Not everyone at the vigil was a pacifist. The DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition is a coalition that includes both pacifists and nonpacifists. But we are united in our opposition to the conduct of the current war in Afghanistan.
On Sept. 11, the United States was not attacked by another country's armed forces. It was attacked by criminals who committed a crime against humanity. A military response to such an attack is inappropriate.
Instead of raining bombs down on the people of Afghanistan (and causing 3,700 civilian deaths, according to the calculations of University of New Hampshire economics professor Marc Herold), the United States should have negotiated over the Taliban's offer to extradite Osama bin Laden to a third country for trial if they were provided with evidence of his guilt.
If the Taliban did not negotiate seriously, the United States should have convened a special meeting of the U.N. Security Council, presented its evidence before the world, and requested the establishment of an international tribunal with the authority to apprehend and bring to justice those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks.
Bombing Afghanistan does nothing to protect our nation and bring to justice those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks. To effectively respond to terrorism, we have to abide by international law and work to eliminate the conditions of poverty and oppression that provide a fertile soil for terrorism to grow.
For more information about the DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition, please visit our Web site at http://DuPagePeace.home.att.net/.
Kevin Lindemann
Winfield