On September 11, 2002 the cover of an Iraqi state owned weekly newspaper had a picture of the world trade center burning and the caption underneath the picture read, “God?s Punishment.”

It is no secret that America?s foreign policies have made it unpopular among many countries but does that merit what happened on September 11th?

Is there a limit to justification?

Does an injustice allow any type of retaliation?

Fighting death with death, or the possibility of death, as such is the case with a possible war with Iraq, seems to be the deemed solution in matters of the world.

Although peace talks have been explored, the looming solution is war. Saddam Hussein has been warned and has not adhered, so now he must be taken out.

Never mind that many innocent people will lose their lives or that “getting him” will not necessarily ensure any kind of peace.

This action is justifiable if lives are threatened although we know that lives will be lost with an attack on Iraq. It has to be done because that is the natural next step in the process. On a smaller scale the United States has laws that give specific guidelines to what is justifiable retaliation.

If one?s life is threatened then killing is justified. Either way it is a life lost but it is possible to determine where the blame lies. In complicated matters such as foreign policy, it?s effects and possibilities the blame is harder to determine.

Who started these problems?

Who deserves to be killed?

From the view of some middle-eastern countries, America deserved to be attacked and have many lives lost. Operation Desert Storm, imposing sanctions against Iraq, and seemingly siding with Israel are justifiable reasons for an American tragedy as far as they are concerned.

As well many Americans would probably say the actions taken against these countries was justified.

The question becomes who is right?

Who is suffering the most from the injustice and when has retaliation outlived its purpose?

The Palestinians believe Israeli occupation is a justifiable reason for suicide bombing and Israelis feel that it is a necessary way to ensure safety for Israel.

It?s a never-ending story. The beginning and the end are blurred and placing the blame for injustice is almost impossible.

So although the next logical step seems to be “enough already!” there will always be something that someone has done to deserve retaliation or some type of justified payback.

Unfortunately, at least in the case of foreign policy, there are people who will lose their lives in the name of justice.

There are those who will lose fathers, sons, daughters, mothers and friends and there are no real guarantees, except that another act of revenge and justification will follow.

All of this in the name of justice.