This is not war

Sources from the F.B.I. have speculated that up to 50 people were involved in Tuesday's terrorist attacks. \nIn a press conference today, Secretary of State Colin Powell named Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect in coordinating the attacks. \nBush said in a statement, "We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them." \nThursday, he unofficially declared war on those responsible.\nFinally, a senior Pentagon official said The U.S. will launch sustained military strikes against those behind the terrorist attacks. All the while, the Taliban, which controls much of Afghanistan, has denied any responsibility for the attacks.\nAm I the only one who finds this a disturbing sequence of events?\nI admit there's a lack of information about who is responsible for the attacks, but some principles and definitions still remain clear in my mind.\n"War n. 1. open armed conflict between countries or between factions within the same country."\nI understand that America has a "War on Drugs," and I realize there is more than one definition for the word. But none of these definitions encompasses the idea of a country declaring war on individuals. \nGranted, no one knows if Osama bin Laden is still in Afghanistan, or if Afghanistan will cooperate with U.S. investigations or extraditions. No one knows if the United States will actually "go to war."\nFor those reasons, we can't speculate about what the repercussions would be if the world's greatest military powers chose to attack one of the world's poorest countries.\nWe can't speculate what would happen to the country that has been at war for over two decades and is facing a famine in the upcoming winter months after feeling the effects of a severe drought. \nWe can't speculate about what would happen to the 26 million people in Afghanistan, or the acting governments of the country that didn't attack the U.S.\nI can say that if the government sends troops to Afghanistan or any country that did not order these terrorist attacks, then that is wrong.\nWhy would I care if we held a country hostage to search for those responsible? Why don't I need this kind of revenge?\nBecause I'm an American, not a terrorist.