Assignment 5: Part 3

9/11: The World's Perspective

- Conspiracies Continue to Abound Surrounding 9/11
Asquith, Christina. "Conspiracies Continue to Abound Surrounding 9/11." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO, 7 July 2011. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.uwm.edu/ehost/detail?sid=c20c9ef4-c1d0-4433-85a0-0a389018df3c%40sessionmgr114&vid=1&hid=110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=22354225>.

Summary of main ideas: The article deals with the conspiracy theories concerning the September 11 attack in the U.S. According to the 9/11 Scholars for Truth, the attack appears to have been orchestrated by U.S. officials. The group believes little of the government's official version of events, and says the smoking gun is the collapse of World Trade Center 7. 

Key terms:

•       Conspiracy

•       Theory

•       Attacks

•       Government

•       Scholars

Perspective: A group of professors believe that the attacks on 9/11 were an "inside job" and that we (Americans) were lied to by our government. They believe little of the government's official version of events, and say the "smoking gun" was the collapse of World Trade Center 7, the 47-story building next to the twin towers that buckled under at about 5 p.m. on Sept. 11. The group said the collapse is scientifically unexplainable, and they claim to have evidence that the building was imploded intentionally, as were the twin towers.

- 9/11: Ten years later

Century, Christian. "9/11: Ten years later." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO, 23 August 2011. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.uwm.edu/ehost/detail?sid=ca5ea64e-7be4-4673-9d99-c628d94c76f2%40sessionmgr104&vid=1&hid=110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=64757497>.

Summary of main ideas: The article presents multiple brief responses by Christian pastors, teachers and leaders in response to the 10-year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S. Comments are given discussing subjects such as the importance of memorials as tools to cope with grief and remember the events, the extent to which Americans are still unified on the issue of anti-terrorism, and how to address enmity from a Christian perspective. 

Key terms:

•       Innocence
  

•       Victim
  

•       Moral
  

•       Christian
  

•       God
  

Perspective: Ten years after 9/11, the church must offer and embody the alternatives that our political leaders have refused. The church's capacity to respond to an event like 9/11 is formed long before the event in all the small ways we learn to practice patience, love, kindness, compassion and forgiveness. It is these practices that we needed on 9/11 to give light in the dusty darkness, and it is these practices that we need ten years later to empower our witness for peace and reconciliation.

- The war on terror 10 years on
Coyne, Andrew. Wells, Paul. "The war on terror 10 years on." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO, 12 September 2011. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.uwm.edu/ehost/detail?sid=3acfb16d-cd1a-4292-ab3e-c7f2f70e4aa9%40sessionmgr111&vid=1&hid=110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=65325074>.

Summary of main ideas: The article presents two counterpoints regarding the war on terror 10 years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Andrew Coyne feels governments have largely done well in preventing terror, and supports the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Paul Wells believes that 9/11 skewed people's perspectives about global threats. He compares the tolls of Islamic extremist terrorism and the actions of dictators Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin in the 1940s. 

Key terms:

•       Attack
  

•       Powerful
  

•       Immune
  

•       Metaphor
  

•       Counter-terrorism
  

Perspective: We (Americans) have been able to avoid a terrorist attack on our soil since 9/11; as such, we have come to expect that to continue, and to demand to be protected from any risk of an attack. This is not possible, or not at an acceptable cost, especially if civil liberties are also to be preserved.