Staff Editorial: A nation's responsibility

In the very first minutes after terrorists took down the Twin Towers and destroyed a large section of the Pentagon, politicians and media pundits began unleashing a flood of rhetoric upon a stunned American public.

We heard, during those difficult moments, that "the nation is at war." Soon after, the thought that "nothing will ever be the same" began ringing in our ears.

Until yesterday, though, those changes were difficult to conceptualize. The concept of war -- in its most brutal, realistic definition -- is unfamiliar to most younger Americans, and the horrific, paralyzing images of Sept. 11 did little to reinforce the fact that the United States was locked in a battle in which it, too, was a combatant.

Now, it appears, the weight of that conflict has finally hit home. The United States, both on paper and in reality, is at war.

The commencement of American hostilities yesterday marked a significant turning point in the nation's fight against terrorism. It represents the end of a decades-long period of patience and discussion, and the beginning of a fight which we hope will eventually lead to the eradication -- once and for all -- of all those who would use terror as a means of accomplishing political goals.

For that -- for this nation's enduring patience, and for its willingness to fight back when attacked so deliberately -- all Americans should be proud.

It further represents the end of only the first round of crucial examination. Military action is no longer simply a remote possibility. And as such, it must be accepted and supported for what it is -- a targeted, strategic campaign, directed at Taliban installations and not civilian institutions. To accept any lesser kind of warfare would be to live by the terms of the terrorists; to unreasonably condemn this action, likewise, is to reject the responsibility that a nation attacked must defend itself.

Now that the period of rhetoric is over, we applaud President Bush's calm and obviously well-designed campaign against the Taliban, and we hope that, however difficult, it meets with a quick success that minimizes the loss of life.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.