Decision of consequence

Immediately following the attack on my own country by Al Qaeda, in September 2001, the US was presented with a chance to change the course of its history.

The decision on how we would respond was critical.

Would we allow ourselves the time needed to focus on a calm, reasoned response, or would we answer in the way we always have, with a hastily thought out use of violence?

You know the answer. We bombed, we occupied and we found ourselves involved in a long war.

We made many enemies, and the enemies we made will do their best to hurt us for a long time.

Forgetting for a moment the morality of our response, even on a practical level — lives lost and money spent — we made a huge mistake.

The hideous murder of your airman, Muath Kasasbeh, presents Jordan, a beautiful country I visited three times, with a similar moment.

How will you react?

The hastily arranged execution of two Al Qaeda members, even though convicted in a court of law, is not the answer.

Jordan is at a turning point in its history. The decision she makes in the hours and days ahead will help determine how it is viewed, both by its own citizens and by the rest of the world community, for many years.

I hope your country does what America did not: take the time to stop, reflect, and reach a reasoned consensus on its answer.

Kasasbeh’s death was gruesomely horrible. Jordan’s response should not be more of the same.

Ken Hannaford-Ricardi,
US