The horror happened. It was an unthinkable act of terrorism against innocent people as the two hijacked airplanes rammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City toppling them to the ground. It was an act of evil, as the lives of thousands of innocent Americans were callously extinguished.

Presumably, the perpetrators are known—they're Arabs. We've, also, been told by the authorities that Saudi Arabian, Osama bin Laden is the prime suspect. He has, also, been accused of the 1993 bombing of the very same Trade Center, the 1996 bombing of U.S. military housing in Saudi Arabia, and the 1999 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa.

Not one of these accusations has been conclusively proved, nor has bin Laden acknowledged doing them. In fact, it's been reported that he has specifically denied having anything to do with this latest act of terrorism against the United States. From New York to California, the country's response to the tragedy was expected. American citizens drew together, flew American flags at half mast, and prayed.

Patriotism poured from the mass media, as did the talk of revenge. "Full wrath "" shouted the headlines after the president's address to the nation. "No question, he—bin Ladenis— the prime "," said the president.

But the president's statements are merely assumptions, not proven truths, and they are questionable! The attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon were not traditional acts of aggression, acts of an organized body of political leaders of one people against another as it was with Pearl Harbor. Although it has not yet been conclusively proved, we are told they were acts of terrorism by a small group of extremists venting their hate against this country.

The events of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 and of New York City, September 11, 2001 are worlds apart, both in meaning and implications.

Yet our "leaders" ignore these differences and lead us into war. Two weeks after the atrocity, the U.S. had military forces ready to begin a war against "terrorism" and the president had told Americans to get ready for an unconventional war. "Americans," he said, "should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign unlike any other we have seen."

Today, our air power unmercifully bombs the tiny, desolate country of Afghanistan, accomplishing little of positive value except to deplete our country's stockpile of bombs and guarantee more business for the munitions manufacturers. There is little that can be done to stop the momentum of madness gripping Americans today: the forces of aggression, profit, and unbridled emotions are too strong.

But I'd like to remind my fellow Americans of Plato's observation more than 2,000 years ago, as noted at the beginning of this editorial. Could this not be why we have been inflicted with incessant war since the end of WWII? Americans have suffered the implausible "Cold War," the illogical "Drug War, Korea, Vietnam, Kosovo" and now the frightening "War on Terrorism" into which we rush? Is the behavior of power seekers any less true today than it was 2,000 years ago?

Do I imply that Americans have had something to do with the massacre of September 11th? I certainly know it was Muslim hands that carried out the atrocity. But I can't help wondering who planned and helped execute the sophisticated death scheme? Can I ignore my knowledge that a group of high-level Americans once did play with the idea of bombing an American city merely to get the American people to approve a war against Cuba—and possibly Russia—during the Russian-Cuban missile incident?

So, why couldn't this horror of New York City also be a plot to get the American people to approve this Administration's need to invade Afghanistan? I can no more ignore this possibility than I can ignore the evil of Hitler's regime and the truth that many of these same Americans helped Nazis escape punishment?

It's frightening for me being a citizen of the United States in the year AD 2001 knowing I am one of the comparatively few Americans alive who view my country and the people who rule it as I do. It's also lonely, for it has been almost impossible to confide in close friends, it's bad enough my family believes me paranoid. But what else can a person believe, but what he, or she, believes? And what I believe about this country and the people who rule it is based upon a lifetime of observation and more than thirty years delving into our nation's history.

Take a moment to consider the possibility that there could be more than meets the eye in the 9/11 horror, that this attack was too complex to be planned and executed without the help of a powerful and better organized group than is possible by a lone Muslim leader hiding somewhere in the barren mountains of primitive Afghanistan; that there might be others who hold more immediate and more compelling reasons for shattering the peace and stability of the U.S. in such a violent way.

Shouldn't you think more carefully about the path down which your "leaders" wish to take you? After all, it is a path to a violent and dangerous future.