Three cheers for Bruce Shapiro for sounding a lone call to reason amidst the grief that is turning into vengefulness. I heartily agree that this is a wake-up call for the American people to take back our foreign policy from those who would use it to prop up dictatorships and corporate interests. I truly hope that we have the character to emerge from this tragedy a better nation, and not a more vindictive one.
-- Keshini Ladduwahetty
Thank you so much for Mr. Shapiro's article. It is frightening how much American hatred and xenophobia is lurking within our people. With the message from our leaders and the president that does not address healing, only retribution, the racists are hearing that it's o.k. to rant and promote unfettered bile.
I agree that increased surveillance powers for the FBI or a strike-hard act does not address the situation. The current rhetoric seems quaint and dangerously outdated. I long for a farsighted leadership that opines and strives for a solution that yes does not reduce "the responsibility of the perpetrators of this week's attack, or diminishes the need to bring the full force of domestic and international law to bear, but does find a way that does not keep us in a continual strike/revenge mode that obviously does not work and robs us of our loved ones.
Even the president's good vs. evil words simplify and trivialize this horror, the hate diatribe being posted and promoted by Americans is evil too.
-- Charlene Abrahamson
I was completely devastated by the crashes yesterday. I felt helpless. I can only hope that our government will take swift action to resolve this issue as soon as the party responsible is unmasked. As I sat in my living room glued to the television, I thought of all the families whose lives have been affected by this horrible act of terrorism. All the mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, friends and coworkers who went to work that day, unknowing their lives would come to an end later that morning.
I can only express my heartfelt sorrow to those families who have been ripped apart by this senseless tragedy, and pray that the Bush administration will bring those responsible to justice. As for the Palestinians cheering and throwing candy, celebrating the deaths of innocent Americans, I think our government must hold them accountable as well. Thank God for all of the privileges we are afforded as Americans, and pray that this will never happen again.
-- Jessica
Bruce Shapiro must be the biggest bleeding heart left on the planet. After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, only one member of Congress voted against the declaration or war. I do not doubt he would have been with that lone misguided person if he had been there too. The country is well past dirty tricks or small punitive bombing missions which the author is right in saying will only breed more enemies. We are engaged now in a war and we must persecute it to the fullest with only the unconditional surrender of our enemies as its objective. German and Japanese children do not grow up to bomb our buildings even though we crushed both countries utterly in WWII. Countries where anti-American sentiment is this vile must be destroyed completely.
-- Lawrence Liao
Leave it to David Horowitz to use the bodies of other people as his soapbox. Which is natural, because other people's lives mean nothing to his infantile ego. Of course, if he could demonstrate how National Missile Defense would have protected the country yesterday, our admit that if America is "soft" than that softness extends, in exponential amounts, to the presumably conservative super-patriots who staff the FBI and CIA, then I would gladly take back my words. Good luck to us all.
-- George Grella
We have now found the cars filled with fight manuals in Arabic. We have identified the terrorists responsible for this so-called war. Israel gave up land that they gained with their blood when the Arabs attacked them in the hopes of peace. They did everything they promised and the Palestinians have done as little as possible. Now the Palestinians say it's about Jerusalem. Should we give them a city that is holy to three religions so that they can destroy the holy sites just as they did Joseph's tomb. The Palestinian people danced in the street and cheered!! This picture was definitely worth a thousand words to me! I want them out of my country and if you are an American who is plotting against this country then you should be executed for treason. Let them take their misogyny and violence back to their home countries.
-- Crystal
As usual, Jake Tapper had to strike out against our president by calling him our "communication-challenged" President.
While I had no problem understanding Tapper's attempt to communicate with the unfortunate folks like myself, who read this piece of trash, I find it much easier to understand this presidents' communications and goals.
Tapper's point is easy to understand: Trash the opposition. It's too obvious that name calling and lies are your only weapon. It's hard for them to support their cause by telling the truth.
Tapper's attempt at making the President out to be a coward by not flying back to DC right away just shows how much of a idiot he is. Jake, why don't you really reach out and be a snake in the grass and connect up with bin Laden like a couple of other brave journalists have done and then "bravely" go to jail to protect your sources?
-- Steven
I am a government teacher at Sandpoint High School in North Idaho. I fail to understand why we can't unleash our military on the people who are responsible. We talk about economic sanctions and, charging these people with war crimes. What about the crime against humanity? The people who were killed were not servicemen -- they were everyday innocent civilians. I feel we should retaliate in the same manner. MAKE AFGHANISTAN A CRATER!!! They cheer and revel in our pain. Men, women and children it should not matter. They hide this man (bin Laden) they should all be held accountable. Then maybe other countries would think twice about attacking the most powerful nation in the world!
-- Matt Perry