As we reflect upon the terrifying events of 11 September 2001, we are haunted by analogies from our past. But historical analogies require careful examination, for choosing among them influences the way we will think, speak, and act. Commentators have compared the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to Pearl Harbor, because both attacks came without warning. With Pearl Harbor as the primary analog, the attacks on New York and Washington were quickly termed "acts of war." That is understandable, but dangerously imprecise. It cloaks massive illegality under the guise of rules of engagement -- the very thing that terrorists deny by their outrageous transformation of civil aircraft into weapons of destruction. The attacks on New York and Washington were also unlike Pearl Harbor in that the destruction wrought by Japanese forces had an obvious and official governmental return address. As President Bush acknowledged in his address to Congress last week, the perpetrators of the recent attacks are a "collection of loosely affiliated terrorist organizations" and "there are thousands of these terrorists in more than 60 countries." This is not the language of war, but of crime. The analogy with Pearl Harbor limps badly and leads to policy judgments of dubious value. The recent atrocities have a much closer precedent in the events leading up to World War I. On June 28, 1914, Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was assassinated in Sarajevo. The Austrian investigation into the terrorist attack could not establish a firm connection with Serbia, the likeliest suspect in harboring, if not organizing the assassination. In the meantime, revulsion against the deed abated. When the Austrians decided to act against Serbia (without clear evidence or clear aims--just to "punish" Serbia), they did not have the kind of support that would have prevented the grievance from erupting into global conflict with devastating consequences for decades. This is not the time to launch smart or dumb bombs in a war that cannot be won from the skies. The objective of locating a suspect is a just one. The killing of innocent men, women and children who live in their neighborhoods is not. It will not avenge our painful loss. It will recruit new members for the terrorists. This is not even the time to launch an invasion of infantry divisions in a war that the Russians can assure us will not go well for us, and will only rally impoverished Afghanis around leaders under whom they chafe.
(1350)A Comparison and Contrast Analysis of the Depiction of the ”War on Terror” in Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and The Siege (1998)
On an ordinary day, October 12, 2000, in the port of Aden, Yemen, a small boat pulled aside the USS Cole. The unimportant boat looked unthreatening until a suicide attack occurred. The bombing was devastating, leaving a gigantic hole in the ship, killing 17 American sailors and injuring 39. The attackers were known enemies from Al- Qaeda, which had committed attacks against other countries. The attack on the USS Cole was one of the events that triggered the war on terror, which is still going on today. The U.S. had not concerned itself with Al-Qaeda until this vicious attack. The attack on the USS Cole began a war between terrorists and the U.S; the U.S now knows how dangerous Al-Qaeda is especially after the attack of 9/11. The Cole attack woke the United States and made it aware of Al-Qaeda as a real threat.
President Bush and Prime Minister Blair delivered speeches shortly after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York and the Pentagon in Virginia, which occurred on September 11, 2001. Former President George W Bush utilized pathos, anaphora, and personification in his speech to convey an optimistic tone. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, addressing the same topic, utilized mild invective and parallel structure to express an affirmative tone. Throughout the speech, the former President George W. Bush strives to empower Americans by instructing them to remain resolute, but to “go back to [their] lives and routines”. He uses the personal pronoun we and the common pronoun us repeatedly to indicate that the people of the United States, who either saw the event on television or experienced this event firsthand, were and still are involved in this national tragedy.
The attacks on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 were the first attacks ever to take place on American soil, the repercussions were devastating for the Japanese Empire; sadly, Pearl Harbor would not be the last threat America faced on her own land. On September 9th, 2011 (9/11) a radical Islāmic terrorist group known as Al-Qaeda attacked America. While America dealt with both of these attacks with unyielding resolve, executing that resolve was what is starkly different between the two tragedies. Pearl Harbor did have some quintessential similarities to 9/11; both attacks unprovoked by America, both provoked public support against aggressors by way of presidential speeches, both lacked prior intelligence on the attacks themselves, both sparked Within hours of the attack on Pearl Harbor, hundreds of Japanese-American leaders forced into high-security camps such as Sand Island at the mouth of Honolulu harbor and Kilauea Military Camp on the island of Hawaii where they were held without counsel or knowing what charges levied against them albeit the obvious bombing of the naval base 5. The day after the bombing on Pearl Harbor President Franklin Roosevelt delivered his famous Infamy Speech to a Joint Session of Congress, the speech called for a formal declaration of war on the Empire of Japan, congress granted it within hours of being requested 6.
This book is written from a perspective foreign to most Americans. Historically, American students are taught from a single perspective, that being the American perspective. This approach to history (the single perspective) dehumanizes the enemy and glorifies the Americans. We tend to forget that those on the opposing side are also human.
September 11, 2001 was one of the most devastating and horrific events in the United States history. Americans feeling of a secure nation had been broken. Over 3,000 people and more than 400 police officers and firefighters were killed during the attacks on The World Trade Center and the Pentagon; in New York City and Washington, D.C. Today the term terrorism is known as the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives (Birzer, Roberson). This term was clearly not defined for the United States for we had partial knowledge and experience with terrorist attacks; until the day September 11, 2001. At that time, President George W. Bush, stated over a televised address from the Oval Office, “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.” President Bush stood by this statement for the United States was about to retaliate and change the face of the criminal justice system for terrorism.
Following the 9/11 attacks, the United States came together with a staunch promise to “never forget” that day’s atrocities. Congressmen from opposing parties reached across the aisle and stood arm in arm at the Capitol to show their commitment to this pledge. But,when another terrorist attack had stunned New York City a century earlier, this promise did not exist. In 1920, a bombing on Wall Street rattled the city’s financial core and earned the title as the city’s worst terrorist attack until 2001. The assault came merely two years after the US debuted as a global superpower with World War 1’s end. Despite the attack on this newfound American identity, the bombing never found closure for proving for the first time that the US was not invincible.
“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” These words were spoken the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The bombing of Pearl Harbor cost more than 2,000 lives and nearly destroyed 20 naval vessels. Eight of these ships happened to be battleships, but luckily no aircraft carriers were in the area. On December 8, the day after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt gave his address to the nation. He ended this address with, “I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire,” thus beginning the United States role in WWII.
The transformation of America is often discussed in both popular media and academic dialogue. Each generation has a name, new technologies define new eras, and events seem only notable when they are “historic”. While major events catch the interest of a broad spectrum of the public consciousness, subtle interactions between actors and slight shifts in beliefs are constantly changing the realities of the world. When the twin towers fell in 2001, the United States seemed to be thrust into a new world of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Jihadists, and a global fight against terrorism; bombs were dropped, ground forces were deployed in foreign states, and anyone who publicly questioned the urgency of war was at risk to be labeled a traitor. This one event was indelibly branded on the consciousness of the world and if often seen as a moment of sudden transformation. Most Americans believe that the troop presence in Iraq and Afghanistan are due to the terrorist attacks on the United States and while it is hard to deny that the 9-11 attacks was the impetus for putting boots on the ground, it is imperative that the chain of events following the horror of September 11 are seen to reflect the willingness and wants of actors in control before the towers fell.
Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese it was a military attack on a military target. The attack on World Trade Center was a civilian aircraft against a civilian target. The targets were different for the two of the events. In 9/11, World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the White House were targeted. In both events, thousands of lives were lost. In the attack on Pearl Harbor, 2,400 people died within a matter of hours. In the attack on 9/11 3,000 people died. The people that died were all innocent during these events!!. The 9/11 and the attack on Pearl Harbor were both surprises for the nation. These both events were attacked by people from another country such as; Pakistan, Syria, Japan, and other countries. These attacks have in common that 9/11 and Pearl Harbor are facts, that the attacks were unprovoked, without benefit of a declaration of war on U.S. soil.
Host: On September the 11th 2001, the notorious terror organisation known as Al-Qaeda struck at the very heart of the United States. The death count was approximately 3,000; a nation was left in panic. To this day, counterterrorism experts and historians alike regard the event surrounding 9/11 as a turning point in US foreign relations. Outraged and fearful of radical terrorism from the middle-east, President Bush declared that in 2001 that it was a matter of freedoms; that “our very freedom has come under attack”. In his eyes, America was simply targeted because of its democratic and western values (CNN News, 2001). In the 14 years following this pivotal declaration, an aggressive, pre-emptive approach to terrorism replaced the traditional
The decision that should Japan have had attacked Pearl Harbour has divided many historians and it is still debated today. Pearl Harbour was a strategic point, located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Its strategic point would have indefinitely helped the Empire of Japan in succeeding world domination. As well as this Pearl harbour was a suitable location for an offence, to seize the US from interfering with Japans expanding Empire. The attack was also a ‘revenge tactic’ to stop the US from growing, and becoming a more feared nation. Despite these arguments, Pearl harbour was a difficult and daring location for an offensive, and therefore it was not a reasonable decision
Bush demonstrates that with the use of metaphors, personification, and also repetition. Using metaphor, he compares America to steel, saying that America is like steel, but not pliable. Portraying that whatever dangerous act comes to America, America will stay strong and not move. Personification is to explain the reasoning behind the terrorists’ operations and the motives behind this move. Bush gives feeling and visualization traits to the nation, consequently putting it in the nation’s point of view, highlighting what the nation felt and saw. Repetition is to bring America together and strengthen everyone. It is to show that this heartbreaking event did not just affect the victims, but it affects the entire country. The way Bush uses repetition to get the people of America together makes America stronger because the more a country is together, the more power and strength it will possess. As a final point, President Bush’s usage of these three rhetorical devices grabs the attention of the people and helps Bush express the type of tone he wants to get
September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden decided to “wake the sleeping giant.” The US immediately sent SOF units and CIA officers to recon the area and meet with the Northern Alliance. The primary battle leading up to this operation was Tora Bora, which was absent of conventional forces. Up until this point, the war on terror was predominantly a Special Operations fight along with Air Force for overhead support.3 SOF and the Northern Alliance had already displaced Taliban forces out of many towns and villages in northern Afghanistan to gain control of key terrain. Key towns in northern Afghanistan including Taloqan, Konduz, Herat, and Mazar-e Sharif took only three weeks to clear.4 The SOF units were making huge impacts across the country calling in air strikes. At the same time the SOF units were diligently...
The amount of corruption within the United States’ violent involvement in the Middle East is almost unreal. Unfortunately, the wars have been too real—half a million deaths in the first year of Iraqi Freedom alone (Rogers). These wars have been labeled--the violence, filtered-- to fit a specific agenda. Whether the deaths are deemed an acceptable loss in the name of national security, or as a devastating injustice, the reality doesn’t change. Lives have been lost. Lives that will never be brought back. The intention of wars is in part due to attacks on the twins towers on September 11th 2001. When the buildings fell, almost three thousand people died, according