The year 2001 will especially be remembered for the unforgiven attack on our way of life, with the images of the destruction of the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon defining our new perspective of ourselves and our nation. We can now allow ourselves to focus on the events of September 11, wage a successful war to eradicate the perpetrators, and be satisfied to end there or, use the war as a means to realize a broad international agenda that has the potential to yield far- reaching benefits globally.

The question whether we should continue the war on terrorism during the holy month of Ramadan presents us with a critical strategic, ethical and diplomatic challenge. If we cease all hostilities in order not to offend the sensibilities of our Arab and Muslim friends, we could severely undermine our war efforts. If, however, we elect to continue with the war, we could unleash a tremendous backlash from the very nations whose support we seek.

Many Americans are perplexed about the connection between Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism. The fact that every known terrorist captured or being sought by the United States is of Arab or Muslim origin creates both real and imagined links that only add to the concern and confusion. To suggest that there is no connection between the two is wrong, but to view Islamic fundamentalism as synonymous with terrorism is just as wrong and misleading as well.

The question that has been much talked about in recent weeks is whether there is or there should be any connection between the war on terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Those who claim there is no linkage are simply wrong. If a direct linkage did not exist before September 11th, it does now.

The fallout from the tragedy of September 11 indicates that those who masterminded the attack seriously miscalculated the reaction by the United States, the international community and the Arab and the Muslim world to the scope and the consequences of the attack. We must now fully exploit the perpetrators' miscalculations while remaining alert to their ruthlessness and insidious fatalism.

The question that has been asked most frequently in the wake of the horrific terrorist attack of September 11 is why America is hated so intensely, so much so that individuals are motivated to kill indiscriminately and in the process die without hesitation. A number of reasons can provide the "

Striking back at Osama bin Laden and other terrorist organizations in Afghanistan and destroying, to the extent we can, their training facilities and infrastructure are necessary for two reasons. First, the perpetrators of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks must be punished for their horrif

Our historical experiences and the increasing pervasiveness and sophistication of terrorist organizations make it abundantly clear that the solution to international terrorism is far from simple. The war against terrorism will be long, protracted and costly both in terms of human lives and materials

Not since Pearl Harbor has America absorbed such a devastating surprise attack. The dimension of the coordinated terrorist act that obliterated the World Trade Center and severely damaged the Pentagon while leaving an unbelievable trail of death and destruction may finally awaken the United Stat