Why I won't sign.

• Author: Shuman, Michael H.
• Position: Terrorism, United States - Brief Article

Like many progressives, I was besieged with various anti-war petitions between September 11 and October 7. I had two words of advice to my friends and colleagues on the left: Don't sign.

The central arguments, however well intentioned, were astonishingly misguided:

* We might start a war ... Excuse me? We were already in a war started by others. More than 5,000 Americans were killed in a surprise attack--twice the casualties at Pearl Harbor. And a network of thousands has declared that every man, woman, and child is a legitimate target. If this wasn't an act of war, what is?

* We're just reaping what we've sown ... Yes, America has angered many people worldwide--I'm one of them. Many of us have worked hard to change the nation's foreign policy, and I hope many more continue to do so. But no grievance justifies the fire bombing of the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, or the mass murder of innocent civilians. Terrorism must be condemned and stopped --immediately.

* Justice, not vengeance ... This is a hollow slogan. I'm all for rehabilitation of terrorists through peaceful means, just as I am for domestic criminals, but the prerequisite is capture. Now that the Taliban refuses to surrender those responsible, capture will require force. Force against those resisting arrest. And force against those offering terrorists comfort and hiding.

* Force never works ... I accept that there's a strong moral argument against violence. I respect pacifism and its adherents. But let's get real. History is not always on the side of angels. Force was necessary to remove Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo. Force enabled Tanzania to topple the neighboring madman in Uganda, Idi Amin. Force was essential for Israeli commandos to liberate an airliner from terrorists at Entebbe.

* America's use of force cannot be trusted ... Sorry, we're not always the bad guy. I can't excuse everything our nation has done. But I am proud of my dad's role in World War II, flying fifty missions against the Nazi oil refineries in Romania. And I applauded President Clinton's interventions in Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo because they helped remove atrocious human rights violators from power (though I wished the Administration had done more, sooner, and had intervened in Rwanda).

* The British and Russians learned that force cant work in Afghanistan ... History teaches only that conquest of Afghanistan cannot succeed. If our military objectives are limited, if they are led by a multinational...