Please, U.S., think wisely
First of all, please accept my deepest heartfelt condolences for the thousands of victims of the World Trade Center (WTC) attacks on Sept. 11. It is one of the most barbaric acts of terrorism that has ever happened. I think that most of the world understands your wish that justice will be done.
The United States has acted as the "police of the world", and I know that you can be proud of your nation's achievements. However, even in the American justice system, the police would require a search warrant to investigate the premises of those suspected to have links to the criminal suspect, and a warrant for the arrest of criminal suspects. The district attorney can obtain these warrants if he/she is able to provide enough evidence pointing to the suspect's involvement in the crime. Therefore, I think that you would set the same kind of standards when acting as the world police.
Although Osama bin Laden may have been involved in terrorist activities in the past, he has denied that he has anything to do with the World Trade Center attacks. The United States has also refused to offer proof of bin Laden's involvement.
Thousands, or perhaps even hundreds of thousands, of innocent Afghanistanis have sought refuge at the country's borders. Before you launch an air strike on Afghanistan, please do consider that the people of Afghanistan for the most part are innocent civil citizens who are powerless under the Taliban regime. If U.S. air strikes kill these innocent citizens, we will face an entirely different scenario. A world war will certainly be imminent, the people of several nations in the world will become more divided then ever and discrimination will increase.
If your goal is to end terrorism once and for all, think this through. If you launch a brutal air strike, you should also expect terrorism to return in even greater numbers.
Terrorism is the way of the oppressed to fight for their rights. The more oppressive the United States is perceived, the more terrorist activities you will see. So keep in mind that the air strikes you plan will only trigger an increase in terrorism worldwide. People would consider any brutal air strikes that kill thousands of innocent victims to be just as barbaric as the attack on the World Trade Center, as the difference would then be only slight. If terrorists are your target, why victimize innocent citizens?
In Indonesia, people in general do sympathize with the United States in seeking justice for the victims of the World Trade Center attacks. However, if you launch your air strikes on Afghanistan and kill thousands of the innocent, I am sure that public opinion will change, and it might even result in political instability in our country. Many other countries will face the same. If I have to beg for world peace, I will, and therefore I beg you now to consider the long-term and global ramifications of your plan to launch air strikes on Afghanistan. I hope that you will reconsider and find a wiser solution.
AMIR SIDHARTA
Jakarta