The USS Cole was bombed on Oct. 12 while refueling in Yemen.  Seventeen US sailors were killed and 39 injured.  US officials are calling it an act of terrorism.

We watched with grief and, perhaps, anger as we listened to numerous report of those sailors killed in the prime of life.  We witnessed the pain and suffering of the wounded, the grief of survivors for dead comrades, and heard tributes to their commitment to service.  We identified with the agony of family and friends as they buried their own. Through these images and stories, many felt a common bond as the nation laid its heroes to rest.

While the death of even one of person is a deep tragedy, it is important to recall that the media gave scant attention to a key element of the story: the USS Cole is a warship which was engaged in enforcing sanctions against Iraq.  This weapon of sanctions has taken the lives of over 1 million Iraqis, over half of whom were children under five.

We do not hear the stories of Iraqi mothers sitting helplessly beside infants dying from want of clean water, food and medicines which were readily available before sanctions were imposed in 1990, and bombing intentionally destroyed Iraq's infrastructure.  We don't see even one funeral, nor witness the tears and heartbreak of family members. We don't hear reports of school children packed together four to a desk in schools in drastic states of disrepair, without pencils, paper and books. We don't hear of the hopelessness and despair of family after family. As a consequence, we feel no common bond with these our sisters and brothers.  (See www.nonviolence.org/vitw)
 
There have been few exceptions to this imbalance, the most noteworthy being a 1996 interview of Madeleine Albright on the 60 Minutes news hour. When asked whether the cost of the lives of over half a million children was worth it in order to get rid of Iraq's President, she replied "It's a hard decision...but we think the price...is worth it."

So when the charge of terrorism is rolled out, we must be cautious how our human sensibilities are being used. "Terrorism" conjures up thoughts of irrational violence by dark, different and thoroughly evil people fueled by hate and religion, specifically Islam. It is a term that denies the possibility that violence may be generated by legitimate grievances and oppressions.

Clearly, aggression by any actor should be opposed by non-violent, political means, but it's important for us to understand the way in which our sensibilities can be used to reinforce stereotypes and hide the real terror being conducted in our name.

(For a thoughtful analysis of the US State Department definition of terrorism as applied to the bombing of the USS Cole, see http://www.abunimah.org/nprletters/001013cole.html)

ACTION
Write (see sample letter)
President Clinton
president@whitehouse.gov

and Secretary of State Albright
secretary@state.gov

SAMPLE LETTER
Dear

Please refrain from calling the attack against the USS Cole an act of terrorism.  The Cole - which was armed, on duty and merely making a brief refueling stop - was part of a larger force being used to monitor sanctions against Iraq. This silent, deadly weapon has taken the lives of over one million Iraqis since 1990, over half of whom were children under five. Moreover, the Cole is part of an overall campaign of bombing Iraq and efforts to overthrow Iraq's government.

Since the Cole was engaged in aggressive military activity, the attack does not constitute terrorism, even according to the State Department's definition.  There is no doubt that what happened can be called a deadly attack, a suicide mission, a bomb attack. It is also an enormous tragedy for the families of the sailors who were killed.

Calling this action "terrorism" helps to hide the genocidal goals of the Cole itself.  It also conjures up thoughts of irrational violence by dark, different and thoroughly evil people fueled by hate and religion, specifically Islam.

Ending sanctions and refraining from inflammatory rhetoric will go a long way toward safeguarding US troops and making the US a respected world actor.

Sincerely,