. who put them in danger. Even now, the U.S. is taking unprecedented precautions to insure absolute minimums of innocent civilians are injured in the hunt for bin Laden.
Our goal in Afghanistan is not hegemonic; rather, we seek to eliminate a serious hazard to our lives and freedoms. We stand against the oppressive Taliban regime, but with people of Afghanistan who live under their rule. We understand their fear, and we sympathize with their suffering. So while we will continue to supply humanitarian aid to this war-torn land, we must also realize the best way to remove the threat Airterrorism poses to America, and to remove the yoke of repression from Afghans, is to judiciously and swiftly engage our common enemy.
(i)Kevin CarmodyThe Dartmouth (Dartmouth College)(/i)
