While Kevin's comments may not have been in the best of taste, they are not completely pointless. I would rather have some reminders that we need to have free, public debate and openness. We cannot allow some cowards using fanatical devotion to a gross descration of a peaceful religion as a cover to take away our right to express our concern about the extent and tenor of our nation's response to this tragedy. I am not arguing that no action should be taken: however, I think that calling the coming military operations a "war" or a "crusade" gives everyone the wrong idea of its nature, and could lead to rhetoric which some will misconstrue as a license for further ethnically-motivated attacks in the United States. I would also argue that while we need to promote our principles, we also need to take a look at how our actions, particularly of late, may have ticked off a lot of people. We shouldn't necessarily abandon our national aspirations or principles as a result of this attack. However, we should reflect on the question of whether we are promoting them correctly or not. Above all, we need to know that when our response does begin, it will be directed not against an entire nation, but only against those responsible, and any leadership which condoned such behavior: we must try as much as possible to minimize the impact on civilian life. This is not to say we must not kill any civilians in the process: instead we must carefully select targets that are of clear strategic importance. If we intentionally bomb thousands of innocent civilians in an attempt to flush out a few individuals, what stops us from going even further? Perhaps these aren't popular attitudes, but I think now, of all times, we need to respect other people's right to say what they want. We cannot trade our right to self-expression for any cost, including our security. --AEI
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