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Tuesday was an eternity ago. The beginning of a week of endless days. And now the nature of the world in days to come is being debated.

I want to speak only as a citizen. I have no expertise in politics or defense. Yet because of the government we share, one made and remade by the people through elections, I share with every other citizen the responsability to speak freely of my wishes and hopes, of the kinds of actions by which the politicians can win or lose my vote and my dollars in the years to come. Each of us is but one voter. One of many. The ideas presented here are culled from the insights of many people. I take credit only for presenting them in this package and urging again that they be taken into consideration.

American politicians can talk of nothing right now except anger and retaliation. They are repeating the word "anger" like an advertising slogan, like something their public relations experts told them to say. Word from America's young voters is very different: make the world a better place so that this won't happen again. Because, when it comes to problem-solving, words like rage and anger don't tell us anything. Terrorism is a big problem, and it's going to require a smart solution. After the first World War, anger gave us the Treaty of Versailles, deprivation, and a new war. After the second World War, smart thinking gave us the Marshall Plan, economic resurgence, and relative peace. The intention of Versailles was to decimate the enemy. The intention of the Marshall Plan was to transform, and that can be our intention now. I hope to see our nation take three important steps: A targeted and internationally supported campaign against terrorism. A seachange in Middle East policy. And a safeguard of America's individual liberties.

A targeted and internationally supported campaign. Any military campaign should be carefully targeted on terrorist organizations and should be coordinated with the concerns and interests of our allies on all continents. Coordinating with allies does not mean informing them of our intentions and expectations; it means brainstorming our plans in negotiation and consultation with Arab, European, and other nations. It must be their campaign as much as ours, or it "will not stand." We must not "end" any states, innocent populations, or unrelated groups. An extreme response will only cost us our few remaining Islamic allies and weaken our European support. The campaign should be one that moderate Islamic nations, and the rest of the world, will agree is right and justified.

A seachange in Middle East policy. Crushing existing terrorist organizations is only a band-aid solution. Fair and balanced international policies are the long-term answer. We need a seachange in US Middle East policy. The US preference for Israel over and above all its neighbors is the nuclear core of all these terrorist reactions. It is a furnace that generates antiAmerican sentiments - sentiments that are then exploited outrageously by extremist Islamic groups to whip up political support. People love to talk of "centuries old hatreds", but a down-to-earth political model of terrorism can lead to direct solutions. Like leaders of any group, terrorist leaders are politicians, and what they really want is political support. The antiAmerican sentiment is a readymade hook they can use to gain that support. They need the hook. Implement a truly balanced US policy, and the hook will slowly disintegrate. Peoples who might have been enemies will be transformed into neutrals or allies.

A truly balanced Middle East policy will be a seachange, because it will mean no longer favoring Israel. It also will mean not favoring the Palestinians. Much of the world is already inclined toward a far more balanced Middle East policy than the US. In concert with the international community, we can press Israel to create a unified Palestinian homeland, instead of the fragmented hundreds of Palestinian territories presently separated by Israeli land and Israeli checkpoints. Press Israel and the Palestinians to share the region's water and other resources fairly. Press the Palestinians to accept these solutions peacefully and acknowledge Israel's right to co-exist. Israel and its neighbors have to live together. With the long arm of the US protecting its every move, Israel has never demonstrated accountability or responsability vis-a-vis its neighbors. That needs to change if the reprisals, on all sides, are ever going to end. Only a truly balanced policy can build a sustainable and productive peace.

And a safeguard of America's individual liberties. Liberty and America are synonymous only as long as we make them so. They can part ways when we become frightened, reckless, or hardened. Do not weaken the liberty and freedom we love, on the pretext of saving our lives. We don't want that kind of life. Do not rekindle the CIA's history of lawlessness. Do not write anti-terrorism legislation that allows citizens with peaceful dissenting viewpoints to become targets of serveillance. Do not expand police powers. Instead, bolster police staffing and training. Americans live free, or die.

Coordinate, find balance, keep us free. That's our better world.

© 2001 John Clay