The attack on America is also an attack on Ireland. And Ireland must also be party to any retaliation.
Like all Americans living abroad, watching yesterday's tragic events unfold filled me with intense feelings of sadness, anger and powerlessness. Watching the second plane hit the World Trade Centre live on TV only magnified the horror of knowing several friends of mine were in the building at the time. At least one of them is dead. Most Irish people have been generous in their expressions of sympathy and solidarity and for that all Americans are grateful.
But under the surface, as demonstrated in today's Irish Times editorial and Fintan O'Toole's column of September 12th, lay mixed emotions, and a prejudging of any American military response as unjust and excessive. In both pieces lies the implication that "arrogant and merciless" America somehow brought this on herself, and that our people are as savage and malignant as those who yesterday killed likely more than 10,000 of my former classmates, neighbours, colleagues, friends and lovers.
What happened yesterday was not a misguided cry for help by an oppressed and ignored people. Nor was it a natural disaster to be endured and accepted. It was an act of war. Any American who was near a TV yesterday understood that.
It was also understood by people watching from trading floors in Dublin's IFSC and the City of London. They, too, would have known people in the World Trade Centre, and were anxious to find out if their colleagues and friends survived the attack. In the back of their minds was also the damage this attack will do to the world's economy and financial system.
Yesterday wasn't only an attack on America. New York belongs to the world. It is a symbolic place built on the idea that people from many countries, including Ireland, can come together in peace to engage in commerce. That idea has brought an unprecedented standard of living for more people than ever before, regardless of any mild recession that was on the way.
Ireland, more than most, has benefited from this idea. And it is the idea that is under attack.
Before Irish commentators condemn whatever response is made to yesterday's atrocities, they would do well to realise that this war is not just an American war. It's Ireland's fight too.
President McAleese was right to describe the events in New York and Washington as an attack on our common humanity.
But Ireland's support cannot be limited to words. It will require joint action at the United Nations, sharing of intelligence data and resources, and public support for reasonable steps, including the use of force, to stop those responsible from committing more atrocities.
While this will target the individuals responsible, it may also include countries who give safe harbour or financial support to these terrible people.
This will come as a shock to a country which has long prized neutrality. It may also risk offending oil-producing states if they choose not to cooperate with the effort. It may include tolerating tactics Israel has been forced to use and most people find distasteful. The last time Ireland faced a choice about its neutrality on this magnitude was the second World War, where domestic political concerns made overt support for Britain an impossibility. No such historical baggage exists with this war.
The war itself will be terrible, as are all wars. This war in particular will be horrible because the enemy may not have a capital city or infrastructure to attack, or a conventional army to fight. Although steps will be taken to minimise civilian deaths, innocents will die. Winning in the old-fashioned way may be impossible. The war will not end with generals sitting down to sign a ceasefire.
Even with all of these unpleasant realities, Ireland should realise that it, too, is at war. Hopefully it won't take hijacked jets crashing into Leinster House and the IFSC on the same day to make Fintan O'Toole and his colleagues understand that.
Richard P. Delevan is a native New Yorker living and working in Dublin