We have been hearing a lot lately, both on this forum and on the news, about the U.S. restraining itself so that innocent people are not harmed. This is a goal with which I agree. I do think, however, that we need to take a moment and consider who is innocent and who is not.


If, hypothetically, we were to discover that those responsible for these events were actually a right-wing group based in the US, would bin Laden then be considered an innocent person? Would anyone who works with bin Laden be innocent? Would anyone who helps to conceal his activities be innocent? Would anyone who knows his whereabouts and his contacts, yet chooses not to interfere be innocent? Now consider all those questions in relation to any other terrorist organization you can think of, and then think about them again, this time supposing that bin Laden is shown to be responsible for 9/11. Did any of your answers change? Why should they change?


I don't advocate killing every person who falls under one of the categories listed above, though I do advocate killing some of them, imprisoning many of them, and suitably punishing the rest. This would include removing from power the leaders of any country which has aided terrorists. How can we do any less?