THE YEAR 2001 WILL SOON BE HISTORY
A Commentary
by Bill Weber

In January 2001, George W. Bush Was inaugurated Our 43rd President.
On September 11th 2001 New York Twin Towers Brought Down By American Airline Planes Highjacked By Terrorist and Used As Ballistic Missiles, Killing over 3,000 in the Towers as well as 180 in the Pentagon in Washington, and one plane that was brought down in a medow in Pensylvina by passengers who attacked the terrorist on the plane causing it to crash killing all passengers and crew aboard. Shortly thereafter, President Bush declared a State Of War on Terrorism.

On October 7th, deciding that the person responsible, Osamen bin Laden was in Afghanistan, our military planes invaded and began bombing the nation of Afhghanistan. Let us remember that Mr.bin Laden was a resident of that nation. Not the ruler of the nation, not a part of the government of that nation. Yet our bombs have and are still falling on that nation to day as I write this. Thousands of Afthghanistan have been killed, people forced to flee without food or shelter and the objective of our bombing Mr. Bin Laden has still not been located.

Besides the Military approach, the President urged all nations to freeze a list of bank accounts of terrorist that he and his administration had drawn up. Congress granted the President almost unlimited powers to pursue Mr. bin Laden and his terrorist cells. New laws were written that gave the judicial dept. under John Askroft, powers to round up suspected terrorist and hold them without trial or counsel, to wire tape, to invade private property without warrant and confisticate or put surveillance on equipment property without permission, also to set up military tribunals to try suspected terrorits.in military tribunal courts. The year is ending but according to President Bush and his defense Secretary Donald Rumsefeld. This is just the beginning of a war that could go on and on. President Bush saying "No matter the length of time of the cost we will get Mr. Bin Laden.

It is estimated that the present war is costing at least a billion dollars a month to our nation besides the tremendous cost to nations we have or will go to next to carry out the wishes of the President and company.

Perhaps, now at the beginning of this New Year, The United Nations should call in all the Nations that President Bush feels are a threat to America and the World and all sit down and see if they cannot work out some solution wereby the safty and fear of terrorism is eliminated. Sure it is gamble and it may not work but at least we should give Peace as much of a try as we do War. If we can persuade our Government leaders to offer an Olive branch maybe other governments would also cooperate.
The alternative is a long and costly war that cannot and will not eliminate the world of terrrorism, rather it will only bred more terrorism.

SO AS THIS NEW YEAR BEGINS LET US ALL THINK POSITIVE AS TO WHAT WE
AS A NATION CAN DO TO MAKE THIS YEAR THE BEGINING OF PEACE AND BROTHERHOOD
AMONG ALL PEOPLES AND ALL NATIONS.

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