I have been spouting out my opinion about the current crisis, but I definitely don't have the perspective needed to understand the situation. An Afghan-American wrote an article at salon.com about his take on the whole thing. It is truly a unique and unbelievably valid perspective. Some excerpts:
"You can't bomb us back into the Stone Age. We're already there. But you can start a new world war, and that's exactly what Osama bin Laden wants."
"When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think bin Laden, think Hitler. And when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps."
"We're flirting with a world war between Islam and the West. And guess what: That's bin Laden's program. That's exactly what he wants. That's why he did this."
The story as a whole is even more powerful. It is something you should read and think about as you watch the news these next few weeks/months.