As I sit here in total awe and sadness, watching America’s national media coverage of the war like attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., I have no words to describe this atrocity committed upon America on Sept. 11, 2001. This date has significant meaning to our friends in the Middle East. Sept. 11, 2001, is the anniversary of the Camp David Treaty between Israel and Palestine. To many Americans, Sept. 11, was a day like any other day. It held no significance in our lives or our loved ones’. But across the ocean lay a land of embittered rivals who view this day as a day the United States outstretched a hand for peace between people who have been at war for hundreds of years.
Unfortunately for the Arab countries currently caught up in the current conflict over the `Holy Land’ of Jerusalem, after the Camp David Treaty was signed we abandoned the Middle East and left them on their own. Technically we did not leave all parties alone to put this agreement into action. We continued to fund Israel and support Israel’s actions. We supported Israel even when its citizens assassinated a Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) leader, in direct conflict with United Nations (UN) laws. We continued our support for them when they began bombarding Palestinian cities with mortars. If this were to happen to an American ally it would be seen as an act of war. Still, we supported Israel when she refused to meet with PLO leaders and continued the blood bath in the Middle East.
It is reasonable to think that many neighboring countries in the Middle East are upset with the United States for their current inaction to solve the problem. Many countries including our friends in Saudi Arabia and Egypt have called for action on behalf of the United States in regard to the military action between Israel and the PLO.
I bring this up because on the morning of the bombings a few Palestinians celebrated this act by parading in the streets of Palestine and the West Bank. Neighboring Arab countries made statements to the accord of, “it is time for the United States to change its tune in regards to the current conflict in Israel.” The Middle East community is not happy with the United States. Should the United States have known about this attack or of its overwhelming potential on such a momentous day for the Arab community?
It is impossible to declare war on a group of individuals who are not a nation state and declare no such sovereignty over a land. These groups are built on secrecy and terror both of which were used on this devastating day, September 11, 2001. Our government leaders called for action when interviewed by the media. But, if it is their intent to solve this attack the same way they have in the past, by bombing sites in Afghanistan and targeting Osama bin Laden, I would rather they save the money and use it to repay the families of the slain.
The silver lining of Sept. 11, is the fortitude that shines in every conflict Americans are involved. It is said that humans love and need adversity. Americans thrive on struggle and adversity, and they prove to the world that we cannot be stopped and that we are a people of invincible resilience. The individuals of New York’s fire departments, police departments, health care providers, crisis management officers and citizens acted gallantly with heart and honor. The same way, that we, The United States of America should respond to this viscous attack on the marrow of America.
In closing, I ask that we all stop for a moment and pray in whatever form our religion asks, for the injured, the families, friends, workers, politicians and the perpetrators of this atrocious act.
We will survive. We will go on. We will get even stronger.
Josh Campbell is a senior studying political science and communication.
