It would appear that America is on the brink of war. Reservists are being called, and warships have left Japan for “an undisclosed location.”

From day one, key officials have said “America is now at war” and “This is the first war of the 21st century.” What exactly is this war we are fighting going to be about?

The United States has not acted with any restraint or patience in the retaliation stage of this ordeal. We went from victims of a heinous crime against humanity to aggressors in an all-out, “jump on board with us or pay the price” war against terrorism.

There are no clear battlefields. Our enemy (terrorists) are scattered in every country throughout the world. U.S. officials have not been very clear, other than pointing fingers at the Taliban and Osama bin Laden, as to who will be the targets of what looks to be like a massive military response to the attacks.

We need to seriously take a step back and practice some restraint as a nation. Will a lethal attack on Afghanistan accomplish our goal of eradicating terrorism worldwide? And is there even an obtainable goal?

Wars are fought to accomplish a goal. If you accomplish that goal, you are the victors. Don’t accomplish it, you are the losers.

America’s apparent goal of this “war on terrorism” is to wipe out extremist terrorist regimes. This is easier said than done.

Wiping out every terrorist in the world is something that will never be accomplished, and this war will only make it worse.

Putting a bullet in the forehead of Osama bin Laden is not the end of a war on terrorism.

Destroying innocent people in Afghanistan is not the end of a war on terrorism.

Even wiping out the entire Taliban government is not the end of a war on terrorism. In fact, all these are the opposite.

We already know cells of extremist terrorists are living throughout the world, including right here in the United States. When the Taliban said they will retaliate against all countries who support the U.S. in any way, they don’t mean with troops.

They mean with more World Trade Center-like attacks.

What we have to fear most is not losing troops in combat with Afghanistan. We should be afraid of cells at work around the world pursuing more terrorist attacks. And the extreme Islamic fundamentalists we will be targeting have already shown they can strike at any time.

President Bush and American officials are inappropriately using the term “war.” A war is not the answer. Immediate and hasty retaliation will only result in the loss of more innocent lives throughout the world.

We will put not only American lives in danger, we will essentially be putting the lives of innocent people throughout the world in danger.

These terrorists wanted a full-scale war declared against them. It only furthers their claims of the evils of the West.

editorialboard: Andrea Hauser, Tim Paluch, Michelle Kann, Zach Calef, Omar Tesdell