"It is clear that the future of freedom and peace depend on the actions of America. This nation is freedom's home, and freedom's defender. We welcome this charge of history, and we are keeping it. The War on terror continues. The enemies of freedom are not idle, and neither are we. This country will not rest, we will not stop, we will not tire, until this danger to civilization is removed." - George W. Bush, Westin Convention Center Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (12/2/03)

"The evil ones have roused a mighty nation, a mighty land. And for however long it takes, I am determined that we will prevail. And prevail we must, because we fight for one thing, and that is the freedom of our people, and the freedom of people everywhere." - George W. Bush, Veterans Day Prayer Breakfast (11/11/01)

Let us start in the beginning. Americans were caught off guard by the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. A total of 3,021 innocent people were killed on 9/11 as a result of 19 men who hijacked and crashed four U.S. commercial airliners. Our response was unanimous: We had to get even. The "evildoers," President Bush told us, were led by Osama Bin Laden and his small group of "freedom haters" called Al Qaeda. He, and they, lived in Afghan caves. We would bomb those caves, he promised, until America was safe again. President Bush proclaimed that the "War on Terror" had begun. He claimed that the road to victory in the "War on Terror" would not be easy, but in the end, "freedom-loving democratic people everywhere will prevail over evil."

At first when my president tells me this, I feel safer. I feel stronger. I feel assured we are in the right, they are in the wrong, and no doubt should ever cross my mind. However, there should be doubt, because life without doubt is certain death.

The war in Afghanistan in retrospect did not successfully act as retribution for the 9/11 attacks. Nearly all the terrorist training camps for Al Qaeda and other extremist groups were in Pakistan. General Musharraf, our new "ally," was anti-American and pro-Taliban. Invading Afghanistan to prevent future terrorist activity never made sense because of the 19 hijackers, 15 were from Saudi Arabia and the other four were from Egypt, Lebanon and The United Arab Emirates.

"Bombing people back to the stone age" might be the answer, but you would have to bomb the right countries; Afghanistan and Iraq are not them. Also, once again, where in the world is Osama Bin Laden? Almost three years have passed and President Bush is still waiting for U.S. troops to find him in Afghanistan. Sorry, he is not there.

Questions must be asked: Who are they? Why do they hate us? How do we fight them? How do we win the "War on Terror"? When will the "War on Terror" end, and when will the killing on both sides stop?

This is reality, and not a galaxy far, far away. In reality, people, regardless of gender, race, religion, or age, all want the same thing: to live a prosperous and fulfilling life. The conflict between neighbors is when individuals begin defining "prosperous" and "fulfilling," and by what means they take to achieve them. Some want and need more than others. How much of the global economic pie does America consume? How much does the Middle East consume? It is not proportional, so arguments have risen.

The first step to ending terrorism is to acknowledge that terrorism is a prominent world issue. Al Qaeda and other extremist groups were responsible for the bombings on the World Trade Center in 1993, U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and on the U.S.S. Cole. However, pre-dating 9/11, there still was never any serious discussion of America taking action in the Muslim world among our politicians and journalists. That was before Osama Bin Laden decided to launch a big-budget, theatrical assault not even the most reclusive American could ignore. Rest in peace the victims of 9/11.

The second step is to find out what they want and why they are doing this. President Bush says they are doing this because they "hate freedom," and are "evil, cold-blooded killers." If this was true, then there is not much to talk about. Let us get Batman and the rest of JLA on the red phone and tell them to get that portal to hell sealed up so the "evil, cold-blooded killers" stop coming out.

The truth is, Muslims around the world have watched in anger and despair as hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died, first in the Gulf War and later as the result of U.S.-imposed trade sanctions. They are even more appalled by the endless carnage in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the great meat-grinder that has claimed a grossly disproportionate number of Islamic Palestinians.

The U.S. gives $3 billion dollars in military aid to Israel each year. There is no hiding this. The Muslim world and the Palestinians are fully aware, and this is where the anti-American feelings originated and burn the brightest still to this day. Every time a Palestinian doctor in the West Bank pulls a bullet out of an innocent child, that bullet might as well say on the side, "Made in the U.S.A." After 50 years of this one-sided favoritism (because Israel is a "freedom loving democracy" and Palestine is not), any peace-loving Muslim would break down and sympathize with desperation.

When these extremist groups make demands, we must listen to them and not dismiss them with rants of "cave-dwelling freedom-haters." When Bin Laden says he wants America to remove our military bases from the Arabian Peninsula, drop trade sanctions against Iraq, stop arming Israel, and to quit supporting the corrupt Saudi Royal family, believe it: That is exactly what he wants. When he says Americans are insensitive and ignorant toward Islamic traditions and customs, maybe we should take the time to learn the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite. When he says America needs to stop intervening in regional issues and blatantly choosing sides (the Iran/Iraq war, and then the Iraq/Kuwait war), maybe we should let the region settle their own issues or let other Arabic-speaking countries step up to a leadership role to settle regional disputes.

Most Islamic extremists (terrorists) do not hate democracy. Almost all of these men have wives and children. Most often lead bland lives with day jobs, and they do not consider themselves terrorists. If anything, when we call them "terrorists" it only strengthens their resolve and their belief that America does not get it. These ordinary people resort to violence because they do not have freedom of speech. They do not have elected representatives. There is no one they can address an angry letter to. Palestinians are killing themselves to get attention because they have been waiting for Israeli troops to end their military occupation for over 50 years. They have passed the point of civil disobedience.

This is not meant to encourage universal pacifism. Military action is necessary to defend a nation's borders and the borders of their allies from invaders. However, the current plan to just bomb, capture, or kill everyone who hates America will not work. Unofficial estimates place the Al Qaeda network with more than 40,000 members all across the globe. Tracking down and killing every one would not accomplish anything because each individual can easily be replaced.

So how does America stop them? We might begin by addressing their demands. Begin by calling these "evildoers" real people, who have real problems. It is not being suggested that we cave-in outright, but talking about them and talking to them as real people would dissipate most of the broad-based Muslim support for these extremist groups. Next we should withdraw our support for the corrupt Saudi dictatorship. This support makes us look hypocritical about being "pro-democracy," and instead makes us appear like we promote and condone oppression whenever it suits our business interests best.

Foremost, it comes back to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. America needs to stop bankrolling the Israel military--which occupies and indiscriminately terrorizes nearly three million innocent Palestinians. America should force Israel to withdraw from the occupied territory of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and then two separate democratic nations have to be formed. Finally, we, as a nation, must look past the events of 9/11 and never use it as justification for invading sovereign nations--or killing people we think deserve it. We must know that the difference between justice and vengeance is self-restraint and rational thought.