Illustration by Josh Hagler

For the past two months, I've been hearing the same, tired theme around UA.

"End the cycle of violence."

"War is always immoral."

"Gandhi said, 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.'"

Gandhi also drank his own urine. But that's another story.

Hey, if the situation in Afghanistan could be resolved through peaceful methods, I'd be all for it. If terrorism could be eliminated without dropping a single bomb, I'd be the first on board. But how on God's green earth would this be possible?

I haven't heard a single alternative solution from anyone other than the same old "violence solves nothing" mantra. After hearing it for two months straight, it's just downright nauseating.

All right, so we let the terrorist attacks on our country slide. Then what? Sit around until it happens again? What will it take to morally justify military action? The destruction of the Golden Gate Bridge? The use of biological weapons in Los Angeles. or Chicago? The poisoning of New England's water supply?

Are 10,000 more lost lives enough to justify action? How about 50,000? A cool million? How much more terror will it take for the anti-war crowd to get up, stop hiding behind their "give peace a chance" signs and come to grips with reality?

I can already hear their response. "What makes American lives more valuable than foreign lives?" Absolutely nothing, of course. Innocent civilian lives have already been lost on both sides. But America's motives are just. Osama bin Laden's are not.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 were unjust and immoral. The assault on the innocent people of New York City and Washington, were an act of malice and hatred, not just toward the United States, but the entire free, non-authoritarian world. The U.S. air and ground strikes in Afghanistan are intended to combat this hatred and eradicate it before it is spread further across the globe.

Unlike the terrorists, our military is not aiming for civilians, but Taliban weapons depots, along with mountains and tunnels where al-Qaida members are thought to be hiding out. The intentions are just, and, therefore, the military action is just.

Besides, without American intervention, the Taliban would still be firmly in control of Afghanistan and its capital of Kabul. But as of earlier this week, that is no longer the case. America generally should not use its power as a vehicle of influence and alteration of less powerful nations, but in this case it is a positive side effect of combating terrorism. If the anti-war protesters are really interested in what is best for the people of Afghanistan, this week's news should make them happy.

Unfortunately, American involvement in Afghan affairs has its inadvertent negative consequences as well. Two million Afghan refugees have decided to flee the country as a result of the airstrikes, and their only alternatives are Iran and Pakistan. It is estimated that nearly half of them will die as a result of malnourishment and lack of medical care before they can escape.

While these inhuman circumstances should not be ignored, let's not forget that life in Afghanistan has been deplorable for decades, and will undoubtedly take a great many years to be improved. Afghans would still be suffering if America wasn't taking action in their country. The only difference is no one would notice.

By now, it should not be a big secret that anti-war protesters are not intent on helping the people of Afghanistan, but to further denounce and malign the United States. Did they give a flying crap about the Afghan people before Sept. 11? Afghans were already dying of hunger and lack of medical care on a regular basis prior to the attacks. The American airstrikes simply give them another excuse to bash our country, our military and, above all, our capitalist economic system.

A handful of these people protested the war effort and insulted the plight of Afghans last week by fasting in front of the Administration building for 48 hours.

Big deal. I could do that. Anyone could. Pavarotti could if he had to.

Stay out there for a whole week and I might be impressed.

I'd also be impressed if any of these people proposed another workable course of action. I'm open to any suggestions as an alternative way to get the job done.

Let me have it. I'm all ears.