First of all, to forge a weapon out of anti-American rage could make jihad in other parts of the world superior to customary strategies of war. No doubt the terrorists would like all the dissatisfactions in one part of the planet to be collected and used against America. If these vast dissatisfactions crystallized, they might achieve their purpose-taking the conflict out of its original framework and spreading it beyond territorial or ethnic borders.

What arguments do we hear today in that part of the world (including Albania) where the “war,” as a war of words, is being waged over coffee cups in some bar? There are three slogans with which those who “cannot be with America anymore” assert themselves: “I am a Muslim,” “I am a pacifist,” or “I respect the kamikazes because they are people with beliefs.” Let us rehearse why none of these is a reason to justify the acts of bin Laden and his people.

Muslim? First, let us not forget that the Muslims themselves are the first victims of this terrorism. Statistically, there have been over 130,000 civilian victims of the conflicts between the groups that have given rise to movements like the Taliban. Second, we should not forget that Muslims are not in any of the trenches of this war. Here we have, on the one hand, the so-called jihadists, in whom the desire to die and the duty to kill are united, which gives them the demonic force to terrorize people, and, on the other hand, the Americans, whose reaction after the attacks is a wonderful example of the survival of the values of civilization. The conflict is precisely between these values and the antivalues carried by those who, by the acts of September 11, sought to destroy not only two skyscrapers and thousands of lives but the entire structure of the liberties of citizens.

Pacifist? Bin Laden and his crew do not want peace. For this, it suffices to point out that, while these pirates of terror were preparing the strikes in New York and Washington, Israelis and Palestinians were struggling to reach an agreement. Here, also, we meet the arguments of those who say that the Taliban were, after all, creations of the United States. Unfortunately, there is some truth to this. But what are we to make of this? They are terrorists nonetheless.

Respect for self-sacrifice? It is true that those who sacrificed themselves are literally martyrs, but genuine martyrs do not have murderous aims. Nor does religion justify these kamikazes. There is a religious saying that “God does not need what we give him, because he already has everything.”

Those who think that this is a war against Afghanistan are wrong. The Americans know quite well that all attempts for a military victory over this country have failed. The British waged war in Afghanistan three times (1838-42, 1878-80, and 1919) without being able to conquer it militarily. The same thing happened to the Russians. They failed, both in their attempts to keep the country under occupation as well as in their attempts to legitimize Islam within the framework of a communist society.

What should be done? We should profit from the fact that, although exceptional, this terrorism is still isolated, a minority event. And it may remain such, but only if we also take part in this war. How? We can oppose the false forms of “Muslimization,” “pacifism,” and the other types of admiration mentioned above. This means to be with America and with the values that it defends. We Albanians have more reasons than others to take this position.