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America's acid test

The entire world community will agree that what happened last week in New York and Washington is so powerful in its impact that an equally powerful action is required in response. But the nature of the action and its success will be the acid test for our world 'No. 1', and standard-bearer of democracy, as America likes to portray itself.

There is yet no evidence formally presented to the world that any particular individual or group - other than the possible suicide guerrilla hijackers themselves - or nation-state is responsible for this attack. Let alone convincing proof, the United States or its formal military allies, have yet to provide evidence of any sort of such identification.

In that situation, it is difficult to legitimise any 'lawful' action to bring any one to justice or to extract lawful or even morally justifiable recompense. Action at an international level that sees active intervention, military or civilian, in any other country, in any form of legal 'hot pursuit' will also be illegitimate without some kind of evidence to show cause.

Military retaliation, pure and simple, free of any legalistic pretensions in terms of legal retribution or judicial action, is another matter.

The US has every right to respond militarily. Even here, such simple military retaliation will only have some form of legitimacy - as did the US response to Japan's strike against Pearl Harbour - if a clear identification is made of the attacker with some kind of evidence - even if not judicial proof.

It is incumbent on the United States to act powerfully and as swiftly as possible.

That action must be to solve the problem and safeguard its citizens but must be done without impinging on, or endangering the lives of the rest of the world's citizens except those who are known to have been involved.

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