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Loss and tragedy now has an American face. The destruction of the World Trade Center and terrible loss of civilian lives has left nausea in the collective gut of the Western world. And the ensuing rhetoric has only added to that disgust as the hypocrisy of American leaders is drowned out by the beat of war drums.

That the effects of terrorism are indiscriminate and horrible will never be in doubt. Nor will the need to combat terrorism so that we can live in a peaceful world free from fear of such acts. But the effectiveness of such a struggle will forever be in doubt as long as the discriminate use of the label “terrorism” is perpetuated by the leading nations of the world.

What is terrorism? Most would agree that terrorism is the targeting of civilians and infrastructure with acts of violence and destruction. By these terms, Secretary of State Colin Powell rightly denounced terrorism and the "people who feel that with the destruction of buildings, with the murder of people, they can somehow achieve a political purpose."

But wait. Was he talking about the recent attacks on American targets or about the policies perpetrated by the American government abroad? This is a question that would never be discussed during the nonstop media coverage of the recent attacks in New York and Washington.

If Secretary Powell, President Bush and others wish to condemn terrorism and offer true hope for the future of humanity, now is the time to condemn terrorism wholeheartedly, in all its forms. 

Anyone who possesses a bit of humanity can take a step back and look at the big picture and see that there is no difference between terrorism sponsored by individuals and fanatical groups without official status as nations and the variety carried out on a large scale basis by established governments firmly entrenched in the world order.

Civilian deaths are civilian deaths. They are tragic, horrible and unacceptable no matter what the nationality of the citizen, no matter the political purpose behind the act.

It is more than ironic to hear Secretary Powell, the overseer of a campaign in Iraq that saw 200,000 Iraqis die, denounce “people who feel that with the destruction of buildings, with the murder of people, they can somehow achieve a political purpose." It is an affront to our humanity. When Powell sent missiles into Iraq to destroy buildings and achieve his political purpose, he merely referred to the indiscriminate deaths of civilians as collateral damage.

If one is truly against terror, there can be no difference between, say, ten Israelis dying at the hands of a car bomb and twenty Palestinians dying at the hands of a gunship firing missiles near their homes. 

Unfortunately, when terror is conducted by a state that is a close ally, such as Israel, it is not considered terrorism. It is merely considered national security and public policy.

There is nothing secure about such policy, though. When a country invades another, occupies its land and inflicts terror on its people through the restriction of movement, forced checkpoints that involve harassment, detentions without charge or trial that involve physical abuse and torture by soldiers and police, and destruction of homes and loss of civilian lives as a result of violent actions, we must call it what it is. Terrorism is reprehensible and it should be denounced just as Secretary Powell denounced it and the "people who feel that with the destruction of buildings, with the murder of people, they can somehow achieve a political purpose."

There can be no difference between death inflicted by organizations using hijacked airplanes with full tanks of fuel and death inflicted by superpower governments using high tech cruise missiles and ICBMs.

Acts of terror by any group or state must not be tolerated. It is not acceptable to both denounce one variety while fully supporting another. Neither planes used as bombs nor planes that drop bombs discriminate. They both kill and in reality, the latter often inflicts far greater damage and loss of civilian life…albeit without the round the clock pictures and stories on CNN detailing the personal loss and tragedy. It is tragic in itself that we only see the pain when it happens to us. Loss and suffering holds no passport.

Rather than waving flags and calling for war, our country must seek justice and strive for peace. We must look at the hard questions and search for the elusive answers. 

It is time for our government to stop alienating the rest of the world, allies included, and to join the world community as willing participant and good neighbor rather than the superpower bully on the block that’s only interested in “rallying the world” when its own back is against the wall.

As citizens we must carry out the debates our politicians do not want to consider. How do our government’s policies affect the global community? Why are we at the receiving end of terrorist attacks? Do we have the resolve to lead our world into a future filled with peace and tolerance, health and happiness rather than war and hate, misery and poverty?

These topics cannot be tackled from behind the cloak of jingoism. It is not possible to hide in one corner of the world and lash out with fear at the rest. Instead it is necessary to search for understanding and reach out with compassion. It is necessary to join the world community and create a safer climate by destroying desperation and uplifting lives rather than ending them.