Blog 6

After September 11^th 2001, the United States was looking for answers. Who are these people and why did they do what they did? The government franticly tried to explain this unexplainable situation to the U.S. in ways that everyone could understand. George Bush said a speech on the 20^th of September and Dick Cheney was interviewed about the matter on the 16^th of September. They both addressed the same question: who are the terrorists?

            George Bush let everyone know that the terrorists that were attacking our country were the terrorist group known as al Qaeda. Bush also mentions that al Qaeda is a loosely affiliated terrorist group with followers all over the world. He is basically implying that they could be anywhere and we just don’t know it. He also says, “its goal is remaking the world – and imposing its radical beliefs on people everywhere.” They are driven by what they believe and believe the rest of the world should believe it, too. George Bush also states that they are a form of Islamic extremists. They are driven to kill off Jews, Christians and anyone else that doesn’t believe the same things they do. Starting to sound a lot like Nazi’s. Even in his speech he refers to them as following the path of Nazism. He is trying to evoke the feelings of hatred towards the Nazis and project it onto these terrorists. Bush also lets the world know that, “they stand against us, because we stand in their way.” They are threatened by our power and us. They know that we are one of their biggest threats and to take us down is the easiest way to take the Untied States down. They wanted to make their mark with a surprise attack and throw us a curve ball to throw us off.

            George Bush also says that our enemy isn’t just al Qaeda but any country that aids them and their plan. Any country that supports them with supplies, shelters them or has any hand in the matter, are the United States sworn enemy. He even warns the terrorists and the countries supporting them that their will be consequences if they do not stop and turn over and power they have. This is a naive statement because this is what the terrorists want. They want to evoke anger and have someone to fight and leave their mark on. They want to spread the word of what they believe in. They want the whole world to know that they have power over strong countries like the United States and they can rough us around.

            Dick Cheney is very similar in his views as George Bush when it comes to terrorists. He first explains their name as “the base” because that’s what it stands for in Arabic. This doesn’t give us much insight into what they truly stand for. He calls them barbarians. He is basically dividing a line between the U.S. and these terrorists by saying they are uncivilized and we are. He basically goes on to cover the basics such as they are al Qaeda and they are a terrorist group. The interviewer tries to get a feel for what the United States’ next move is but Dick Cheney just keeps trying to move from the subject and basically telling him he doesn’t quite know. Many people knew a war was inevitable and that we were going to fight back but Dick Cheney didn’t want to let that slip.

            Both of these men led the U.S. to the idea that these terrorists are this loose idea and group of people that could be anywhere. They are uncivilized and trying to push their beliefs on the world by making these huge acts of terrorism on powerful countries.