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This is the logic of the people we are dealing with. This government, which has made itself a safe haven for terrorists that seek not only to destroy the U.S. but also for those who would overthrow other governments, including Russia, must be driven out of power. What are we going to do, call them and say, �Hey Taliban, would you please give up control of Afghanistan?� We are going to have to go in and take them out, they way we took out the Nazis. Nearly all Americans are a peace loving people. We are not a reactionary nation, and we do turn to diplomacy on almost every occasion. But when we are attacked at home, Americans also understand that the use of force to halt the aggressor is the only way to truly ensure our safety. �Peace through Strength� as President Reagan would often say.

Representative Barbara Lee of Oakland, CA was the only member of congress to vote against extending President Bush the power to retaliate for the Sept. 11 attacks. Her statement echoed the pacifist sentiment that violence is not the answer. And yet she, nor any pacifist that I have heard, have not offered up a legitimate alternative. That�s because they can�t, because there are no other legitimate ways to handle this. Suppose we took the course the pacifists would have us take, and turned the other cheek. By doing so, we would make ourselves even more vulnerable to the likes of Al Qaida and their ilk. Who knows, the next time the attack could involve a nuclear bomb in a suitcase, or vials of anthrax. The cost could be 100,000 lives instead of 7,000. We should sit around and wait for this? Perhaps that is the motive of some that call themselves pacifists. It�s a tempting thought to believe that perhaps some of these people support the terrorist�s agenda in wiping out the United States. The rest are either ignorant, naive, or cowards. Fear rules their day, but true Americans know that some things are worth standing up for.

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