I would like to touch on the comparison that Sontag makes in regards to wars on cancer, poverty, and drugs. Surprisingly, I understand (and somewhat agree) with where this comparison is coming from. The question that I’m trying to answer is how does one “win” a war on terrorism? Take, for example “winning” a war on cancer. If someone beats cancer that simply means that they are cancer-free and can go on with their life. Like cancer, terrorism affects many people in the world; both may not directly and personally affect an individual, but the thought of both stays with an individual for their whole like.
Now, unlike cancer, poverty and drugs once these problems have been diminished and “beat” the war is over, right?. We must go further than that when dealing with terrorism, the war cannot simply be over when the apparent problems seem to have gone away. This confirms Sontag’s argument that the war on terrorism is a never ending war. Declaring war on such an “idea” rather than something that is tangible is much different and will result in a “war” unlike we have ever seen. For having published this only a year after the attacks, I feel that Sontag displays arguements that are still relavant even 10 years after the attacks.
Chris, I absolutely agree with you. For example, when Bin Laden was killed, many of my friends were convinced that we have won the war agaisnt terrorism, however, I think it is important to understand that in this case the organization which carries out the attacks and is motivated by anti-American ideologies, will not have hard time finding a new leader or new grounds for establishment, or re-establishment after Bin Laden's death. So yes, her argument is pretty much proved by our present, we are still at war, however, how can we define "the end"? Our goal was to capture Bin Laden. Yes, we did that, but is that all? Are we feeling confident that we are safe now and will be in the future? In my opinion, the answer to that is no. I, personally, believe that now that Osama is dead, we may be at higher risks because his followers grow on daily/weekly or whatever basis, and their hatred towards America does so too.
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