That is the most important thing to bear in mind in the present war against terrorism. First, the terroristic destruction of the World Trade Center took place exactly a month ago. It took the United States several weeks before they launched a military attack on military bases in Afghanistatn. This was because, first, they gathered proof that Osama bin Laden was the person responsible for the senseless attack on the World Trade Center. Second, they gave the Taliban time to voluntarily surrender Osama bin Laden.
Some Islamic elements are under the misconception that the United States is waging a war against Islam. This has no basis in fact. The war the US is waging is against an individual who happens to be of Islamic faith. But he, in no way, represents the Islamic faith.
This is also true of the Abu Sayyaf. It is not a war between Muslim Filipinos and Christian Filipinos. It is a conflict between a bandit group that engages in kidnapping foreigners and Filipinos for ransom and our Armed Forces. There is no religious dispute in question.
The free world has all the right, legal and moral, to go after international terrorists. Those responsible for the World Trade Center atrocity should be brought to justice. A nation that harbors terrorists is an accessory to the fact.
We don’t understand why some people feel that it is all right to commit terroristic acts like the senseless devastation of the World Trade Center, but wrong for the attacked nation to wage counter-attack on the person or group responsible and the nation that gives them safe refuge. That is a plain case of double standard of justice.
Among the Four Freedoms advocated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt were freedom of worship and the freedom from fear and want. Everyone respects the Islamic faith and even during the current war being waged against the Taliban for harboring terrorist Osama bin Laden, the US forces were dropping food and medicine for the Afghanistan refugees. Isn’t that a show of concern for the innocent victims of war?