Give Peace a Chance After the horrible tragedy that occurred on September 11, Americans are brainstorming for ideas on how to fight terrorism. Minds are collaborating on what can be done to reconcile the West in the minds of Islamic nations. Many strategies have been introduced to achieve peace and progress is being made towards pacification of differences. Ideas for peacebuilding that have already been set in motion will be discussed in Section 1, and new suggestions for reconciliation will be introduced in Section 2. SECTION 1: Both political and private associations in the United States have introduced wonderful ideas that they began the process of reconciliation between Islam and the West. On the political side, Bush visited a mosque after the terrorist attacks to show support for American Muslims. He declared that terrorism "is not the true faith of Islam. This is not Islam. Islam is peace. These terrorists do not represent peace, they represent evil and war." (http://www.beliefnet.com/). This act earned Bush the support of American Muslims who had been persecuted after the attacks. It also served as a testimony to other Muslim countries that this war was not a religious issue. Unfortunately, after the Bush rally, Osama bin Laden led Muslims to believe that this was indeed a jihad. In a speech on 3 November, he declared: "It is a question of faith, not a war on terrorism, as Bush and Blair try to portray it" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/). One of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants explained: "The root of terrorism is in the conflict in Palestine." It is believed that if the war in the Middle East ended, more than half the battle to end terrorism would be won. Previously, the United States had sided with the Israelis over the Palestinians. Secretary of State Colin Powell gave a speech in which he indicated that Bush is taking a more diplomatic stance in bringing peace to the Middle East. Instead of being extremely pro-Israel, the speech was aimed at both sides and created an emotional appeal that each of them could relate to (New York Times, November 15). This new position will allow each side to feel comfortable in the negotiation process and hopefully take a step towards peace. When the United States defeated the Taliban, it earned the respect of the Afghans. Although there were some errant bombings, the Afghans realize that all the targets were aimed at military sites.