This letter is in response to David W. Towne’s letter “War is best solution to ending terrorism” (SN, 10/15). While I agree with his assessment that it is time for action, one would think a third-year law student could produce original thought rather than reword what the six o’clock news has been telling us for the last month.

Our awareness as a nation is a virtue, but it is a double-edged sword. We are a conscious nation, but sometimes in the wake of our mass stupidity we create something tangible. The Taliban have become the popular enemy because they are plausible to fight in conventional means. The sleeping bear has awakened, let us strike only the bee that stung us and not the hive that it came from. How many innocent lives must be lost until we consider revenge attained?

While I do agree it is time for action, I think we must assess what we are really doing over there. It is no secret the Taliban are not friendly to the United States.

On Thursday, President Bush said we had no preference as to what government had control in Afghanistan, that all factions should be given an equal opportunity. This is simply not true. It has long been foreign policy whether known or unknown, official or unofficial, to install a government friendly to the United States (think Nicaragua in 1936). To believe we are not doing the same here would be na