Stephen Agnatovech
4/20/17
Prof. Shirk
POL 357
The
U.S. War on Terror Inflicts Terror, but isn’t Terrorism
It is difficult to grasp whether the United States in the “War on
Terror” commits acts of terrorism. The tactics the United States uses to fight
against terror is terror itself, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the
United States is committing acts of terrorism. If you take out the context of
the situation between the United States and the Middle East the United States
actions look like terrorism, but as we had talked about in class can a state
truly commit terrorism? I would have to say in this specific case that the
United States isn’t committing terrorism because it is looking in the best
interest of the American people. Protecting American citizens is the United
States mission, and as long as it continues to keep the American people safe to
the best of its ability, the United States actions can be justified. Putting
this aside, drone strikes have proven to be ineffective, and although the
United States isn’t committing terrorism, drones strikes in particular strike
terror into innocent civilians. Other tactics the United States uses in the War
on Terror also inflict fear such as using torture to retain information, and
rendition as well as black sites. Although the United States is a state that
cannot commit terrorism, they certainly use tactics that are intended to
inflict fear, and terror in the people they’re targeting.
The portrayal of drones used by the United States is that they are
precise, effective, and allow us to target enemies we never could’ve before.
Drones also allow the United States to target enemies from the air rather than
putting our own troops on the ground. These are all positive tactics, and help
save American lives, but drones have been proven to be ineffective and to do
more harm than good. The United States counts combatants as any male that is 18
or older which shows an inaccurate representation of civilians killed by drone
strikes because not every male 18 or older is a terrorist. With this inaccurate
representation still, “From June 2004 through mid-September 2012, available
data indicate that drone strikes killed 2,562-3,325 people in Pakistan, of whom
474-881 were civilians, including 176 children” (Living Under Drones). This
shows that there a number of innocent civilians targeted by drones. The
consistent presence of drones instills fear into innocent civilians as well.
“Drones hover twenty-four hours a day over communities in northwest Pakistan,
striking homes, vehicles, and public spaces without warning, their presence
terrorizes men, women, and children, giving rise to anxiety and psychological
trauma among civilian communities” (Living Under Drones). This shows that even
though the United States is a state that doesn’t commit terrorism, it still
inflicts fear and terror into innocent civilians even though it is not the
United States’ intent.
The use of torture,
rendition, and black sites are also tactics that strike terror into sometimes
innocent civilians. These tactics can be useful in order to retain information
that can help keep the American people safe. It is important to realize that
justifying the use of torture of terror suspects is important to help keep
innocent people safe whether they’re United States citizens or not as long as
it is a tactic used to possess information. If you’re an accused terrorist
rendition can also be a successful tactic in pulling them away from a crowd or
area which can result in saving lives. If people witness the capturing of an
accused terrorist and watch them disappear it could immediately inflict terror.
Hopefully if people witness this it would help in deterring them away from
committing an act of terrorism, or associating themselves with any terrorist or
terrorist organization. These actions taken out by the United States government
are not acts of terrorism, even if they’re intended to inflict fear and terror
into innocent civilians.
Works
Cited
International
Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic at Stanford Law School and Global
Justice Clinic at NYU School of Law, Living Under Drones: Death, Injury, and
Trauma to Civilians From Us Drone Practices in Pakistan. (2012).
I like in your post how you talked about how it may be perceived that the United States is committing terrorism but in fact they are only responding to the terrorism that is being shown to them by protecting the American people. Sometimes the use of advanced weapons in war and aggressive tactics can be viewed as terrorism. But I also like to think that in some cases when the United States does act back against terrorist organization that are threatening to harm the American people that sometimes the use of terror or fear to drive back the enemy can be excused in some sense as long as it doesn't cross the line.
ReplyDelete-Christopher Bouchard
What stood out to me the most in your post was that the US acted on behalf of the American people and their safety. I think that the safety of the American people is of great importance, but not when putting other innocent people at risk of death. I believe that by justifying their terrorist acts, this argument places greater value on american lives, than those of people in the countries we are attacking.
ReplyDeleteDivine Mugunga
DeleteSteven,
ReplyDeleteDoes al Qaeda have a constituency whose interests it claims to be acting in? How about the PLO or the IRA? If so, how do we differentiate between the claims of the US and that these notionally 'terrorist' groups?
I would say that Al Qaeda specifically has a constituency whose interests it claims to be acting in. However, I feel that this constituency goes along and agrees with the terrorists out of fear for their lives since they're a group known to commit heinous attacks against its own people. The difference between Al Qaeda and IRA is that the IRA was a group that wanted to fight for freedom to be a recognized state without being colonized. Al Qaeda may be acting in the name of Allah under Islam, but that doesn't justify the senseless killings of innocent civilians both in and out of state. The U.S. is trying to establish peace in the middle east by trying to take out the terrorist organizations not only to save innocence in other countries but even in the middle east itself. There are many countries that recognize ISIS as a terrorist group, and they can be seen as irrational. The only way the U.S. can try to improve the situation in the middle east is by trying to eliminate the terrorist groups who hold most of the wealth and power.
Delete- Stephen
I really enjoyed your post and I think you make a few very interesting points. I like how you believe that while drones do inflict terror, it is in fact not terrorism. However, the one part of your post that I did not agree with was when you talked about how because they were protecting the American people their actions were justified. Would you apply this to any case where a government or organization was just trying to do what was best for their people? Such as al Qaeda who believes they are doing what is best for Islam
ReplyDelete^Andrew Gillis
DeleteYou had some great points. It is important to protect the American citizens but I also believe that using torture as a tactic is immoral and should not be used on anyone. It has been said by scholars that the use of torture is ineffective and there are other techniques that can be used to obtain information.
ReplyDeleteChirusha de Mel