Bombing the hell out of Afghanistan will have these results:

1. The world will have further reason to think of us as bullies 2. We will kill or injure masses of innocent people 3. There is a good chance Osama will escape anyway 4. We will still have Saddam Hussein and the other terrorist groups to deal with and they'll be angrier than ever 5. We could very easily get locked into another long, resource-draining land war that we can never win 6. Osama's great grandchildren will still be sneaking bombs into the US trying to kill our great grandchildren 7. We could spend billions without significantly altering the situation

Here's what we should do instead: Send all our cargo and transport planes over Afghanistan and drop massive amounts of food, clothing, and medical supplies. The results of this action would be:

1. The world will begin to perceive us as a superpower that doesn't need to brandish its armaments 2. We will be seen as a force for good in the world 3. Our friends will like us more and our enemies will hate us less 4. Osama's support will erode 5. We can finally move past the million year old "You hit me, I hit you back" code 6. We would spend billions less than a land and air war would cost us 7. We could take a huge first step toward building the world of peace and prosperity we want for our children

--Charles W. Manley Reno, NV

Return to Idea Bank