Dear Arooj !

America has decided to take military action. President Bush asked Taliban to hand over Osama bin Laden and when Taliban refused to do that, the American Government decided to attack and bomb Afghanistan. It appeared as if at one stage Taliban were willing to discuss the future of Osama bin Laden with some international organization or representatives of the United Nations but President Bush did not agree. He said, “ I am not willing to negotiate. Osama bin Laden is evil. He is guilty. Taliban should hand him over to us.”  It appears as if America wants to be the crown prosecutor, the judge and the jury all at the same time. The world has not seen any convincing evidence to connect September 11th tragedy with Osama bin Laden. We all know that in the eyes of the law, every human being is innocent until proven guilty.

There is also a strong suspicion in the international community that America does not want Osama bin Laden to be tried in any international court because he might get a chance to expose America and prove that America played a major role in creating Taliban. Osama bin Laden might have some American secrets that America does not want the world to know. President Bush does not want skeletons to come out of the closet. Many believe America has mixed feelings about Osama bin Laden. On one hand America wants Osama dead to prevent the world from learning the whole truth, but on the other hand the American Government is also afraid that if Osama were killed, he might become a myth and a legend in the Muslim World.

There is a world-wide concern that military action in Afghanistan might create more problems than it would solve. Because of continuous bombing, there are millions of innocent Afghanis who are fleeing the country, as they do not want to see their children killed by the American bombers. There has already been an episode in which American plane miscalculated and bombed a village, killing and wounding hundreds of civilians. In this war the number of civilians dying is increasing every day. Soon there would be as many innocent Afghanis killed as there were innocent Americans who lost their lives in New York.

The military action in Afghanistan is making people wonder:

…What would happen to the Afghani refugees?

…Would thousands of them die in the bitter cold in the next few months?

…Who would rule Afghanistan after Taliban are gone?

…Are Northern Alliance people any better than Taliban?

…Would America leave her army in Afghanistan, the way she left her troops in Saudi Arabia after the Gulf War?

…If the terrorists of September11th tragedy were mostly Saudis, why did America  not take military action against Saudi Arabia?

Would an Afghan War create a bigger gulf between America and the Muslim World?

It appears as if America’s choice of a military rather than political solution to the terrorist crisis is raising some serious questions in people’s minds. Muslims all over the world are wondering, “ Who would be next to be bombed by the American war planes?”                                 Affectionately, Sohail Oct 10,2001