A Test of Will
"Our grief has turned to anger, and anger to resolution."
Not everyone, it should be noted, is giving unconditional support for the war, even if it's a war on terrorism. Peace demonstrations, though small in size, have sprung up at some college campuses. Shaz Kaiseruddin, 20, a senior at the University of Illinois-Champaign-Urbana, is an executive board member of the Muslim Student Association, which has about 200 members. Kaiseruddin was at the Central Illinois Mosque and Islamic Center just a few blocks off campus when she answered the telephone and received a bomb threat last week.
"Unfortunately, a lot of people are really ready for a war," she says. "I'm afraid we don't know what we are getting into," Kaiseruddin continues. "I can in no way justify acts of terrorism; I condemn them. But I wouldn't want us to ignore the fact that the men who instigated this must have felt they had nothing to live for, and they must blame America for that. To prevent this from happening again, we need to understand why they came to feel that way."
Others, however, see this war not only as a necessity but as a family tradition. South Carolina State Rep. James Smith, a Richland County Democrat, is a 34-year-old captain in the National Guard. His father served as a naval officer during the Vietnam War, and his paternal and maternal grandfathers served respectively as Navy and Marine Corps officers during World War II. "Our resolve stems from the fact that we know what the previous generations of Americans sacrificed for us, and we're not willing to give that up," Smith says. "People wonder if generation X-ers have what it takes to protect America and our way of life. I'm sure they won't have to wonder that much longer. I'm also sure we will make them proud."
Smith's father agrees. His son and other gen X-ers are ready to defend America and her interests, the elder Smith says: "In my generation, we had the draft to help us along, but this generation is serving because they want to serve." But the senior Smith also agrees that the job is fraught with difficulty. "It's easy to mount the operation and have the support of everyone now because of the emotion stemming from the attacks on our soil," he says. "But to maintain the resolve Americans have now may be difficult with no visible enemy. We can do it. But our leaders must steel themselves to that end."
On that point there seems to be nearly universal agreement. Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state, is now a founding partner in a global consulting firm. "There may never be a clear-cut victory," she says. "You can cut out some of the cells and they recreate themselves. So there are lots of people who have compared this to cancer. Have you rid yourself of the disease, or is it in remission? The hard part about this is this is not a standard war and it's not going to have a standard victory."
Last week, President Bush chaired the National Security Council meeting every day at the White House. He realizes that should the war against terrorism fail, or should the economy fail to revive, he will bear the brunt of the blame. Still "the president is determined not to go and fire for the sake of firing and showing pictures on CNN," says one senior administration official. "We should not be overemphasizing the military role. Cutting off the mother's milk--like the financial flows--may be the most important thing you can do."
advertisement
