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Justin Castonguay Dr. Dietel-McLaughlin Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric November 13th, 2013 Researched Argument: War On Terror In the world today, there is a unique, ongoing war regarding the battle to bring a halt to terrorism. This battle is known as the War on Terror. The purpose of this war is to disband all alliances that Al Qaeda has made since the attack on 9/11, on the Twin Towers in New York City. There are 5 major issues surrounding the War on Terror and why many believe it is in a never-ending battle with no sign of ending in the near future. The five major issues surrounding this belief are; there is no single known enemy, we have no idea what their motives are for their senseless and heinous acts, the terrorist organizations use unconventional war techniques, we lack the much needed global support against the terrorist organizations, and lastly, the lack of privacy from terrorists due to technological innovations such as the Internet. The media, via television programs such as Fox News, CNN, and Hannity, novels, internet sources, photographs, narratives, and blogs all have the ability to influence the way the general population feels about this perpetual war by controlling our exposure about the war, its impact, and its devastation across the seas in the Middle Eastern countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and Libya. The media utilizes many different techniques and approaches to play on our emotions and

Castonguay 2 appeal to us to pick a side. They often paint a picture that allows for one interpretation. A valid criticism here would be that this warn as it is called is simply not a war we can win in any measurable way. Our principle oponent has not been in any recognizable way identified. A major question surrounding the War on Terrorism is who exactly is the main target that the United States is attempting to stop? Is it the Iraqi? Iranians? Afghani? Saying that Al Qaeda is the target is far too broad since Al Qaeda is a well-established and highly organized terrorist group with members all over the globe, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and even the United States. Following the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City, our own President George Bush was unable to identify with full confidence who the single main enemy is and where they are from. In fact, George Bush referred to them as evildoers and evil ones since he was not sure exactly which nation these terrorists originated from. Even when terrorists attacked again on October 9th, 2001 with the infamous anthrax letters, George Bush, according to Daniel Pipes, blamed these same amorphous "evildoers" for "continuing to try to harm America and Americans." Proceeding 9/11, images of the horrific attack were played over and over in countless news reports, magazines, and movies. The emotions that were stirred and evoked as the American icon Twin Towers collapsed is still very much alive and felt in the hearts of all Americans. The media through television, newspapers, and magazines displayed the pictures of the terrorists. Images of terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda training facilities make Americans cringe in fear and associate them as the stereotypical bad guy or evildoer. As the movie Zero Dark Thirty depicts, Americans thought that the fear of terror from these evil people would have died with Osama Bin

Castonguay 3 Laden. While it was a huge accomplishment to take down that sinister man, to this day it has not quelled the War on Terror. As CBS news states the Al Qaeda branch in Yemen opened attack on a US airliner in 2009. Unfortunately for Americans, Those operations were carried out without any direct involvement from bin Laden. (CBS News) meaning that the War on Terror would drag on for an extended amount of time. When the media exposed that the War on Terror would continue, the feeling of relief after the successful manhunt of Bin Laden, was diminished. Our culture tends to oversimplify and we tend to see one enemy as with World War II and Nazi Germany, but we need exposure to different groups through our media in order to allow Americans to conceptualize and realize that it isnt that simple. It is impossible to identify a single enemy in this type of unconventional war. Most would agree that in order to claim victory in any type of match there has to be a clear victor and a clear loser.

The fact that we dont know exactly what the terrorists motives are in this war aids in the perpetuation the war. Other than the fact that they want all Americans dead and the end to Western Civilization, what exactly are they trying to accomplish? Along with their hatred towards Western Civilization, they despise the alliance we have with one of their most hated opponents, Israel and the Jews. The hatred for Americans there prevails among not only terrorists groups, but by a majority of the average citizens. Osama Bin Laden in an interview said, Every Muslim the minute he can start differentiating, carries hate towards Americans, Jews and Christians, this is part of our ideology (Osama Bin Laden). This shows how deep-rooted the utter hatred towards Americans is amongst many of the Middle Eastern people. As Michelle A. Vu of the

Castonguay 4 Christian Post reports, Extremists also claim the United States attacks Islam but also by exporting our culture through movies, music, the Internet, and other forms of mass communication. (Michelle A. Vu). In the eyes of extremist groups like Al Qaeda, the content displayed in American Hollywood movies is evil and so different. Even the movies showing American violence and Wall Street in a way validates extremists Muslims negative opinions about us. News reports have the ability of showing armed American soldiers walking among unarmed civilians in various parts of the world impressing blatant disregard and disrespect for other cultures in the world. Americans are viewed as the ignorant bullies of the world in the eyes of the average Muslim man in the Middle East. If the ordinary lives and struggles of Americans were exemplified more to the extremist Muslims then perhaps they may view us in a more positive and human way. Americans need to find out how the average person in the Middle East views us and how our image is being portrayed and perpetuated in a negative way. Only when we can both understand what each side desires can we move forward with positive change. I would stand to believe if either side knew what values and beliefs they were attempting to fight for they would be more committed to an end result

The fact that terrorist organizations use unconventional warfare such as shoe bombs, hijacking planes, liquid bombs, and attaching bombs to women, makes them unpredictable and illusive. They always seem to be one step ahead of us. Whenever we think we have figured them out and thwarted their terrorist plots, they think of something new that catches us off guard. Images in movies describe Muslim womens primary role in Muslim society as bearing and watching over children, other than that, they are

Castonguay 5 complete invisible and insignificant. Women in Muslim culture are subservient to men and totally dominated and controlled by men. Multimedia shows Muslim women completely covered with their traditional Muslim burqas. Due to restrictions, it is extremely difficult to search Muslim women. As Frank Crimi describes, those taboos often allow Muslim women to hide explosive-laden suicide vests underneath their burqas and pass undetected through security checkpoints. After they sneak by the checkpoints, they set them off in a large crowded area, effectively killing many people with a single bomb. We need to use every element of multimedia to educate the world to be on the offensive and try to figure out how they may attack next. Thanks to technological inventions in multimedia, authorities have become more educated by documentaries, news sources, and Internet blogs and know to be on the lookout for information revealing the terrorists next move. However, the average American does not have that same kind of alertness. It should be a priority of the media to reach out to the American public and educate them on the subject. If the media showed us images of women suicide bombers it would open our eyes to the fact that any method may be employed by these ruthless organizations. Americans need to be able to utilize the Internet to intercept and see what discussions are out there on the various methods of inflicting terror. Showing us the kind of methods used would stimulate our emotions and increase our alertness much more than just being told to watch out for women suicide bombers. Striking an emotional response within us would solidify its relevance and importance. We have technology at hand but this blessing is also a curse because we can never even remotely predict what will be next.

Castonguay 6 In order to expedite the end of the War on Terror, the United States needs more global wide support. The United States is unable to enlist its many allies. The fight against terror should include global allies against it participating at all levels. While the United States technically has allies all over the world, according to Geoffrey Garrett, Although the international coalition in Iraq includes 30 countries, only 20,000 of the 160,000 foreign troops stationed there are from countries other than the U.S. (Geoffrey Garrett). The War on Terror has to be fought with true global alliances and more than 20,000 troops are needed. The United States needs to win over the many allies who support our side of this struggle in this endless war and send more troops to aid the cause in the Middle East. Immediately following 9/11, I distinctly remember, with much reinforcement from the media, the USA had won over the hearts of many countries around the world. The media did an outstanding job of show casing the destruction of the Twin Towers to the eyes of the world in order to educate and reveal to the world that Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups are a serious concern. They are a threat to not just the United States, but to the entire world and all the liberties and freedoms we all enjoy. I recall watching Fox News and seeing civilians in foreign countries in various locales around the world having memorial services where the National Anthem and God Bless America were sung. These televised events showed the world at their peak of emotion and support for the United States. However, once the United States entered Afghanistan and later Iraq, global support for the United States rapidly started to dwindle. I recall various news programs depicting various bombed cities in the Middle East with the calamity of children crying and citizens grieving the loss of loved ones. Peter Maas of the New Yorker described the dramatic tearing down of the statue of Saddam Hussein in Iraq

Castonguay 7 as An American flag was draped over the statues head. Eventually, a Marine vehicle equipped with a crane toppled the statue. The spectacle was broadcast live around the world. While this is not a United States only war, the images of the United States flexing their muscles was displayed to the world by the media in this vividly candid scene. While it seems like a glorious moment in American history, it actually had a negative connotation when we look at it in retrospect, the flag represents the mismanaged invasion and occupation of a war that dragged on for a decade. (Clare Kim of NBC News). It also had a more negative connotation because the media made the War on Terror look like a solo effort on behalf of the United States against the terrorists. The United States was supposed to go in and squelch terror, but putting the US flag on the face of Saddam Hussein, a Middle Eastern leader, implied in its symbolism that the United States was dominating and taking over the Middle East. It made it personal. It is tough to break the solo effort images of the United States when acts like these are televised and shown all over the world. These images of the United States would be much better received if the media showed the United States working together with Australia, France, Britain, and Poland in the to attempt to combat terrorism. All forms of multimedia needs to sell this effort of the war being a globally united one, instead of being just a fight with the United States against the terrorist organizations in the Middle East. If the media exposed the terror cells in France and others around the globe more, the general world population through the newspapers, news documentaries, and Internet sources, would be able to see that it is important not just for the United States, but for the entire global community to help each other in the fight against terrorism as one big unit. The United States cannot achieve this alone. With global assistance, the end of the War

Castonguay 8 on Terrorism is more likely to occur much faster and more successfully. After all, the US had the willing support of many countries after 9/11 and that support is needed now. Support for the US is weak even on our continent. My family is all Canadian and even in this country with probably more similarities than any support is not unconditional. Clearly the US needs to win over support that they need in order to make any advances in this conflict.

While the Internet is a brilliant and highly usefully invention that aids everyday life, the terrorists are using it to help plan their next move. Due to the Internet, the Al Qaeda and their affiliates are able to hack into government websites and acquire information that they would never have been able to without it. A big issue with terrorists is the fact that they are starting to use social media such as Twitter to communicate with other terrorist organizations and lure followers. According to Dan Rivers of CNN, You can see how rapidly the connections start to multiply and how easy it is for a budding terrorist to build up global contacts (Dan Rivers). Al Qaeda has their own Twitter account that they use to discuss bomb-making methods as well as for the planning of their next possible attacks with other terrorist groups in volatile enemy nations such as Somalia and Syria. The Internet social networks can be used as screens to mislead authorities. Discussion of a terrorist plot to attack the food supply for instance may merely be a distraction for a more serious terror threat. The social networks are so complex that the means to stay ahead in the game has become extremely difficult. Despite the fact that they can watch us and communicate with other terrorist organizations through Twitter, their being on Twitter may actually aid us in certain ways

Castonguay 9 as well. We can see what they are tweeting as it acts like a piece of glass revealing both sides of the pane. We can use it to put out distractions and for all intents and purposes, to spy on various terror cells. Just as they can infiltrate our intelligence, we can do the same to them. What many of us in our daily living think is harmless information that we are posting may be valuable information to terrorists. They can see as clearly as possible what any given person's belief and value systems are and use this information to their advantage such as for recruiting or gaining support. Hacking of financial information allows them support various activities around the world. Scientific information is available for anyone to see and can be used to make advances in developing weapons of mass destruction. The Internet really is not something that can be policed effectively around the world due to the mass accessibility meaning any one person cannot easily be identified. The Internet technology has added an extremely dynamic piece to this already volatile and morphing puzzle. As technological advances are made, our methods of using them to our advantage will also to have to change. Technology is complex and we need to be able to make our approach more complex. This complexity and dynamic nature is just another reason why this war is not one to claimed by a victor The War on Terror has been an ongoing struggle for Americans to capture terrorists of the Al Qaeda organization and those who are affiliated to it. The fact that Al Qaeda has spread to all corners of the world has made them a legitimate global threat. The fact that their motive for inflicting terror on innocent America civilians is unknown is puzzling, frustrating, and senseless. The fact that the terrorists are using weapons that are unconventional and unprecedented compared to more typical and traditional wars makes them unpredictable and deceptive. The fact that the United States is virtually

Castonguay 10 fighting the entire war singlehandedly with minimal support from the rest of the global community puts the stakes higher for the American people. The fact that terrorists have been using modern technology and social media to enhance communication with other terrorist organizations, all contribute to the common thought that this War on Terror will never have a victor. Perhaps, a policy of containment is more germane than an outright victory.

Annotated Bibliography Crimi, Frank. Al-Qaedas Female Suicide Bomber Death Cult. N.p., 6 Nov. 2012. Web.
http://frontpagemag.com/2012/frank-crimi/al-qaedas-female-suicide-bomber-death-cult/

I used this source to research how women in Al-Qaeda are treated as far inferior to men. Other than caring for children, women as deemed useless to the Al-Qaeda men.

Castonguay 11 The focus of this source is that Al-Qaeda terrorist men use women to strap bombs to them and dentate the bombs when they reach a crowded area, effectively killing as many people as possible with only one bomb. This can be done because due to security restrictions, they are difficult to detect through their Muslim traditional burqas.

Garrison, Carla. Why Did Osama Bin Laden Hate Americans, Jews, and Christians? (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 11 May 2011.
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/truth-be-told/2011/may/11/whydid-osama-bin-laden-hate-americans-jews-and-ch/

I used this source to research why the Middle Eastern terrorist organizations despise the United States and Western Culture as a whole. In this article, there were quotes from Osama Bin Ladens interview where he discussed that his hatred for the United States is deeply rooted.

Garrett, Geoffrey. The War on Terror: An Uphill Battle for Global Support. UCLA International Institute, 8 Nov. 2004. Web. http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=16548 I used this source to research that a big issue with battling with the terrorist groups is that there is minimal support from the rest of the world. The key to being successful in this War on Terror is to gain the support from the rest of the world. This

Castonguay 12 war is too much of a solo effort on behalf of the United States and, because of this, it makes the United States image look bad in the eyes of the Middle Eastern people.

Gertz, Bill. Al-Qaeda Opens First Official Twitter Account. Washington Times (n.d): n. pag. Web. 27 September. 2013. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/27/al-qaeda-opens-first-officialtwitter-account/?page=all I used this source to research the increasing presence of terrorist organization. AlQaeda is using Twitter to expand their beliefs and plan to terrorist groups all over the world. This makes their communication tactics very difficult to control.

Kim, Clare. Marine Hides American Flag That Marked End of the Saddam Hussein Era. NBC News (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 10 April. 2013. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/27/al-qaeda-opens-firstofficial-twitter-account/?page=all I used this source to research the aftermath of the United States Marines tearing down a statue of Saddam Hussein and then draping an American flag over his tore down

Castonguay 13 face. This elicited a poor image of the American flexing their muscles and exerting their power and force on Iraqi people.

Maass, Peter. The Toppling. The Wayward Press (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 10 January. 2011. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/01/10/110110fa_fact_maass I used this source to research how the media exaggerated this moment in American history. It talked about how the media flashed the image of the tearing down of the statue on countless news stations. The media wrongfully felt that this was a huge moment in the War on Terror and was a major step towards ending the war. As it turned out, this was not the case.

Pipes, Daniel. Who is the Enemy? N.p., January 2002. Web. http://www.danielpipes.org/103/who-is-the-enemy I used this source to research that Al-Qaeda is a huge terrorist organization with affiliates all over the world. Unlike most wars, this war has no one single identifiable enemy. Since there is no single enemy, it is impossible to halt terrorist activities. In fact, the knowledge of who the enemy they are fighting is so little, that George Bush referred to them as evildoers.

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Vu, Michelle. Why Do Radical Muslims Hate America So Much? The Christian Post. N.p., 20 September. 2011. Web.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/why-do-radical-muslims-hate-americans-so-much-56043/

I used this source to research that Al-Qaeda despises us because of our alliances with the Jews and the fact that they hate us for exporting our culture through movies and through social media. Simply put, Al-Qaeda hates the fact that Western Civilization is so technologically advanced.