It is hardly necessary to say what a terrible event the world has witnessed in the United States. I can understand the reaction of those who would like instant action against the prime suspects or those who harbor them. I can understand those who argue aginst war as well. As one who has studied conflict, I know that there are often good reasons asking what the real agenda is when a country decides to go to war. There is often room for doubt. But, in this case, there is something that everyone should think very hard about. We have just witnessed thousands of people murdered in cold blood for nothing that any sane person would call a valid reason. Does anyone seriously think that if these individuals had a nuclear device instead, that they would not use that to kill ten times more? Because they will have such a device sooner or later. Think about it. If action is going to be taken it is because the future is at issue, not just the past. A couple of other small points. A few messages have pointed out that there will be few people in the US not personally touched by this tragedy - someone they know or are related to being killed. It is worth remembering that there will be few countries not touched either. The WTC had people from all over the world. Three Australians are confirmed dead. Up to sixty may be missing. Another message suggested that the US was always there to help others, but no one ever came to its aid. That is not quite true. Both the NATO and ANZUS alliances have indicated their willingness to stand with the US. But on a more personal level, there is a collection being taken up in Australia now to support the families of firefighters who lost their lives. I am sure the same sort of thing is happening elsewhere. The world is a small place, and not quite so insular as one might think, even when times seem to be at their worst. Peter _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
