Dear Editor,

"There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free, we must fight." -- Patrick Henry.

America stands facing an abyss. On one side is continued appeasement of our enemies, on the other a principled defense of America. After witnessing the horrors of Tuesday, Sept. 11, there can be no escaping that this is a fight to the death. Either we destroy these barbarians and the states that support them or Americans will die on an unprecedented scale. Henry's statement in this context should be read -- if we wish to "be," we must fight.

There is a long list of nations that have supported terrorism including Syria, Sudan, Libya, and Iraq; but it is Iran and Afghanistan that have most consistently assisted in the atrocities. Terrorists linked to these nations have murdered and attacked numerous Americans including Navy personnel on the USS Cole, embassy workers in Africa, and American servicemen in the Khobal towers in Saudi Arabia. It is not necessary to prove that either Afghanistan or Iran was involved in this particular attack. These nations are proven terrorist states. They are proven to support and harbor terrorists. In response to these repeated attacks on America and American citizens, the government must immediately declare war on both nations. This war must not solely remove the terrorist groups; it must also eliminate the governments that support them.

This is war, not a legal proceeding.

There is no need to obtain search warrants, extradite suspects, or to hold trials. Just as it would have been absurd to attempt an arrest on the Japanese Zero pilots at Pearl Harbor, so it is absurd to extradite individuals from these terrorist states.

Legal proceedings are matters for residents inside a country. This is a case of foreign aggression.

The war response must be primarily aimed at eradicating the terroristic state. The damage inflicted on these terrorist states must be non-proportional to the damage inflicted on us.

They have destroyed thousands of our people, eliminated a cherished landmark, and damaged our country's military headquarters. We must unleash hell on them.

This is a moral crusade in the name of every American citizen's right to his life, liberty and property. The barbarians have violated these rights through a long string of transgressions. They have openly declared their hostility to us, and their desire to murder us. They have put these murderous beliefs into practice. They will not leave us alone until we are dead or they are dead. We must destroy the destroyers. It is right, it is what justice demands, and it is what our very survival depends upon.

Krik Byers
San Mateo, CA