War on terrorism. We hear those words so often that many, I fear do not think how ridiculous it sounds. Terrorism, on terrorism. It nearly means the same thing. That opinion may seem un-american to some, and I apologize for that, for my objective is not to be unpatriotic but to lend a helping hand towards a new train of thought. In an attempt to end terrorism we have killed many more than the terrorists have. Ironic, I know, but true. Roughly 3,000 people were killed during the 911 terrorists attack. Our entire nation grieved for the deaths of those innocent people and for the people that loved them who were left behind. Well over 100,000 have been killed since the beginning of this war on terrorism. We do not fully understand what is going on in the world. We avoid the facts, hear half truths, and are distracted by our daily distractions. Life, for most of us, is relatively the same as it has always been.

The question I am to be addressing in this article is if the accidental killing of civilians by U.S. forces, in places like Somalia, an unavoidable part of the war on terrorism? I am not an expert on defense. I do not know precise calculations on any weapons, and probably could not even shoot a gun if my life depended on it. I do however know the training that is entailed in our military. I know that we can pinpoint where a space shuttle will land after being in orbit, I can only help but believe that if it were a priority, casualties could be reduced significantly. It is hard to train a killer to care about some and not others. They would obviously be less effective in there line of work.

I can not help but wonder what it does to a nation to lose so many of its people in such casualties. I can only assume that it must rip the very soul from them. My assumption is based on my own emotions for people that I had never met in my life after the 911 tragedy. That was one day. Many of these people have lived a lifetime in chaotic war-torn countries. Most have seen things that we can not even imagine. It hardly seems right that there lives are less valuable because of where they happened to be born.

I do not know if our nation is more safe as a result of this war on terrorism. I do not feel any more safe, or any less safe. We are however talking of the safety of the unfortunate innocents in the war path. An attack is an attack. For whatever reason, the outcome is the same. People die. Innocent people die. We justify this by the greater good theory. I am thirty years old. I have seen one horrendous day. Who exactly is being terrorized?

Learn more about this author, Haley Mcnelly.
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