1. 9/11 was a horrible day in American history and too many lives were lost; it was a slaughter. However, the U.S. seems to respond to situations like we're the only country that has ever been attacked or lost lives. For instance; Pearl Harbor and 9/11 and the wars and bombings that ensued, to be exact. But does the United States think it's justified in it's actions? Do you?
2. Is Sontag almost pulling for the enemy in this piece? Why does she call them "courageous" when it is defined as "a morally neutral virture"? Not many Americans would call the Taliban "virtueous"...
3. What constitutes as a "smart program" for our military? Should we continue on our "self-proclaimed superpower" trip? Or is it time to beef it up because of recent nuclear threats?
As I sit and type this blog, more innocent people have died in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. To date, according to costofwar.org, between 152,280-192,550 civilians have died because of our "presence" in that area of the world. It sounds morbid and very shocking, but it's wicked and true. When reading Susan Sontag's "9/11" I couldn't help but think of a question that's been on my mind a lot lately. Why do we continue to occupy Iraq and Afghanistan and slaughter their people? Isn't it enough already?! Haven't we proven ourselves the dominate military force in the world? As horrific and damaging as 9/11 was, is it justified the way we have reacted? This is the main point I'd like to discuss.
So, I'm going to try and "tread lightly" for once in regards to this subject! When I started doing all my research about the corresponding information I'm about to divulge, I started to feel sick to my stomach. I've never known how many people have actually died in most of the "conflicts" we have waged. It's disgusting and truly sad. But are we justified in our defense tactics? Because I'm a proud American, it's hard for me to say. I believe in "an eye for an eye", but to a point! Killing honest citizens that want nothing to do with the Taliban and their cause is unjust.
On September 11, 2001, the United States was attacked by members of the Taliban. I don't need to go on and further illustrate because unless you've been living under a rock; you know what happened. Susan Sontag in her article for the The New Yorker, "9/11", made some interesting points. However, she was a little too supportive of the Taliban with quotes such as, "courage (a morally neutral virtue): whatever may be said of the perpetrators of Tuesday's slaughter, they were not cowards." I'm sorry; but they were most definitely cowards! They are not courageous and they will never be associated with that word when speaking with most Americans. Taking innocent lives is never, ever courageous!! So why is the United States retaliating in the same way with taking nearly 160,000 innocent lives in the Middle East? Just look at the numbers! We lost a little over 3,000 people on 9/11. But compared to 150,000 plus killed over in the Middle East, it doesn't seem fair! So then, does this mean we are cowardly too? Honestly, we're the biggest "cowardly lions" out there to date! We have lost a little over 6,600 soldiers in "Operation Enduring Freedom" and "Operation Iraq Freedom". It's terrible, I know, but in WWII we lost a little over 291,000 troops and 671,800 were wounded. Atleast that was to take down a crazy man that ended up taking 6 million lives during the Holocaust! Still, a loss is a loss; but most Americans, even soldiers fighting in the current war, don't feel like this is a cause worth fighting for. It's all about oil and money and we need to cease using 9/11 as an excuse. It's just a lost cause; and a majority of our citizens would probably agree with me.
Like I've said before, I'm a very proud patriot and ultimately think a strong military is the best option for us, especially with all the recent threats from North Korea. BUT, enough is enough! 9/11 was one of the worst days ever for most Americans living today, but it is not a reason to go SLAUGHTER INNOCENT women, children and men. We need to fully pull out of the Middle East and stop the retaliation. I think they get the message already! We killed 150,000 people insantly in Hiroshima and Nakasaki in retaliation to Pearl Harbor. It did absolutely nothing but prove that we were the "bullies" of the world, and it seems we've continued this trend in the Middle East. In Japans defense, atleast they attacked MILITARY bases in Pearl Harbor, not a whole city of innocent bystanders. It's time we finished up the "extreme retaliation" and show that we can change as a country. Let's show some kindness and compassion for once. Let the Middle Eastern countries figure out whatever it is their panties are in a twist about! We're not helping much anyways. And it's simply making us look godawful.
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