But the effectiveness of such a struggle will forever be in doubt as long as the discriminate use of the label terrorism is perpetuated by the leading nations of the world. Most would agree that terrorism is the targeting of civilians and infrastructure with acts of violence and destruction. This is a question that would never be discussed during the non-stop media coverage of the recent attacks in New York and Washington. If Secretary Powell, President Bush and others wish to condemn terrorism and offer true hope for the future of humanity, now is the time to condemn terrorism wholeheartedly , in all its forms. Anyone who possesses a bit of humanity can take a step back and look at the big picture and see that there is no difference between terrorism sponsored by individuals and fanatical groups without official status as nations and the variety carried out on a large scale basis by established governments firmly entrenched in the world order.
Civilian deaths are civilian deaths.
They are tragic, horrible and unacceptable no matter what the nationality of the citizen, no matter the political purpose behind the act. It is more than ironic to hear Secretary Powell, the overseer of a campaign in Iraq that saw 200,000 Iraqis die, denounce people who feel that with the destruction of buildings, with the murder of people, they can somehow achieve a political purpose. It is an affront to our humanity. When Powell sent missiles into Iraq to destroy buildings and achieve his political purpose, he merely referred to the indiscriminate deaths of civilians as collateral damage. If one is truly against terror, there can be no difference between ten Israelis dying at the hands of a car bomb and twenty Palestinians dying at the hands of a plane bomb dropped near their homes by an occupying army.