War on Terror

War is ugly. In war, there are grey areas. We try, as a nation, to combat the ugliness of war by romanticizing it and by creating a narrative of necessity. In The Iraq Papers, document 9.10, President Bush creates that narrative of necessity by stating “None of us could have envisioned the barbaric acts of these terrorists. But they have stirred up the might of the American people, and we’re going to get them, no matter what it takes” (483). He ends the interview saying that the United States will stay involved until it need not anymore, and that it will do “whatever it takes” to win the war (483). President Bush’s speech is a great example of what we talked about last class, about the melodramatic political discourse, the idea that because we were attacked we are good and they, explicitly, the terrorist but implicitly, all Muslims and Arabs, are evil. Furthermore, and arguably more important, is this idea of being above the law that is perpetuated through this “whatever it takes” melodramatic political discourse and strengthened by this idea of being in a state of exception, which would later allow the US, using wartime as the defense, to act unlawfully, though maybe necessarily, both home and abroad. Before I respond to that, I want to touch on part of the interview with President Bush. This idea that this tragic event resonated through all of America is made crystal clear in War Time by Mary Dudziak. With her multi-perspective account of that infamous day, it is clear to see that all of America, children and adults, men and women of all races and ethnicities, were affected by the events of that day, which goes back to a couple of points I made last class. 9/11 was such a massive tragedy that A) war was inevitable, because instead of the media presenting it as a lone wolf operation, it was presented as a whole ideology that was at fault but that the majority of the population, regardless of how the media spun the tragedy, would've called for or supported the war. The majority of the first-hand account military books like Chris Kyle’s American Sniper and Marcus Lutrell’s Lone Survivor, among a sleuth of others, can be used as support. They joined the army because of 9/11, because they believed that war was inevitable. Back to the unlawful, but arguably necessary, use of surveillance via the PATRIOT Act and use of extreme interrogation techniques. US policymakers used the war as the defense for such acts, stating that it was in the best interest of National Security, and it was, to a point. Enhanced interrogation techniques were used in the interrogations of actors that led to the raid on Osama bin Laden. But do the outcomes justify the means? Regardless, the War on Terror represents a new era of policy, home and abroad, narratives used to garner support for a cause, and overall national identity.