Illustration by Josh Hagler

Thursday November 1, 2001

A spokesman for the Afghanistan opposition northern alliance yesterday reversed the opinion that the northern alliance previously held concerning military actions during Ramadan, the Muslim Holy Month. The northern alliance urged the United States to continue military campaigns during Ramadan, which starts Nov. 17.

Some Muslim and Arab groups have pressured U.S. officials to stop the bombing of terrorist targets in Afghanistan during Ramadan. And as recently as last week, the northern alliance urged the United States to complete its military actions before the start of Ramadan. However, now the northern alliance claims the Taliban has always violated Ramadan and the northern alliance "certainly plans to engage (the Taliban) during the month of Ramadan."

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and one of the five pillars of the Muslim religion. From dawn to dusk, Muslims do not eat or drink. It is an important time for believers to reflect on the meaning of their religion and its role in their lives. It is also common for Muslims to go to a masjid (mosque) and spend several hours praying and studying the Quran.

Many believe that if the United States continues to bomb during Ramadan, we seem insensitive to Muslim beliefs, while others argue that war does not stop for anything, even holy holidays.

A decision must be made between respecting Muslim beliefs during their most holy time of the year and continuing a strategy through the winter to remove the Taliban regime.

No turkey 'til sundown

I find it ironic to think that a religious holiday would stop battles when religion is in fact the cause of most wars.

Putting that aside, perhaps we could halt the war in order to hold a talk. I know, I know, it is hard to imagine bringing two sides together in a neutral environment to debate things out, but let's stretch our tolerance to imagine.

So when Nov. 17, the start of Ramadan, comes around, it could indicate a mutual ceasefire. Representatives of all stakeholders in the conflict could then meet, let's say, in Antarctica. That seems pretty neutral.

Now, the rules of the discussion: No one is allowed to interrupt when another is speaking - no matter how angry anyone appears to be. No weapons allowed. We will have a secretary checking all war equipment and securing it in private cubbyholes.

While talks between all parties bring understanding to the situation, we could have a compromise between Thanksgiving and Ramadan. Umm · that's right. No turkey until sundown.

I am not going to fathom what kind of compromise would happen. Perhaps a solution is to take the U.S. military out of the holy Mecca region in an exchange for a promise not to fly planes into tall buildings, or how about designing a way to divvy up the oil reserves based on need, rather than greed or force?

Bringing reality back into the picture, I will offer my ignorant suggestion. If the war cannot stop to let humanitarian aid workers in to give food and supplies to 7.5 million starving people, then why halt bombs and guns for a holiday?

Let it rage on.

Jessica Lee is an environmental science junior. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.

No moral or logical reason to discontinue

The thought of enacting a cease-fire for a month is a little silly. Would the Taliban show us any mercy just because it was Thanksgiving or Christmas? I doubt it. They show no respect for America as a whole; why would they show respect for American holidays?

I guess one could argue that America would be staying above the fray, setting an example and so forth, by laying down its arms for a month starting Nov. 17. But would the Taliban show us - or oppressed Afghan citizens - the same mercy? Moreover, what would stop them from employing the Ramadan defense as a way to regroup and delay the ass-kicking they're receiving right now? As long as America continues to target only strategic Taliban military facilities, there is no moral reason to stop the airstrikes for an entire month.

If America wanted to provide Afghans with a token of respect, they could stop the strikes for the first day of Ramadan, Nov. 17. This would effectively say, "We need to press on, but we recognize and respect your religious beliefs." At the very least, it would accomplish a lot more than patronizing Afghans by dropping thousands of food packets on a country with millions of hungry people.

But ceasing fire for an entire month just isn't reasonable. As long as the United States continues to justifiably press on, targeting non-civilian areas, there should be no measurable difference for the people of Afghanistan in how they live their daily lives. In other words, there is no reason, moral or logical, to discontinue the war effort during Ramadan.

Shane Dale is a political science sophomore. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.

One step closer to a pointless ego trip

It's nice to see that the United States is even considering stopping military action during Ramadan - it shows a human side to an emotionless war machine. However, the hype seems more media-generated than anything else.

There is only one reason that the United States should pause for Ramadan, and that's if they believe that continuing the war during Islam's most holy times will create more anti-American sentiment across the globe, leading to more terrorist attacks on our soil.

But as far as I can tell, Muslim people around the world who have decided to support us won't do so because we recognize their holidays but because they have aligned themselves with the winning side - with the United States. They're not going to become al-Qaida operatives just because we interrupted some fasting. They are too worried about our smart bombs coming their direction.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the president need to be thinking about one thing as we head into the winter: How can we end this war quickly?

Bush, Powell and Rumsfeld have stated time and time again that this is a "new kind of war, totally different." What they are really saying is, "We swear, this is not another Vietnam; please don't protest." And maybe it's not Vietnam, yet. But if McCain gets his way and we send in ground troops, and if next fall we are having this same discussion about Ramadan, then it will be one step closer to a pointless, drawn-out, military ego trip - or simply, Vietnam.

So no, don't stop for Ramadan. Don't stop for anything. Do what must be done, and get the hell out of there - or we will start walking in the streets.

Cory Spiller is a history and creative writing senior. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.

Quiet please - prayer in session

Not that anything in war is a cut-and-dry issue, but the United States must choose its enemy. Are we at war with Afghanistan or the Taliban? Are we at war with Arabs or terrorists? The answers to those questions are relatively simple. Aside from the raging nut case who makes himself a leper by saying something along the lines of, "We should just nuke the whole damn Middle East," most normal, level-headed people would say that the United States is at war to fight terrorism and the Taliban.

The public has also responded favorably to the food and medicine drops that U.S. forces provided for the Afghan people. Now let us put two and two together: We, the flag-flying, patriotic people of the United States of America, are united in our fight against terrorism and our desire to aid the innocent citizens of Afghanistan, who, like us, are victims of terrorism.

Are we on the same page?

If we empathize with the plight of the Afghan people, then we should also respect them. This is a propaganda war that will be won on principles, and if we bomb Afghanistan during Ramadan, then we give fodder to the Taliban.

A lack of respect for what the people of Afghanistan hold dear will reduce us to the same level as the Taliban. If the northern alliance is to win the ground war, they must garner support. And no one will be quick to volunteer if his prayers are interrupted by the U.S. military.

Laura Winsky a senior majoring in Spanish and political science. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.

It's much like following the Grateful Dead

Yes. We should keep bombing during Ramadan for three reasons:

1. We should keep attacking because religion - and that goes for any religion - shouldn't matter in the first place. History has shown us time and again that religion gets in the way and starts more shit than anything else. This fiasco has been no exception. Religion should not be an issue, and that goes for here at home, too. The amount of inane Christ-speak has doubled in this country since Sept. 11, and I, for one, am sick of it. If I hear one more person say "God Bless America," I'm going to poop on a flag and mail it to them. They should be saying "McDonnell Douglas Bless America" if they really want to be accurate.

Illustration by Josh Hagler

2. Ramadan practices include fasting, so the Taliban will be extra weak and even easier to pick off with our extensive arsenal of destructive technology.

3. Ramadan is a time to concentrate on religion and spend less time on the concerns of everyday life. So I say, let them focus on their little opiate to numb their faith-diseased minds into believing that there is some higher power out there somewhere protecting them. Whatever gets you through the night is all right.

This concept is much like following the Grateful Dead and staying completely stoned for an entire month. Yeah man! It was like Jerry was totally speaking directly to me, man. Not so much like when he was speaking to me three days ago, but more like when he was speaking to me like · a week ago. Yeah man! Yeah!

Zack Armstrong is a creative writing senior. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.