by Daniel Cook-Huffman

With most polls showing that well over 80% of Americans support thebombing in Afghanistan, I recognize that my position is indeed notpopular. Nonetheless, I am obliged by my conscience to oppose thisaction.

Clearly the work of the terrorists on September 11, 2001 was shockingand horrific and whoever is responsible should be brought to justice. I have always believed, however, that the pursuit and capture ofmurderous criminals should be accomplished with the least amount ofviolence possible. We Americans rely on that principle every day incities and towns across our nation. We generally do not accept thebombing of an entire building or city, and the death of scores ofinnocent persons, in the pursuit of a criminal. Fortunately, our lawenforcement professionals do not have policies that allow for that typeof "overkill" either. The incidents at the MOVE house in Philadelphiaand at the Koresh Compound in Waco are two exceptions where lawenforcement did use massive force to capture a wanted person orpersons. In both cases, massive property damage and the death of manyinnocent men, women, and children were the result. Most people havecome to see both of those events as examples of law enforcementoverstepping its reach and failing to be patient and creative in theireffort.

Could we not have been more patient, developed better intelligence aboutBin Laden's whereabouts, and then sent in a massive "SWAT-like" team ofmilitary commandos to capture him? It seems we should have at leasttried something along these lines before we just went in and startedtearing a country apart.

Relief agencies are announcing, with increasing alarm, that millions ofAfghan men, women, and children are at extreme risk of dying ofstarvation and exposure in the coming weeks of winter. Many of them areliving in refugee camps along the borders with Iran and Pakistan, wherethey have fled to escape the bombing campaign. Many others who havestayed in Afghanistan do not have adequate shelter, food supplies, andclean water. The bombs have caused this situation. Isn't it at leastour responsibility to do as much for these persons as we're doing to tryto capture Bin Laden? Sure the U.S. government is making a contributionto this effort. But relief agencies on the ground say the need is muchgreater than what the U.S. government is offering. We Americans ARE theU.S. government and the bombs being dropped are paid for by our taxdollars. That makes us responsible. Should we not, at least, bepressing our elected officials to also spend a sufficient amount of ourmoney in bringing aid to the Afghan people who are as innocent, and inequally great need, as the persons whose lives were shattered in NewYork, Washington, and Pennsylvania on September 11th?

George Bush recognized this need, when he encouraged America's childrento contribute a dollar to help Afghan children who are affected by thewar. The need, however, is much greater. There are two things everyU.S. citizen could do to help. First, contact your U.S. Representativeand Senators and ask them to do more to aid the innocent Afghan people. Secondly, you can make direct contributions of money, food, andblankets, to one of the non-governmental relief operations. Detailedinformation about how to do this can be found at the websites of theAmerican Friends Service Committee (www.afsc.org/mediarel.htm) and theMennonite Central Committee (www.mennonitecc.ca).

Daniel Cook-Huffman is Assistant Dean of Students at Juniata College inPennsylvania. He has taught Peace and Conflict Studies courses at PennState University, Haverford College and Colgate University. He isworking on a doctoral degree in Social Sciences at the Maxwell School ofCitizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University and resides with hiswife and two children in Central Pennsylvania.

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