In response to the beheading of Nick Berg, some have called for us to bring in the mother of all bombs. Others scream for us to level their cities.

In 1999, there were 18,209 murders in the U.S. That’s 50 per day. Or two per hour.

Indecent acts occur worldwide on a daily basis. If we take the same approach as the Israelis have taken in Palestine, as the Russians have taken in Chechnya, we will get nowhere and create an endless cycle of death and retribution. “You killed our civilian? We’ll demolish the homes of your families. You blew up a bomb in our restaurant? We’ll level your city!”

Honestly ask yourself if this method has made Russia or Israel safer.

Instead, we can take an approach more akin to that used in Northern Ireland. That situation was an Israeli/Russian-type endless cycle until Sen. George Mitchell found common ground.

And that common ground required the only party at the table with humanity – the English – to suck up their pride. It was obvious that the IRA (and by extension the Palestinians, Chechen rebels and the insurgents in Iraq) will never use reason to suck up their pride.

The more enlightened combatant must turn the other cheek to end the fighting because the less enlightened will not.

Reminds me of a certain biblical passage.

I don’t have the solution to Iraq. But I am almost certain as to what the solution is not.

E. Chris L’Hommedieu, Lewiston

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