Reaction Paper on "Hunting the Jackal Memoir"

Reaction Paper 4 pages (1319 words) Sources: 1 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Hunting the Jackal

The memoir Hunting the Jackal details the extraordinary career of Billy Waugh, a Vietnam veteran who nearly died in the jungle, and who came back to fight some of the most deadly enemies of America as an independent contractor for the CIA and as a member of the Special Forces unit in Afghanistan. The book is a chilling read, not simply because of the fact that Waugh encountered Osama Bin Laden long before the terrorist orchestrated the first and second infamous attacks on the Twin Towers, but also as an illustration of the singular, Cold War mindset that was characteristic of the Special Forces units in which Waugh served. Throughout the book, Waugh emerges as an unapologetic defender of hawkish American policies, even when they almost result in his death. Although the reader may admire his valor, it is difficult to condone his single-minded perspective upon human rights and world conflict.

For example, Waugh still seems to regret the American withdrawal from Vietnam, despite the suffering he endured during his 23-month tour of duty, calling the abandonment of South Vietnam a "distasteful retreat" (Waugh 88). Waugh attributes the failure of America to triumph over communism in Southeast Asia to the fact that more violent and decisive action was not taken sooner, say in 1965, not to the fact that the Viet Cong had greater local support than the American-backed government. Likewise, Waugh says that he supported the covert assassination of Bin Laden, whom he portrays as riding around in a white Mercedes while Waugh trains covert operatives in the desert (Waugh 121). Bin Laden is not seen as having any real ideological position, he merely acts for his own cynical enrichment and self-aggrandizement -- just like evil communists, just like all of the other 'bad people' whom Waugh hates as enemies of America. America's enemies do not act for their own reasons; they merely hate American because America stands for freedom.

Waugh attributes the failure to effectively fight terrorism, not to a poor understanding of international politics, but to "liberal do-gooders" and to a "nice peanut farmer" who was elected president, but who did not understand how the world "really works" (Waugh 108). Only people whom agree with Waugh are deemed intelligent and perspicuous enough to govern. Waugh does offer an insider's perspective -- admittedly, one of the strengths of the book is that Waugh provides a more detailed portrait of the world's most currently notorious terrorist than is often given by the Western media, noting Bin Laden's highly technical and educated background as a civil engineer, and explaining how this benefits his ability to understand the topography of a particular area. Waugh is good at giving a technical, nuts-and-bolts analysis of the process of fighting both counter-terrorist and conventional warfare, but readers looking for extensive historical analysis beyond a blow-by-blow account of war should look elsewhere.

This is unsurprising, given that Waugh's entire life was shaped by the military and the 'us vs. them' struggle of the Cold War. He began his career as part of the Special Forces in Vietnam and despite his advanced age was a part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. It is hard not to respect Waugh's service, but one could reflect that his career is illustrative of both the good and the bad of American intelligence -- the good in its single-minded pursuit of justice and foolhardy bravery, but also lacking in the ways that it elides differences between individual nations and views all of those who do not support every single hawkish action of the U.S. government as unpatriotic or stupid.

Vietnam is never a nationalist struggle in Waugh's eyes, it is about communism vs. freedom, and terrorist groups are not understood in their Islamic, regionally specific ways, but simply as evil. Fighting terrorism and fighting communism are the same in Waugh's eyes, just as they were for so many politicians who cheered the American presence… READ MORE

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