Mideast Troubles Come to U.S. Shores

What a horrific day. Since January, the U.S. has been reluctant to interject itself into the conflicts of the Middle East. Our foreign policy appeared to be “let them kill each other”--and so they did. A Palestinian child, an Israeli child; an Israeli shopping mall, a Palestinian neighborhood. Sooner or later the nut cases get loose, get control and then expand their terror to our shores. The self-serving conduct of Yasser Arafat when he refused to compromise and Ariel Sharon when he marched on the Temple Mount have opened the gates of hell. Will they ever be closed?

Frank Ferrone

El Cajon

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The attacks Tuesday were horrible and certainly must be punished. However, we must also look at the root of these attacks and do something positive about them or the cycle of violence will only continue. Israel and the Palestinians have been killing each other for decades. Now this cycle of violence has landed on our shores. It is time for it to end. The U.S. must, in conjunction with its allies, agree on and impose a settlement in the Mideast. Israel must give up land for a Palestinian homeland, and the Palestinians must agree to Israel’s right to exist. Incursions by either side into the other must be severely punished.

Jerusalem should be governed by the United Nations. Within it, we should build a great university that accepts students from all the surrounding nations. It should also include memorials to the violence done by religious fanaticism. I could see memorials for the Holocaust, the Crusades, the intifada and Tuesday’s bombing.

Dave Obert

Loomis

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Any sympathy I had for the Palestinians vanished when I saw them dancing in the streets, celebrating the murder of thousands of innocent Americans.

John Gardiner

Costa Mesa

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Most fingers are already pointing to Osama bin Laden. Does it really matter which group is responsible for this? We need to declare a war against all terrorist groups. We know where they train. We need to hit their bases of operation in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, the West Bank and everywhere else. To spend months piecing together evidence and a case against Bin Laden and striking only at his network would be absurd. We need to strike at Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and as many other radical Islamic terrorist groups as we can. Now.

Joseph Gold

Torrance

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Re “Muslims in Southland Brace for Retaliation,” Sept. 11: As I listened to news of the terrorist attacks on Tuesday, I remembered the hostage crisis in the 1970s. During that period Arab Americans were threatened and attacked. While feeling the same shock and horror we all feel at Tuesday’s tragedy, Arab Americans have the added burden of this fear. We should all remember that immigrants from all nations are Americans by choice. If we turn against our own, the terrorists win.

Mark Sherwin

Del Mar