Dealing Harshly With Terrorists

Re “Terrorists Should Be Killed, Not Captured,” Commentary, Dec. 19: I find professor Marvin C. Ott’s proposition that “this is a war of extermination, fundamentally different from any war the United States has ever fought” very disturbing. As one trained in the law and politically centrist I believe that as a country we cannot keep our great traditions of justice and mercy by adopting the inhuman hatreds of our enemy.

I find it very disturbing that Ott states, “For U.S. forces in the field the mission should be to kill Al Qaeda fighters. Accept surrenders but don’t seek them. For those captured, the minimum sentence should be solitary confinement for life.”

Does this mean he is proposing we do away with the Geneva Conventions and return to fighting wars like Attila the Hun?

I find very disturbing Ott’s statement, “Traditional concerns of sovereignty are likely to be one early casualty. The U.S. has already put the world on notice that it intends to pursue Bin Laden and his network wherever the trail leads.” Does this mean that as a nation we are to ignore the U.N. Charter and adopt the proposition that might makes right?

But the thing I find most disturbing about Ott’s views is that somewhere deep inside of me I agree with them, and maybe that is the greatest loss we suffered on Sept 11.

Leon M. Salter

Los Angeles

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Ott’s commentary reflects a sentiment that I am sure many people share. While that should be the front-line message in our war on terrorism, I am confident that the American people will have the compassion and good judgment to distinguish between the die-hard Islamic radicals bent on our destruction and the thousands of illiterate, destitute young men in the Muslim world who have been manipulated by their religious leaders to blindly throw their lives away in this jihad.

As an immigrant to this great country, I have been privileged to witness, time and again, what America is about: generosity, compassion and the desire to make the world a better place. Not until the young men and women in North Africa, the West Bank and Islamabad can dream about a decent job, owning a home and having grandchildren will there be an end to terrorism.

Jeff Ho

Walnut