Essay on "Just War? Throughout History"

Essay 8 pages (2617 words) Sources: 8

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Set 3:

a) Why are conspiracy theories counterproductive?

When tragedy strikes, people look for an explanation and when they are not provided with an explanation which satisfies them, they formulate theories. Sometimes the theories that are created have very little logic or basis in factual evidence. A conspiracy theory is one which suggests duplicity by the participants to cover up or conceal information (Shalom). Conspiracy theories are particularly problematic because they assume that there is a larger group working together to subvert the truth from being widely known, hence it is a conspiracy. In some cases conspiracy theories are merely a nuisance or immaterial because they are about something in the past, such as the theory that the United States faked the footage from the 1969 moon landing or the theories regarding the Kennedy assassination. Other conspiracy theories can be very dangerous and can hinder efforts from law enforcement and government offices from determining facts behind certain events. For example, the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the United States were perpetrated by Islamist extremists from the Middle East; however some conspiracy theorists refuse to accept this and assert that 9/11 was a plot from our own government (Knight 16). Following the Boston bombings of April 2013, long before enough facts have been gathered to find out who is responsible, message boards have been full of people asserting who they feel is to blame without any evidence to support their way of thinking. Given that this is an open investigation, it is possible that these conspiracy theorists can interfere and impede the ability of police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation from locating and properly punishing the person or persons responsible for this heinous deed. The more people believe in conspiracy theories the more powerful it becomes and the more problematic for people who want to identify the truth.

b) Do you think we have reasons to worry about "super-terrorism"?

The world is full of people who desire power and if they are not given the power they want, then they vow to harm others, very often making good on their threats. In the last few decades, wars have been fought not so much between ideologically opposing nations but rather between zealots and their perceived enemies. Part of the reason that international wars have been less common has to do with the fact that so many nations have nuclear capabilities. The United States, England, the former Soviet Union, and a few other nations have nuclear power but with the expressed approval of the United Nations. Other countries which have been historically aggressive against others have been suppressed in their endeavors to develop nuclear capabilities, including Iran and North Korea. It is feared that if terrorist groups acquire this technology, whether those be functioning for a government or independently, then it will be the probable end of the world. Nuclear weapons were designed during the Second World War to cripple the enemy and force them to surrender. Since then more and more countries have acquired nuclear capabilities, threatening to use them against their enemies if they are challenged. A single nuclear weapon can only reach so far and more developed countries have the strongest of these weapons, but even if a small country like North Korea blasted a nuclear missile, there would have to be retaliation. Besides nuclear capabilities, there is also biological or chemical warfare which also has the ability to harm or kill thousands of people in a single attack (Sprinzak 110). Superterrorism has the potential to be very real and because people have used dangerous materials including chemicals in their terrorist attacks, it is the responsibility of the government to be mindful of any threats to their citizens.

c) Is America vulnerable to homegrown terrorism?

America is the land of the free and personal freedom is the hallmark of the national identity. People in the United States have the ability to believe, to think, and to live the way they see fit. With this freedom comes the ability to say and do what a person feels is right, but there are some people who do not agree with American principles or American policies. Externally, these people have reacted by attacking American soil or its allies. However, not all enemies come from beyond the nation's borders. In several incidences in America's past, people who were born in the United States and who live in the United States have taken it upon themselves to terrorize the other citizens of the country (Michel 220). Several of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil were perpetrated by American citizens. One specific case comes immediately to mind. Timothy McVeigh bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, claiming it was in response to how the United States government responded to the cult of David Koresh in Texas. He did not particularly care who he killed so long as people died and the American people were psychologically wounded by his actions (Michel 228). In a country where there is freedom, there are also prices which must be paid. In the case of domestic terrorism, the criminals behind them are people with grudges or severe hatreds of others people who want to make others as miserable as they are themselves. Although they might claim a political motivation, it is really about the individual responsible. As long as there is the United States, there will be people who resent that others are allowed to have views and opinions which are different from their own.

Works Cited

Berman, S. "Islamism, Revolution, and Civil Society, Perspectives on Politics." 1(2). American

Political Science Association, 2003. Print.

Childress, James F. "Just-War Theories: the Bases, Interrelations, Priorities, and Functions of Their Criteria." Theological Studies. 39, 1978. 427-45. Print.

Dabashi, Hamid. "Wrestling Islam from Islamists: Muslims are Contesting the Rule of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Tyranny of the Clerical Custodians in Egypt and Iran." Aljazeera, 2013. Print.

Hassan, Riaz. "What Motivates the Suicide Bombers?" Yale Global. Yale Center for the Study

of Globalization, 2009. Print.

Hoffman, Bruce. "The Logic of Suicide Terrorism." The Atlantic. Atlantic Monthly, 2003. Print.

Juergensmeyer, Mark. Terror in the Mind of God: the Global Rise of Religious Violence.

University of California Press, 2004. Print.

Knight, Peter. Conspiracy Theories in American History: an Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2003.

Print.

Michel, Lou, and Herbeck, Dan. American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City

Bombing. New York, NY: Regan Books, 2001. Print.

Shalom, Stephen and Albert, Michael. "Conspiracies or Institutions? 9-11 and Beyond." Z… READ MORE

How to Reference "Just War? Throughout History" Essay in a Bibliography

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