It was a great shock to hear about the destruction of the World Trade Center buildings and the attack on the Pentagon in the US. And my heart goes out to those innocent lives lost in the tragedy.

I believe almost everybody in the world who heard about the tragedy and is following the news, will have sympathy to the victims. And I also believe that a majority of us will not hesitate to blame this on 'overseas terrorists' - particularly groups that have something to do with 'Arab', 'Islam', 'jihad', and so forth.

Hence, I would like to highlight how the mass media (TV, radio, newspapers and even the Internet) can affect and influence the way people think.

If one reads what has been printed so far, it appears that all fingers are pointed at Osama Laden. And the news are also talking about lives lost, about how the American people feel, about what should the US do after this.

From the sound of things, retaliation is very likely. All these thoughts and views are aired all over the world. People will remember and talk about this event for years and decades to come. Why? Because it involves the big US of A.

But, what about the lives lost in Iraq because of the UN-approved sanctions? How about the terrorism act of Israel on Palestine and South Lebanon? These are just two examples of US involvement outside their country to look after their own interests. These devastations seldom make headline news because they expose the ugly side of Uncle Sam.

But when it comes to incidents that threaten so-called US interests, the country gets full coverage in its bid to raise sympathy and support, not from world leaders as they will definitely voice their condemnation for the attacks and sympathies to the victims (as this is the politically correct thing to do). The support the US needs is actually from the general public, the lay people like you and me.

What the US should do, among other things, is to reflect on the reasons behind the attacks. Why the US? Why the World Trade Center?

But if the US blindly retaliates by indiscriminately capturing or even prosecuting suspects based on suspicion alone, the 'conflict' will not end here.