Editorial: Waging war on the terrorists

Monday, Oct. 8, 2001 | 9:21 a.m.

President Bush made it clear more than two weeks ago that the Taliban government would have to immediately hand over Osama bin Laden and dismantle the terrorist network it had allowed to flourish in Afghanistan. On Saturday the president repeated that time was running out, but the Taliban again refused to meet the president's demands. The president, confronted with the continued defiance, on Sunday ordered airstrikes against military targets and terrorist camps in Afghanistan. The Taliban and bin Laden now will have to contend with the world's greatest military force, which has the full support of a nation that is determined to see justice done.

Americans anxiously will await word on the success of the first airstrikes and follow-up military missions, but the people of this nation also will turn to see who will stand with us in this war against terrorism. "Every nation has a choice to make. In this conflict, there is no neutral ground," the president said Sunday in his televised address from the White House. "If any government sponsors the outlaws and killers of innocents, they have become outlaws and murderers themselves. And they will take that lonely path at their own peril." It's time for the fence-sitting nations, including many Arab nations, to let the United States know where they stand. Trying to dodge the issue becomes even more difficult for the Arab nations in light of Sunday's release of a videotape by bin Laden, in which he praises the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and all but takes cred it for them.

Bush reiterated Sunday that this is not a war against Islam, but a battle against terrorists who blasphemously have murdered in the name of religion. And in a clear demonstration that this also isn't a war against the Afghan people, the president ordered that U.S. military aircraft drop food and medicine to a country where people have been starving.

The atmosphere Sunday was eerie in how it resembled that of a decade ago during the last time the United States was at war. Network news anchors broke into regularly scheduled programs, alerting Americans to the bombing of a nation halfway around the world. Satellites brought us live coverage of the nation being bombed, with the same green-tinted "nightscope" cameras on CNN. Just like his father before him during the Gulf War, George W. Bush was called upon to reassure and lead a nation into a potentially dangerous conflict.

The Gulf War didn't last long and didn't produce heavy U.S. casualties. A repeat of the Gulf War assuredly won't happen in the war on terrorism, a battle that won't result in a win overnight. There also is the possibility of more terrorist strikes at home and abroad. This war will test America's resolve in a way that hasn't been seen for decades. Public opinion polls have shown that Americans to a remarkable degree understand that this war will take time, and they have indicated they have the patience for this endeavor.

The United States is a peaceful nation and doesn't go around looking to start a fight. But bin Laden, whose terrorist group launched the attacks that killed more than 6,000 people on the soil of our country, shouldn't mistake our peaceful ways for weakness. This nation has been awakened to the dangers of terrorism and is willing to do what it takes to snuff out this evil.