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Wisdom
needed now to avoid a bigger war
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thoughts of a TFF eyewitness in Washington
By
Rocio
Campos, TFF Peace Antenna
Waking up yesterday to what seemed Hollywood images
was unexpected, shocking, and also revealing of the
vulnerability of the greatest super power in the world. I
was just waking up from a weird dream about seeing a ufo
in the sky and pointing it out to my father, when the
phone rang and I was told the World Trade Center had been
hit.
I turned on the TV and there it was, no it was not a
ufo, it was not a random accident, a highjacked plane was
crashing against one of the towers. Minutes later tower
number two gets hit by another highjacked plane. At this
point it was clear this was a terrorist act. On my way to
work at the CNN building I could see a big cloud of smoke
as I drove through North Capitol. Then the radio
confirmed there was an explosion at the Pentagon's
heliport.
As soon as I got to the office, I turned on CNN and
saw the first tower crumble to the floor, then the next
one. They were gone. The two brothers were torn apart by
the most carefully crafted act of terrorism. The
explosion at the Pentagon had been a result of another
hijacked plane...
Needless to say more, we all know the details and have
seen the images. A little after 1:00pm DC was declared in
state of emergency. The mayor advised all to stay indoors
and leave the streets to the police, firemen and
ambulances.
I soon started to receive emails from family and
friends who were unable to reach me though the phone, as
the lines were terribly busy. On my way back home I could
see black helicopters flying very low and listen to
sirens coming and going. Once home I could start getting
in touch with my family and friends in Mexico, who were
in panic and worried about my personal being, and the
general situation in DC. No metro was available and
federal and international offices were evacuated. Today
people are trying to gradually get back to their lives,
work, and routine.
However, key questions are still flying up in the air
along with the debris.
- Who is behind this? What will be the US reponse?
The United States' response to these attacks will
certainly have an impact on the international community.
For the fortress to endure, the reaction to this
terrible, atrocious series of incidents will have to be
sensible and very well thought, not to lead into the
third big war.
This is perhaps the greatest test for peace and
international accountability our eyes have seen. Heads of
state around the world have condemned these terrorist
acts and offered their sympathy and support to the
U.S.
This is also time to offer alternatives that will not
catalyze further disaster and fatal chaos.
At this stage there is no time to persuade the Empire
of values that are not within its paradigm. It would be
more effective to use our creativity and desire for peace
to design alternatives that, based on liberal ideals of
justice, can bring relief to the United States without
triggering uncontrollable provocations of hatred and
revenge.
May we find within ourselves the wisdom to work
together for peace across boundaries, diversity of
values, and conflicting national interests.
©
TFF & the author 2001
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