A war unlike others requires solutions unlike others Final Edition

• Published in: Milwaukee journal sentinel
• Main Author: Ott, Marvin C
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Milwaukee, Wis Journal Sentinel Inc 04.01.2002
• ISSN: 1082-8850

President Bush has said he wants Osama bin Laden "dead or alive; it makes no difference to me." A retired colonel recently observed that the U.S. campaign against bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network looked like a "war of extermination." When asked by the media, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld disputed that characterization. To the advent of al-Qaida is added the potential availability of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Bin Laden has publicly claimed to possess nuclear weapons. This is probably exaggerated. But it is not hard to imagine how al-Qaida might obtain nuclear capability. It would likely come from one of two sources: a renegade sympathizer inside the Pakistani nuclear program or someone with access to the Russian arsenal who could be bribed. This means that al-Qaida must not only be crippled and disrupted, but it must be utterly eradicated. For U.S. forces in the field, the mission should be to kill al-Qaida fighters. Accept surrenders, but don't seek them. For those captured, the minimum sentence should be solitary confinement for life.