Retribution?

I am going to start by warning you all that what I say here may very well be an unpopular opinion.

The events of 9/11 were horrific and almost inhuman. But consider this: Suppose for a moment that it was the Afghani's and Osama bin Laden who did this thing. Just suppose, because neither you nor I know for certain, and I am waiting for evidence before I point fingers.

A few years ago, we launched a dozen or more cruise missles at bin Laden's camp as "punishment". We did not kill him, but there was "collateral damage". That means, in the polite military jargon, that innocent men, women, and children were killed. Noncombatants. Mothers, sons, daughters, babies. Innocents. To us, they were mere numbers, sanitized by the military and the media. To us, they were thousands of miles away. To us - be honest - were they people? Whatever you thought then, they were no less innocent, and no less dead. And we - our country, our military, our government - killed them.

If it was indeed the Afghani's and/or bin Laden who did this to us, consider this: the events of 9/11 may have been payback for our missles.

This is the same payback people are demanding right now. I am not proposing that the perpetrators of this deed go unpunished. What I am saying is that if anyone is to be punished, if any retribution is to be exacted, then we must be excruciatingly careful to get it right. We must get the people responsible, and no one else. No "collateral damage". No bombing of villages, no killing of "a people", but rather justice meted to specific individuals.

If you want payback, I understand. But be very careful what you wish for. You may get it.

-Dan Klein

P.S. Reasoned responses will be answered, flames and rants will be ignored. I welcome an intelligent dialogue with any individuals who wish to pursue it. And in case this makes it further than this immediate list, know this: I lost at least one friend in WTC-I. I am an American, and proud to be one. I want to stay proud, and not be ashamed for any further "collateral damage".