Halt the genocide

My conscience mandates that I respond to the letter posted by Professor Szilagyi regarding United States participation in the Kosovo conflict. I heartily disagree with him.

We must get involved. It is imperative for the good of society. And here's why: Szilagyi writes that "I cannot be silent for a number of reasons."

Yet, he advocates silence in the form of lack of action. It is this silence that gets us into trouble. History repeats itself. Think Nazi Germany.

What the American public does not understand is that we do understand this war. It is the thousands of people whose only exposure to world affairs is via Page two of the Daily Wildcat or human interest stories on Channel 4 (news), who do not comprehend.

This is ethnic cleansing.

Szilagyi writes, "I know from personal experience what persecution is, and what it is to be a refugee."

I, too, know this, for I am Jewish. What bewilders me is how he overlooks the genocidal tendencies of Milosevic's people, killing others based solely upon race. How is this ignored?

People that believe the media's reports of only two to three thousand people being killed by the aforementioned means are sorely misled. Regardless of the number of people murdered, we are in this way judging human life quantitatively rather than qualitatively.

When should we get involved? At 11,000 casualties? Need it hit six figures? This is ridiculous.

We must squash this as early as possible, for it is already worse than we think. Comparisons to Nazi Germany are inevitable.

Now I do not believe that Milosevic will invade Poland and conquer France, but he is ruthlessly murdering these people in the way Hitler did. Genocide.

History repeats itself. It is easier for most people to deny that this sort of atrocity could ever happen again. Face it. Stop it.

What would have happened if the United States had enough of a backbone to stall Hitler in 1940 instead of 1944?

Maybe I would have more than six people at my family reunions.

Adam Cossack
Political science junior