So, what should President Bush do now? I cannot see how terrorism can be destroyed by carrying on using the same methods of fighting our enemies as before. I am British and as Prime Minister Blair is now using the same martial language as the USA, and as British citizens were killed on that dreadful day, it is now ‘my fight'.

Apparently, war has been declared, not on a particular nation, but on a particular ‘new evil’. Well, there’s an oxymoron for a start; evil, or the nature of evil, is not new.

What about the evil of terrorism? Our leaders seem to think that to root out terrorism they have to find the geographical location of it, and then threaten that state or country with near extinction so that the ‘evil terrorists’ will be turned over to justice and that will be the end of terrorism.

I suggest that this is as impossible as trying to find ‘terror’ itself on the map of the globe.

We know it would be ridiculous to attempt to do so because we know that terror exists in the realm of human emotion. If we are terrified we have to conquer that situation internally; we have to fight it with our hearts, our minds, our spirits, not external weaponry.

I believe the battle against terrorism has to be fought in the same way.

I heard US Vice-Pres. Dick Cheney saying that terrorist groups cannot function without the support of states providing finance and a certain amount of security and shelter. He believes therefore that to deprive terrorists of those things through destroying or crippling the relevant infra-structures of those states will rob them of their power.

Surely, the very opposite is true!

These people are not empowered by money or protection or other resources. Rather, they are fueled by a smoldering, age-old resentment fanned by contemporary political/military actions into a blazing hatred so strong that some are willing to be consumed in the resulting and all too often literal flames.

So, what to do about it? Is there a solution? Well, here’s a little quiz for you.

Fill in the blank space in this well known phrase:

" ---- conquers all. "

Is the answer

(a) Bombing

(b) Starvation

(c) Political Maneuvering

(d) Saber Rattling

or

(e) …well you knew it all along didn’t you?

Here’s another one:

" ---- your enemy "

Is the answer

(a) Kill

(b) Impoverish

(c) Pulverize

(d) …..you’re right again of course.

Easy to answer but VERY hard to do, right?

Hard, but not impossible. And there are ways to do it in this instance.

As many of you may know, there are up to a million people in Afghanistan at or near starvation level. Afghani parents are burying their children every day. There may be similar situations in every other state suspected of harboring terrorists. Are our leaders seriously considering compounding their miseries by firing missiles at their already wretched lands? Do the allied nations expect to be regarded as righteous warriors defending justice and the sacred flag of ‘democracy’? What will be the more likely response?

You already know the answer to that one too.

But what if…?

What if those US led planes, as they flew over those parched and famine-ridden farmlands, brought life not death?

What if the bellies of those planes emptied themselves of grain to fill the bellies of the dying children below?

What if the billions of dollars that may be spent on ordnance were spent on aid?

What if the US could change it’s image from that of the Great Satan to the Great Savior?

What if, by showing love and forgiveness, the people of America and the democratic world could inspire those same qualities in the hearts of their suspected adversaries?

Would a nation so showered in benevolence wish to harbor that hatred which is expressed in the form of terrorism any longer? Could any people withstand a sustained assault on the stronghold of their pain and grievance in such a manner?

Surely, anyone with any belief in humanity, with any hope for the future, and with any faith in the power of goodness must agree that they would be defenseless against this Ultimate Weapon. And as they opened their hearts they could no longer conceal within their bosom those international criminals who, without question, should face the consequences of their evil actions.

Of course, some will say this is naïve in the extreme. Well, let them say it. I am not addressing them. Let them find comfort and security in their well-rehearsed cynicism. I am talking to all the multitudes who have offered fervent, desperate prayers in the past days and will continue to do so in the weeks and months to come. I say to them, wouldn’t the strategy I’ve just described be the strategy of the One to Whom they have been praying? Hasn’t this been exemplified in the lives of the Messengers He has sent to us?

More crucially, and more nervously I have to say, I am calling out to the families of the victims of this awful event. If there is any one of you who feels that such a campaign would be a more fitting memorial to your lost loved ones, please let your voice be heard. I ask you because the writer could understandably be accused of an unsympathetic high-mindedness. However, I’m proceeding this way because I have a strong conviction that many of your number will feel as I do.

Yes, the world changed on Tuesday 11th September 2001. There are more than 5,000 reasons why we should make sure it’s a change for the better. After all, as President Bush tearfully said, thinking about the dead and newly-orphaned children.. "I’m a loving kind of guy…". Let’s give him a mandate to express that Love and be the Strongest, Greatest political leader the world has ever seen and to lead the world into a new era of peace.

Send Blessings Not Bombs, Manna Not Missiles.

 Download entire page and pages related to it in ZIP format
Table of Contents
Information
Tparents Home