A Letter to the Editor

Osvaldo Valdes

Retaliation will escalate this situation, nonetheless, this week, we have not heard a recommendation from our leaders that advances our sense of an illumined humanity, of benevolence and compassion, of a 'Nation of Tolerance.'  Here is a plan....

Send our indomitable battleships and aircraft carriers, our valiant men and women of the military, to the Arabian Sea, to the Bay of Bengal in the biggest show of force of the new millennium and launch a surprise attack over Afghanistan.  Lets also send a strong message to Iran, Iraq, Israel and Palestine, include Saudi Arabia.  

What I propose is a relentless show of force, a blanket attack under the cover of night.  When the sun rises the world will know what we are made of once and for all.  They will know that these countries have been covered from border to border, in the streets, on the roof tops, in the fields, with one meter of beautiful, fragrant flowers.  This will convince everyone beyond a shadow of a doubt that yes, the United States is The Greatest Nation on Earth.

The editorial above was submitted to the New York Times on September 19, 2001, and appears here, courtesy of the author.