Too Tired? Too Anxious? Need More Time? We’ve got your back.
Initial post:
Brands takes as the title of Chapter 14 “Blowback,” which is a CIA term. It also was the title of a very good trilogy of analyses on U.S. foreign relations in the twentieth century.
Why do you think he chose this term? Does it work as a descriptor for the age? As we move farther away from the September 11 attacks in terms of time, do you think the country has come to grips with understanding why the attacks happened? How have understandings of, for example, race in the United States changed since 9/11?
Peer responses:
In response to your classmates, analyze the importance of the attacks on September 11, 2001 in changing the American perception of safety. How did those events alter how Americans perceived of their place in international politics?
Peer 1. Christine
When I think of the term “Blowback” what comes to mind would be something along the lines of the consequences we pay for our actions. More specifically when our actions are not necessarily done with malicious intent but results in something negative. I think this can be a good descriptor for the age for this age. Looking back to 9/11, though I was very young, I do remember that day and the fallout of it fairly well. America had a huge target on its back, and if I remember correctly from my previous classes that cover similar topics, globalization had a role in this. The world was clearly connected in a way that never was before. This of course allows for ideas to spread and clash which often gives way to extremism. The 9/11 attacks were a crushing blow and so much changed after. In some ways, I think we have come to understand why this happened. We also have the hindsight to see our missteps in the fallout. At times we had let fear control how we perceived Muslims. It was justified in some people’s eyes as they did not want something like this to happen again. Did it make it right? Not by any means, but I think for the most part we see this now.
Peer 2. Amir
I believe he chose the term Blowback due to the blowback that American foreign policies received. I believe many people are coming to grips wit why the attacked happened and I know many people believe it was an inside job. I personally believe that it was not an inside job, but that we had good knowledge that it was going to happen. The reason we let it happen was to bring American’s closer together to fight a “common” enemy and stop fighting amongst themselves. I also believe that we are about to face another issue like that in today’s time to hopefully achieve the same affect. I am middle Eastern myself and I know many people feared Middle Easterns after the attack, but It was the terrorist group that did it who we all really feared and hated. I do not believe that there is as bad of a race problem in America as people believe or say there is, but that the media only shows the bad to keep us fighting and arguing so politicians can do more corrupts things. I have travelled the world with the military and seen just how bad other countries are and just how good we have it here.
Too Tired? Too Anxious? Need More Time? We’ve got your back.