Letter: U.S. must rub out mindset of terrorists

Thursday, Sept. 20, 2001 | 9:09 a.m.

I consider the events of the World Trade Center and try to encompass this tragedy in my mind. I realize that I have gone from a desire for revenge to thinking that the means and mindset that allowed such a thing to happen should be forever eliminated.

I listen to the voice of a leader in a far-off land, and the ignorance in his words is stunning. I had thought that a certain amount of such ignorance and isolationist behavior is to be expected and tolerated, but it is now clear that such places are the friend and harbor of terrorism. These places should be forever eliminated.

I see the devastation and carnage and the Holocaust comes to mind. In a way I gain a small understanding of the feeling and grief of those who lived during that time and lost loved ones. Their common rallying cry echoing down to me takes on a stronger, deeper meaning: Never again.

STEVEN SMITH

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