LONDON -- The murmurings against the bombing of Afghanistan are growing louder. Opponents argue that the bombing is cruel, unjustified and pointless. Its only effect, they say, is to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis caused by famine and the huge exodus of refugees. The raids should at the very least be stopped for the holy month of Ramadan, they say, pointing out that the Northern Alliance is just as brutal and nasty as the Taliban, and that the whole Muslim world is being antagonized and Osama bin Laden no doubt gaining many more recruits.

While these points cannot be entirely dismissed as baseless, I do not think that the critics have yet recognized that the attacks on Sept. 11 were not just attacks on the United States. They were ultimately attacks on humanity and civilization as we know it. If we now fail to take firm action, terrorists, who include not only Islamic fundamentalists but also members of such ruthless organizations as the so-called Real IRA, will think that they can perpetrate further atrocities with impunity.

This will lead to the deaths of many more innocent people. No country can isolate itself from the terrorist threat. Appeasement, as we know from past history, will not work. The removal of bin Laden and his terrorist network will require sacrifices that we must not take lightly, but these will be only the first steps.