2008 Woodie Awards
Point Counterpoint
Should America's war on terror end with Osama Bin Laden's death?
David Leng & Alaina Doyel
Issue date: 9/27/06 Section: Opinion
David Leng
Hornet Staff Writer
As rumor of Bin Laden's death swirls around the world, many have appropriately asked if America's "War on Terror" should end as well. Its validity aside, Bin Laden's death should end the war no more than a first quarter touchdown would end the Super Bowl.
I recall the days immediately after 9/11, when America abruptly realized that confrontation with Islamic terrorism was unavoidable, and ordered the invasion of Afghanistan after deciding Bin Laden's Taliban would be the easier, and thus, first threat to neutralize. Then, there were no doubts about the necessity of our actions.
Remember the unbroken lines of airline passengers snaking through and out of the central terminal and waning onto the curbside at every scarcely busy airport in the country? Then, no one would have dared to fly with any less caution.
Then, we were bleeding. Now, we are cozy.
Every intellectually honest person would admit the war on terror was never the scavenging of one particular man or group. America's "War on Terror" is not peculiar to Bin Laden's existence and will only end after the threat of terrorism has ended.
Since Bin Laden's alleged death would have no inferable deterrence to the Iranian or Palestinian trained terrorists, it should also have no deterrence to our resolve in
continuing the fight for our survival.
So why do we speak of yielding? We are tired of reading about the endless roadside bombings in the news and the never-failing list of dead marines that follows. This is understandable.
We are heedless of our past bereavement and have indulged ourselves in five years of relative calm. That is self-deception.
Our safety since 9/11 is the product of induced restlessness on the part of terrorists and the incessant stalking of the former from our military.
As much as we would like to return to the days before all of this, we would be sane to admit we shall not in out lifetimes. But to pretend that we have restored the old lull, then instigate the withdrawal of the very military that have secured our precarious calm, would be insane.
Hornet Staff Writer
As rumor of Bin Laden's death swirls around the world, many have appropriately asked if America's "War on Terror" should end as well. Its validity aside, Bin Laden's death should end the war no more than a first quarter touchdown would end the Super Bowl.
I recall the days immediately after 9/11, when America abruptly realized that confrontation with Islamic terrorism was unavoidable, and ordered the invasion of Afghanistan after deciding Bin Laden's Taliban would be the easier, and thus, first threat to neutralize. Then, there were no doubts about the necessity of our actions.
Remember the unbroken lines of airline passengers snaking through and out of the central terminal and waning onto the curbside at every scarcely busy airport in the country? Then, no one would have dared to fly with any less caution.
Then, we were bleeding. Now, we are cozy.
Every intellectually honest person would admit the war on terror was never the scavenging of one particular man or group. America's "War on Terror" is not peculiar to Bin Laden's existence and will only end after the threat of terrorism has ended.
Since Bin Laden's alleged death would have no inferable deterrence to the Iranian or Palestinian trained terrorists, it should also have no deterrence to our resolve in
continuing the fight for our survival.
So why do we speak of yielding? We are tired of reading about the endless roadside bombings in the news and the never-failing list of dead marines that follows. This is understandable.
We are heedless of our past bereavement and have indulged ourselves in five years of relative calm. That is self-deception.
Our safety since 9/11 is the product of induced restlessness on the part of terrorists and the incessant stalking of the former from our military.
As much as we would like to return to the days before all of this, we would be sane to admit we shall not in out lifetimes. But to pretend that we have restored the old lull, then instigate the withdrawal of the very military that have secured our precarious calm, would be insane.
Be the first to comment on this story