In response to Rachel Faber Machacha’s article I ask: Do you feed the snake that has just bitten you? Do we give food to those who have hurt us in a way no one can measure? To be naive is to think that rebuilding Afghanistan, a country that has outright been hostile towards the United States, and giving them food is going to work. Especially when the people walking around the corner could be terrorists.

The problem with terrorists is they are not distinguishable. They do not stick out like sore thumbs. They blend in. They disappear. To give relief to Afghanistan is to give relief to the terrorists themselves. We the United States do not distinguish terrorists from the countries that allow them to walk in the open with no fear.

I have seen and heard of many relief efforts failing. We quickly forget how easily relief efforts fall into the wrong hands – the hands of the powerful. The hands of power are the Taliban, and bin Laden. To coddle and caress these savages will be giving them strength for the next time they strike.

You do not go to a foreign country and speak English if you want to effectively communicate. You speak their language. The terrorists have introduced the United States into their world. Now it is time to communicate effectively with them. Now is the time to speak their language.

Kristopher Kroona

Junior

Finance