Essay on "War on Terror -- Noam Chomsky"

Quoted Instructions for "War on Terror -- Noam Chomsky" Assignment:

I'm attaching the paper that I oreginaly wrot, the proplem with it is that it is not an argument, please use it as a base for this paper.

This is how I need this paper to be organized. ( please do not copy and past information, it cannot have any plagiarism)

1. Theasess of argument Essay (must be a complete sentence that states your topic and your opinion on the topic):

2. Body of the argument Essay

-Reason #1

Supporting evedence

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2.

3.

-reason #2

Supporting evedence

1.

2.

3.

-reason #3

Supporting evedence

1.

2.

3.

3. Counter Argument

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This is my original paper

War on Terror ?

According to Noam Chomsky, the reason that the United States has not given publicly a definition of *****terrorism,***** is that if any specific definition were given, it would be immediately obvious that the United States is the largest religiously fundamentalist terrorist state in the history of the planet. So, while the description of the war on terror is universally in the national media, no actual description of terrorism is ever offered. The American society doesn*****t seem to be too bothered by the issue, regardless of what the international community might think. In my opinion, the war on terror is irrational and the mainstream media is not playing an objective role in getting the average American involved in the matter.

If terrorism as defined in some strict sense doesn*****t exist, on what, exactly is the war?

The two main schools of thought seem to rally around, first faith and belief in the US government and its objectives, and second, in the searching for answers to these very pressing questions. The republican website for political and conservative issues, Townhall.com suggests in an article published in 2006 that *****we have got to stop treating our own government as the enemy.*****(Chavez). This is ironic, and goes to show the efficacy of the national media in convincing the American people that they are actually

the ones doing the fighting in this so-called *****war.***** How is questioning the validity of invading two sovereign nations, a treat to their own government? It is common

knowledge that the First Amendment of the US Constitution gives the population the right to freedom speech. Is it not a fundamental principle of the American way of life to question government? Isn*****t this what was meant by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence?

It is therefore highly ironic that an organization that calls itself *****Town Hall***** clearly disagrees with the very action of questioning, to say nothing of revising the methods and justifications the Federal Government uses to engage in a protracted war in the name of its citizens. In America, unlike governments that truly constitute totalitarian or otherwise oppressive regimes, it is the people who hold the power. At least this was the original concept. While a representative democracy makes sense due to the tremendous complexity and scope of the US, it is beyond comprehension as to why anyone would willingly give up their most fundamental rights to participate. But this is exactly what is happening in the US. Pieces of legislation like the US Patriot Act are diminishing individual rights.

In the last decades, the phenomena of *****the disappeared***** started arising. That is, people who have apparently been abducted by the US government, Spanish Inquisition style, flown to foreign nations, tortured, sometimes killed, and never returned. Those victims found a voice only at Amnesty International. One of the few organizations that try to make public the secret torture cases of American and European governments. The

underlying point to this madness, is that the popular media has fabricated an environment of fear, so complete that the ordinary citizen of the US, thousands of miles away from the

Middle East, who has never been subjected to any form of international terrorism, now believes that he, specifically, is a real target for the next *****terrorist attack.*****

Considering the numerous cases - based on accusation alone - of capture and torture published on Amnesty International website, there is an undeniable reason to fear. This exact type of behavior is easily recognizable in the history of conflict: *****Mass. was the center of Witch Hunts, where the accused were burned alive at the stake, and also in Nazi Germany, where millions of innocents were infamously slaughtered in the holocaust.

The American people should wake up. It is possible that the War on Terror, not merely an ill-defined war, but a war that unashamedly goes undefined, is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the people of this great country. As the Washington Post asserts, *****The atmosphere generated by the *****˜war on terror***** has encouraged legal and political harassment of Arab Americans for conduct that has not been unique to them.***** (Brzezinski) It is instructive to pose the question as to whether or not every individual born into the unfortunate circumstance of having an Irish or Italian surname would be targeted as readily, as brutally, if the so-called *****terrorist attack***** that occurred on 9/11/2001 had come from Ireland or Italy.

America is a nation of individuals who believe in individual freedoms. This is a luxury not enjoyed by much of the world, and yet, the people seem so distanced from the reality of their situations. The lack of concern with which the American citizens hand

over their rights to their government is a cause of terror in one*****s heart. Speaking on behalf of the American people, Zbigniew Brzezinski, ex national security advisor to

President Carter, closes his thoughts on the matter by urging that, *****Even in the face of future terrorist attacks, the likelihood of which cannot be denied, let us show some sense. Let us be true to our traditions.*****

Works cited

Zbigniew, Brzezinski. *****Terrorized by *****˜War on Terror*****, How a Three-

Word Mantra Has Undermined America*****. 25 March. The Washington Post. 2007 9 November 2008

Chavez, Linda. *****We are losing the war.***** 16 August 2006. *****Communications

Corporation. 9 November 2008.


the_war.html>

Chomsky, Noam. *****On 9-11, Noam Chomsky debates with Bill Bennett.***** 30 May 2002.

Pablo Stafforini CNN. 9 November 2008