Verbie posted comments from Tamim Ansari, an Afghan-American:

>What's actually on the table is Americans dying. And not just because some
>Americans would die fighting their way through Afghanistan to Bin
>Laden's hideout. It's much bigger than that folks. Because to get any
>troops to Afghanistan, we'd have to go through Pakistan. Would they let
>us? Not likely. The conquest of Pakistan would have to be first. Will
>other Muslim nations just stand by? You see where I'm going. We're
>flirting with a world war between Islam and the West.
>
>And guess what: that's Bin Laden's program. That's exactly what he
>wants.

When I read this, my blood ran cold.  It seems clear to me from events in
Belgium today (where a terrorist attack may have been barely averted) that
bin Laden is in fact trying to provoke the West into a massive war with the
Middle East and Eurasia.  With the number of Taliban in Pakistan, it is
very possible that bin Laden's real objective is to gain access to
Pakistan's nuclear weapons, and to simultaneously provoke a jihad against
the West.

Most of my ancestors came to New England in the 1630's seeking religious
freedom.  There are dozens of family members who served (and in some cases,
died) defending our freedoms in the American Revolution, the Civil War, and
in World Wars I and II.  I love America, and consider myself as patriotic
as anyone.  As a patriot and an American, I say this now:  We need to STOP
and THINK about what we are doing as a nation before engaging in any
military operation in Afghanistan, Pakistan or elsewhere.  Are we truly
ready to start the Third World War?  Or is there an alternative response?

Democracy works by debate and dissent.  We need it now more than ever.
What we don't need is blind jingoism.  Freedom of speech is not a slogan;
it must be exercised.

Thanks Verbie, for bringing this important letter to our attention.  Know
your enemy.









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Dr. Steven Bird
Director of Orchestras
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga