Letter to the Editor

Need to recognize terrorism threat

To the editor:

Previously I described what to me is a profound lack of unity in the country to win the war against terrorism. Maybe some people do not consider it a war, and this might be the etiology of a lack of focus or determination. This is, however, a very real war that is becoming worldwide and with consequences as important as World War II.

The war did not start on 9-11. It began in 1979 with the taking of the hostages in Iran. Numerous bombings and attacks have occurred against us in different parts of the world since then. Why have we been attacked? Some of the reasons would be our success in the world, our freedoms or our backing of Israel. Most importantly is that we are "infidels," defined in the dictionary as a nonbeliever, or, in this case, one who is not a Muslim believer. Our attackers are Muslim terrorists or extremists, political correctness aside.

The overwhelming majority of Muslims are peaceful, but that does not protect us from the small minority who want to do us harm. Even if that number is 1 percent or less, since 25 percent of the world population is Muslim, this can be a sizable number. What they are fanatically determined to do by their own statements is to kill all of us infidels. They have said repeatedly that they are at war with us. How much more plain does it have to be to awaken people?

TERRY CANUPP, Cape Girardeau