Salem, Missouri
Kyle Hampton
The question is, “What is terrorism and how can we stop it?” The first area you have to look at when you try to stop terrorism is which of the two types it is. Are the terrorists asking for some type of demand; such as money or a law to be changed, or are they doing it for a so-called religious purpose? This is the type of terrorism the United States is dealing with now. It also has to be the most dangerous out of the two different types. I say this because they only have one thing that they want and that is their religious purpose. Just like the attack on September 11th, their religious purpose was to kill as many Americans as they could. They are angry with us because we don’t believe in their god and we are one of the wealthiest nations on Earth. Another reason this type of terrorism is more dangerous is they don’t even care if they die. They feel they will be rewarded when they die so they are ready to do it.
No one expected anything. It was just another fall day in September. People where waking up getting ready to go to work just like they always do, not knowing the terror that was getting ready to happen. While on the other hand, there were about twenty people waking up thinking how glorious this day will be. They got ready and headed down to the airports, thinking all they have to do is make it on their planes and it will all be over. The four planes took off from the ground. The terror was in the air and there was no way to stop it.
The first plane hit the World Trade Center. When this happened no one really knew what was going on. We were confused we thought the plane might of just have a malfunction. Then it happened, eighteen, minutes later a plane hit the second of the Twin Towers. This time we knew something was going on. The New York streets were turned into mayhem. People didn’t know what to do. The New York Fire Department and New York Police Departments came on the scene. They tried to get as many people out of the building as they could, just when we thought that this was the worst thing that could have happened, we find out that yet another plane was flown into the Pentagon. The number of lives lost just kept adding up. But that was not the end of it. The last flight was hijacked, but the passengers knowing they were going to die, overtook the terrorists and crashed the plane into an open field in Pennsylvania.
The number of lives lost in the buildings and on the ground was horrifying. But you also have to add in the lives of the people on the planes. These terrorists used American Citizens and American Planes as bombs to kill our own people. So we can see this attack was carefully planned out from the beginning. It makes you wonder how could the U.S. intelligence not even know that it was going to happen. You also wonder how did these people get into the United States? Why weren’t they stopped from entering? You can’t think that this would have stopped the terrorists’ attack from happening, but you would know that it could have helped. Or it might even prevent attacks from happening in the future. I say that we have to ask government to step up in those two areas.
Osama bin Ladin didn’t just kill many people and affect their families and friends, he broke just about every Americans sense of security. We are one of the most powerful and great nations in the world. Yet we can’t stop about twenty people from entering our country and killing many innocent civilians.
Like I stated before in the essay, they attacked us for a religious purpose. So it is not like we can just give them their demand and get it all to stop. I guess if they were going to demand something, then it would be for all Americans to be dead.
After the attacks we also had to worry, will this happen again, and if it does what will we do to stop it? When will it happen, would it be a week from now, will it be tomorrow, or will it be later on that afternoon? We didn’t have a plan for the first time when it happened would we have a plan for it the next time.
The question still remains though. How can we stop the terrible acts of terrorism? I am only a senior in High School, but from what I have seen on television and heard about in the news, examples would be September 11th, the Oklahoma City Bombing, the World Trade Center bombing, the attack on the USS Cole, and the bomb that went off at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. I feel that we will never be able to completely stop terrorism. Don’t get me wrong; I am glad that President Bush is doing all that he can to catch the people that hit the World Trade Center and Pentagon. But even if we do kill all of them, there will probably be another group pop up in another part of the world in a remote little area. They might even have the same goal in mind, just like the Taliban.
If we were able to kill all the members of every terrorist group in the world, what will keep a citizen of the United States from doing an act of terror? Just like Timothy McVeigh did in 1995. He was just one man, but he took many lives.
I will say one thing about the attack on September 11th, Osama bin Ladin might have broken our sense of security, but he could not break our spirit. America has pulled itself together and the feeling of patriotism is overwhelming. Everywhere you can see American Flags proudly displayed. I have noticed that if you drive down the Interstate it is easier to count the number of cars that do not have an American Flag on them, than it is to count the ones that do.
America just needs to stay strong and support our government. Let them know that we feel what they are doing is the right thing in trying to stop terrorism.
After watching the news and hearing
everything that the other counties have said, I feel that they see us a lot
differently than we see ourselves. We
see ourselves as this great independent and free country.
Yet the countries such as Afghanistan see us a nation that is over
confident and a little too proud of our freedoms.
They feel we brag about our freedoms a little too much. So Osama bin Ladin found a weakness in our country and
attacked it.
Q2- Why is the first question so important to resolve and agree upon?
If we come together on this issue then it will be resolved a
lot more quickly. If everyone in
the United States has a different opinion, then we wouldn’t know where to
start. So we then can’t fix the problem and get attacked again just like
before.
Q3-
What action or inaction by the United States and its allies, in the author’s
opinion, increased the likelihood of chemical and biological attacks?
We have to figure out what motivates
terrorists. If we can figure this
out we might be able to stop a future attack from happening.
The United States also needs to back off and not press the Middle East as
hard as we have before. Such as when we forced for an gun inspections in Israel.
Q4- Why does the author believe the United States is a popular target
for terrorists?
The
Author believes that the United States is a popular target because. We don’t follow Allah, which they think is the one true
god. And we prosper from it, which
really makes the bin Ladins angry.
Q5-
What motivates terrorists, in the author’s opinion?
Q6- What reasons does the author give for the intense hatred of the
United States by people like Osama bin Ladn?
The
Author stated that people like Osama bin Ladin hate us because we don’t use
their type of government or follow their god.
But the thing that really makes them angry is we do this and prosper from
it. They don’t understand how we
do it. So they must destroy us.
Q7-
How does rule by divine right preclude the reasoned debate that occurs naturally
in a democracy?
If
they believe in ruling by divine right then it is more like a monarchy because
you have one person that says they were chosen by god to rule. Just like a King or a Queen.
In democracy you get to have debate.
If you would like to express your opinion then you can.
If you were to express your opinion over there then you would get lashes
or an extreme punishment.
Q8-
What evidence does the author offer that the terrorism visited upon the United
States on September 11, 2001 was based on religious rather than political
fanaticism?
The
author feels is was a religious fanaticism because we have gotten no demands
from Osama bin Ladin. They also
have not given us a chance to negotiate with them.
Q9-
What is a fatwah?
A
fatwah is an explicit religious order. An
example is the fatwah that Osama bin Ladin made in 1998.
He told Muslims it was there holy duty to kill American civilians.
The reason why
the attacks will keep coming is because the attacks on September 11th
was so successful. And also because
of all the publicity the taliban and its family members got over the whole deal.
Q11-
Why does the author claim that declaring war is futile? What two historical
examples does he/she give to back up this claim?
It is hard for America to fight a winning war when we don’t
know who the enemies are such as in the “War on Drugs”.
The other way it is hard for America to fight a war is when we fight on a
limited basis just like in the “Vietnam or the Persian Gulf War.”
Q12- Complete this sentence using the author’s words: “A declaration
of war implies . . .
“ A declaration of war implies a conflict of limited
duration in which one side eventually surrenders or capitulates and the other
side wins.”
Q13-
What does the author suggest we do?
Q14- Explain the significance of the Coventry story.
The significance of the Coventry story was to help back of the
authors opinion on consorting with evil to prevent larger evil.
It also helps the person reading the essay to make their final opinion on
whether or not they would consort with evil.
Q15-
Suppose you were a general in a combat situation. Could you “consort with evil
to prevent larger evil”? Why or why not?
I know it would be very hard to do but I think that I could
handle it. I would just tell myself that what I am doing is helping save
lives in the long run. This could
also maybe even bring it to an end in the long run.
Q16-
The author says something is unAmerican. What is it? Do you think the author is
correct? Please write out your own definition of unAmerican.
When the author says that something is un-American they mean
that it is something that America would not do.
I would like to question this, who is to say what is American and
un-American.
Q17- Do you agree that terrorism must be defined adequately in order to
be stopped?
Q18- How important do you think it is for you to research, discuss and
consider the definition of terrorism? Are you willing to spend the time it takes
to give your definition your very best effort? Why or why not?
Q19- Were you able to define terrorism in your essay without admitting
that the United States has been guilty of terrorist acts?
Q20- Are you optimistic about the future? Will you pledge to do your
part in pursuing mutual understanding? Why or why not?