Raymond Close

On August 20, 1998, the United States ordered military strikes in Sudan and Afghanistan in response to the bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania earlier that month. In the following viewpoint, Raymond Close asserts that such a response does not reduce terrorism and weakens the United States’ diplomatic standing in the world. He contends that the United States should not follow the lead of nations that answer terrorism with violence, such as Israel, because those nations have failed to solve the problem. In addition, Close claims the attacks in Sudan and Afghanistan may inflame militant Islam organizations and lead to future terrorist bombings. Close served in the Central Intelligence Agency for 26 years.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In Close’s view, what is terrorism’s best asset?
2. Why...