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JUST THE FAQs
A Discussion of the War on Terrorism
By H. David Blalock
Before putting anything in writing, I wanted to allow the heat and shock of the moment to calm. Very little of significant usefulness comes from hasty reaction to trauma, and this is no exception.
In the days following the September 11th attacks, several questions presented themselves that each of us wanted answered. Unfortunately, we seldom listened long enough to hear the answers, as we were swept up into the drama of the developing war. It is time we made the effort to re-examine those questions and seek meaningful answers to them. We cannot expect to comprehend the consequences of our actions if we do not understand the depth of our choices.
The most pressing questions we asked were:
-- Who did this?
-- Why did they do this?
-- Will this happen again?
-- What can we do about this?
Each of these questions in turn prompt more inquiries. For example:
"Who did this?" infers the questions
-- "Who were the people who carried out the attacks?"
-- "Who were their superiors?"
-- "Who was their support, knowing and unknowing?"
"Why did they do this?" includes
-- "Was it an attack on America at large?"
-- "Was it a political statement against American policies?"
-- "Was it a religious statement?"
"Will this happen again?" leads to
-- "What kind of attack can we expect?"
-- "How often can we expect attack?"
-- "Who or what will be the next target?"
and "What can we do about this?" spawns a number of questions:
-- "Do we respond militarily?"
-- "Do we respond through diplomacy?"
-- "Do we target only terrorist organizations?"
-- "Do we target nations that support and sponsor terrorists?"
-- "Do we work unilaterally or with an international coalition?"
-- "When do we respond?"
-- "How long should we pursue our campaign?"
In this series of articles, we will examine each of the categorical questions indepth and attempt to find answers that solve the problem of coping with the changes that precipitated the questions. The title of this series, "Just the FAQs", defines how closely we need to follow common sense, how critical it is to maintain perspective. We cannot allow ourselves to be ruled solely by the emotional need to respond to the horror of 9/11. We need to step back, take a deep breath, examine the situation, and formulate a response that will have a lasting, definitive, and beneficial effect.
To solve a problem for good, you must not simply replace it with another problem.
NEXT:
JUST THE FAQs: "Who did this?"
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