Alternatives to the extraordinary nightmare we are about to enter include the following: (1) an announcement that our government is moving 100 percent toward energy independence, starting immediately (by this I refer to efficiency, conservation and full-scale development of alternative fuels);
Second, consequent reduction of our presence in the Mideast (a condition that may be forced on us anyway, if the Saudi regime fails); (3) prompt termination of military aid to foreign countries, particularly those suppressing Muslim people; (4) humanitarian aid to the children of Iraq (who are presently dying at a rate of 200 per day, due at least in part to our own policies), and to the people of Afghanistan who may soon be dying by the millions of hunger and/or freezing.
Fifth, overhaul of all our foreign policies, with robust public debate; (6) turning the criminal case of bin Laden to the U.N., as required by international law; (7) slashing our military budget in half, since the military has seen fit in the past to devote little of its funding to reducing terrorism; (8) investing the other half of our military budget in education, our most realistic and enduring hope for the future.
Such changes would result in more security than wrapping ourselves in American flags and in fact be far more American if we're truly concerned about the future of this great land.
Daniel Geery
Salt Lake City