The War Against Terrorism
Stan Mihaylov Dr. Reichert ENGL 1102 2/15/2011 The War against Terrorism Military actions are the greatest folly which mankind has ever created. Since the creation of the human race, there is a trend that the stronger nations impose their power and will over the weaker nations. If in ancient times wars were happening primarily to take on new territories and resources, it was sufficiently clear and justifiable for a whole nation to stand behind that idea. However, wars nowadays are provoked by vague and unjustifiable reasons.
The modern world as I see it is against fighting in wars, but at the same time it spends huge amounts of money for the creation of weapons and military supplies. Today every nation imposes peace, but with a big army behind its back. The scars of the past few wars have not been erased yet – wars which have been called World Wars for their scale. World War I broke out in consequence of the poverty of one otherwise strong nation – Serbia, World War II happened because of the ambition of one otherwise “normal” man who believed that the people with blonde hair and blue eyes are the dominant race.
Unfortunately, these two are the most significant events for the whole 20th century. The century in which we live right now, the 21st century, will not remain bloodless either. The war of our century is only one, and it is called “The War against Terrorism. ” What is actually terrorism? Terrorism is hatred to man and to mankind. Terrorism is a violent war against the civilians and its goal is to cause fear in the society and to attract the media’s attention. There is international terrorism as well as domestic terrorism.
Domestic terrorism is when a single person or a group of people go out and kill random civilians. A good example of domestic terrorism is the Anthrax attacks in 2001 and the Texas cyanide bomb attack. Terrorists have changed the means by which they achieve their goals. Until 9/11 even the best specialists on terrorism couldn’t have guessed that the terrorists will use planes full of civilian passengers as missiles to take down the World Trade Centers. I will always remember that day 10 years ago when the terrorists killed more than 3000 people.
I was back in Bulgaria, a year before me and my family moved to the United States. It was a beautiful afternoon around 5pm and I was watching TV when all of the sudden the show stopped and the World Trade Centers appeared on the screen. I was wondering what was going on and why they started showing the news, but soon enough I saw a plane hit a building. At first I thought it was an action movie but when the news journalist started talking about terrorist attacks on the United States, I understood what was happening.
I will also never forget the thumping sound of people jumping off the buildings and hitting the ground. This was the clearest and also the scariest thing I remember from that sad day. The most natural reaction after the impact on the World Trade Centers is the declaration of war. War against what, against who? Terrorism is not a single person or a nation. The U. S. Millitary attacked a remote and poor country like Afghanistan, but very soon it appeared that the capture of the perpetrators of the attack is impossible. The United States, however, saw an opportunity to capture their oil reserves.
Such a powerful country as the United States soon brought in the whole world into its own war but it calls it under a different name – “The War against Terrorism. ” This put the start of a massive production of weapons and supplies. Just the United States alone spend more than $1. 8 billion a week against the fight with terrorism (Msnbc. com). Just a month after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, President George Bush created the first institution against terrorism called the Office of Homeland Security whose main objective is to prevent terrorist attacks.
Can the war on terrorism ever be won? I think there is no way because “violence brings more violence. ” This cliche is true, and it also uncovers the truth about the war against terrorism. It’s like trying to extinguish a fire using gasoline. The more violent the attacks against the terrorists, the more violent their revenge will be. The terrorists have many followers around the world. In the developing countries of the Middle East, the children learn to shoot a gun from a very young age, learn about the various explosives, as well as the electronic mechanisms used to make detonators.
These abilities combined with the hatred for the west, and more specifically the United States, are a very dangerous combination for the making of a huge army of terrorists. They are willing to die for their cause. There are people who don’t appreciate their life. The death during a fight is their way to happiness. One of the many reasons for which terrorism exists is because the democratic, richer countries in the world try to push their views on the poorer Middle Eastern ones.
The people in those countries don’t really have a point in life because no matter what they do, they will still be poor and that’s why they decide to take revenge and join the terrorist groups. They think that it’s some other country’s fault that they are in this situation which is not necessarily true. And because they have been told from young age that when they die they will go to a happier place, they don’t even hesitate about doing it. Children on both sides of the world are brainwashed from very young age.
In the United States, children are told that the Middle Eastern countries are a bad and dangerous, whereas the children in the Middle East are told that the United States are the bad guys. The war against terrorism is a very harsh one because there are also countries which openly support the terrorist actions – Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, etc. They supply the terrorists with shelter, weapons, and financial aid. Another incident that shaped the way I see this war is when I saw a video how an U. S. Army helicopter attacked civilians in Iraq.
The video caused a lot of chaos around the United States’ government because they wanted the world to think they were the good guys. The video basically showed how an American helicopter attacks civilians in Iraq, not terrorists. It was very graphic and when I watched it, I thought about how unforgiving war was. The terrorists killed a lot more civilians on 9/11 but is it right for the U. S. Army, which is supposedly on the “good side” to go and kill random people? I think this is where the mythic reality comes into play.
The United States wants the world to think they are the good guys, and because of the attacks on 9/11 they accomplished that position. This gives the United States a reason to do whatever it wants with the civilians from the countries of the Middle East. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that what the United States does is bad or wrong. If somebody attacks, and there is no way to solve things peacefully, war comes into play, but it wouldn’t it be a lot better if the U. S. Army was to seek the ones who arranged the attacks on 9/11, not some random civilians who have no idea what is going on?
Terrorism is not just going on in the United States, it is a global thing in which involves almost every nation. After the attacks on 9/11, most of the airports around the world created stricter security rules. The recent attack on the airport in Moscow, Russia also killed more than 30 innocent people. It is not for sure if it was one of the Middle Eastern terrorist groups, but it was a terrorist act nonetheless. Schoen, John W. “How Much Is the War in Iraq Costing Us? ” Msnbc. com. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. <http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/15377059/ns/business-answer_desk/>.
