To the Editor:

As globalization proceeds, more and more people are finding their traditional ways of life disrupted by forces over which they have no control. Frustrated, some, including some Americans (remember the Oklahoma City bombing), turn to violence. The response by the US government has been to declare a “war on terrorism”. That policy is misguided.

As we see in Iraq and the growing threat of al Qeada throughout the world, the response to violence is more violence. Our war on terrorism and our invasion of Iraq are only making things worse.

What is needed to control terrorism is a two pronged approach. Short term, the nations of the world need to collaborate closely to get and share intelligence, cut off the flow of money to terrorist organizations, limit their access to weapons of mass destruction, closely monitor the movement of people and materials across national borders, and  facilitate extradition of malefactors. The unilateral attitude of the present administration has made the needed cooperation more difficult to achieve. Longer term, we need to gain more understanding of what causes people to turn to terrorism and seek ways to make it les likely. The administration has ignored this line of attack altogether.

Bush’s swaggering may attract a lot of flag-waving voters, but it doesn’t help reduce the threat of terrorism.