I endorse Yin's thinking that the US needs to reflect on its foreign policy ('In the wake of terror, understand your gov't', Sept 14). Especially at such a difficult, painful time so that the root causes for the hatred of the US are determined and also examined.

But this is going against the grain of the thinking of most Americans who are shocked and outraged by such a massive attack on them and are calling for retaliation. While understandable for now, the retaliation cannot or should not be made as the basis of US foreign policy.

Unfortunately, the way things have unfolded so far, I am afraid the determination of the root causes does not appear to be of any priority in the thinking of the Bush administration and many US citizens.

This is because the attacks on New York City and Washington DC have been pretty much framed as an attack on democracy and freedom. All the talk coming out of the Bush administration about taking retaliatory actions against the culprit (and that increasingly points to extremist Islamic groups spearheaded by Osama Laden) are cast as a war against people opposed to freedom and democracy.

It is perhaps understandable that the Bush administration would frame the attacks in the above way. It is certainly not the first time it has been done. It appeared to have worked for past US administrations at least in rallying the country to support retaliatory actions.

What is more troubling is that the so-called free and independent media of the US have also pretty much accepted or assumed that framework. Their continuous coverage of the attacks and aftermath would only get many US citizens to adopt it as well, uncritically and jingoistically.

This, I fear, will become a major barrier to the search for the root causes.

What are the root causes? I don't pretend to know but a good place to start would be for US to examine its foreign policy, especially towards the Islamic world in general as well as the Middle East.

Not doing that, while continuing to listen to themselves that the attacks on the US were an attack on freedom and democracy, amounts to not listening at all to what others have to say. And, this includes the horrendous attacks on Tuesday.

What is said about any leader can also apply here: However powerful a nation may be, it cannot expect to live in peace with those of lesser power if the latter were ignored.

And we have tragically witnessed how even the most powerful country in the world can still be savagely attacked. When there is a will, human ingenuity and creativity can always be harnessed one way or another to achieve an objective.