other considerations (archive)

first off, every time i even think about these events and the pain and suffering of the victims and their loved ones who did not have the chance to say "goodbye," my heart literally aches. something obviously needs to be done, but what that is is not as crystal clear as people seem to argue. i'm not claiming to have all the answers in such a complicated issue, but we must consider the lives of those who are just as innocent as the victims in the recent attacks. recall the reports featured in shows such as dateline and 20/20 re: the oppression of women who are forced to live under the intolerant regime in countries like afghanistan. there are men, women, and children who are not necessarily supportive of the governments ruling the countries in which they happen to live. do they deserve to die as well? furthermore, we assume such countries have governments which value the lives of those who live under their rule - this may or may not be true. would killing these people send our intended message to other terrorists who do not even care about their own lives? the goals of retribution and deterrence are not necessarily being met...
this is obviously an extremely multi-faceted issue with no clear answers. i have heard supposedly educated people exclaim, "just bomb the whole middle east...nuke 'em," etc. are we willing to face the consequences of such actions for our generation and those that (hopefully) follow?

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