by Jim Wallis

Many of us in the religious community have deep concerns about the moral, practical and political consequences of the military campaign in Afghanistan. Causing the loss of additional innocent lives, however unintentionally, will undermine what should be our only goal: bringing terrorists to justice.

But the question is what to do now. People committed to nonviolence cannot simply wish away the problems. We must answer the questions that violence purports to answer: how to stop further terrorist violence and punish those responsible for the mass murder of innocent people -- but in a better way.

We can. It is not too late for the United States to return to the path of restraint that marked the first weeks of our response to the attacks. In those weeks we wisely built an international coalition against terrorism and developed a strategy to root out its sources through diplomatic, economic, political, intelligence and security means.

The most effective and morally defensible strategy now would be one focused clearly on feeding starving people, bringing the terrorists to justice and utilizing the rule of law and international forces. Several recent developments strengthen this approach.

First, the evidence against Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network has been broadly accepted internationally, including by most Arab and Muslim nations. Second, the United Nations has spoken unequivocally to the need to root out terrorism from every nation where it exists. And third, a broad international consensus against terrorist violence has emerged, even in places and nations where there is strong opposition to U.S. policies, especially in the Arab world.

All this must now be built upon. We are at a critical moral turning point between pursuing justice and waging a wider war. Our first step must be to commence a massive relief effort to save the people of Afghanistan. More than 3.5 million are on the verge of starvation, and protecting innocent life is the main reason we are fighting terrorism.

The United States should then redirect its campaign to the sources of terrorism's power and impact, which, after all, are not fundamentally military in nature. Our focus should be on cutting off the financial assets of the terrorists, heightening and coordinating domestic security, intensifying worldwide police and intelligence activity and using international law to convict, isolate and discredit the terrorists -- and then carefully targeting search and capture operations to find and stop them.

Such a focused campaign would not only be morally superior to an escalating U.S.-led war against the states that sponsor terrorism (with such a heavy cost to their people); it would also be far less dangerous and ultimately more effective in defeating the terrorist threat.

It is imperative to prevent the scenario of an expanding American war, increasing the danger of more terrorist attacks, prompting more escalation and thereby risking an unrelenting cycle of violence. We must seek the active participation of all nations, especially Islamic and Arab countries, in such an international campaign against terrorism, rather than simply their acquiescence in a military attack.

A strategy of justice rather than expanded military action may take more time. But the discipline, patience and perseverance to cripple the networks, assets and capabilities of violent terrorists is more likely to produce lasting results than are massive military strikes whose targets and consequences are unclear.

The writer is editor of Sojourners magazine and the convener of Call to Renewal, a national federation of churches and faith-based organizations working to overcome poverty.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company

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