Sources of Misconception

Who are terrorists? Who are we fighting against? What are they trying to achieve? Though we know the government has launched the war on terror, we do not know much about them. Most of us do not know such core information. So what makes us unable to obtain it? Why are we unaware of who they are, what they are fighting for, and their purposes? Media has a significant role in shaping how we understand, feel and think about terrorists and terrorism itself. However, the variations in information reported by the media causes us to have inconsistent views regarding terrorism. They also use graphics to make the incident dramatized which would lead viewers to have distorted perception as well.

On September 25, 2011, the American embassy and related buildings in Kabul, Afghanistan were attacked by the Taliban. The incident was covered by media internationally, including The New York Times, MSN Sankei News (a website operated by MSN Japan and Sankei Shinbun, a Japanese-nationwide daily newspaper) and Aljazeera. Surprisingly, all three of them reported the incident in different ways. 

The New York Times said it was done by the Taliban to show their ability to “terrify the population, dominate the media, and overshadow the West’s assertions that the Afghan government…will soon be able to handle the insurgency on their own” (Rubin, Rivera, & Healy, 2011). The article precisely depicted how the fight went, and it inferred there was a conspiracy for the attack. Authors doubted that there were people who had supported the insurgents to enter the secured premises with equipments for attacking.

MSN Sankei news article had similar contents as the New York Times, but it was in less descriptive manner. It covered backgrounds of the incident, but it did not cover a motive of the attack as the New York Times had. It said that Kabul’s security level remained high since it was the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attack (Takita, 2011). The author asserted that this incident showed Afghanistan had been far from settlement, and could be an evidence of ineffective ISAF (International Security Assistance Force, a security mission created by NATO). This was not mentioned in other two articles, and Takita inferred that there was an alleged conspiracy for assistance of the attack, as the New York Times did.

On the contrary to the previous two articles, Aljazeera did not even mention the presence of supporters who might have helped terrorists’ attack. However, it provided a unique perspective compared to other articles, and quoted a statement of Zabihullah Mujahid, who is a spokesperson for the Taliban disclosing that “the primary targets of the attackers [were] the intelligence agency building and a ministry” (“Taliban Target”, 2011). This might be helpful to understand why the incident took place.

By comparing and contrasting those three articles, we may be able to see a whole picture of the attack. Each article helps and fills in missing parts. However, it is true that there is a variation in information in each report. This might prevent us from having a consistent idea regarding the incident, the Taliban, the country of Afghanistan, and terrorism.

Another factor of media that contributes to misconception within the general public is the use of graphic images. The New York Times had a video showing one of the authors reporting from Kabul. It showed graphics of soldiers, helicopters, guns and casualties. This video triggers psychological reaction that makes us shocked and antagonized against the Taliban and damages caused by them. (You can watch the video at http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/09/13/world/asia/100000001050805/timescast--taliban-attacks-in-kabul.html). 

The Taliban also had a video depicted and focused more on fighting portion of the incident.  

How do you feel after watching those two videos? Indeed we feel that the country of Afghanistan is collapsed, and Taliban is a dangerous and violent terrorist group. That might be true; however, we should not just watch graphics and believe the feelings you had. Those images may contain misconceptions. One article or video does not provide a whole picture of the incident.

Rubin, A. J., Rivera, R., & Healy, J. "Militants Launch Attack on U.S. Embassy in Kabul." The New York Times September 13, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/world/asia/14afghanistan.html?scp=1&sq=militants%20launch%20attack%20on%20U.S.&st=cse

Takita, M. “Taliban attacked the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan.” MSN Sankei News September 13, 2011. Retrieved from http://sankei.jp.msn.com/world/news/110913/asi11091323090005-n1.htm.

“Taliban target key sites in Kabul: Battle with Afghan forces dragged into the night after a day of chaos in the capital.” Aljazeera September 14, 2011. Retrieved from www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2011/09/2011913234447565145.html

 

Transition after the Chaos

Poverty, economic recession, food crisis, and crimes. We have been struggling to solve various problems such as these in the world. A current issue that immediately threatens our lives is terrorism.

One of the most shocking and devastating events in the history was the September 11. Nearly 3,000 innocent people from more than 90 countries were killed (Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 2011 *1). Its memory is still fresh even a decade later, and will not ever fade. After this tragedy, our world has experienced various transitions in terms of government policies, society, and perspectives.

First, many countries have changed their policies and attitudes toward terrorism and terrorists’ activities, and that caused dramatic changes to people. In the United States, the Department of Homeland Security was established in 2002 to “overs[ee] and coordinat[e] a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard the country against terrorism and respond to any future attacks” (DHS, 2011 *2). The department did not exist before the September 11 happened. The department’s budget is $66.3 billion as of 2009, that is 7.3% more than the year of 2008 (DHS, 2011*3). The presence of the department and its huge budget explicitly shows that immense efforts are required to protect this country. The United States is not the only country which took action against terrorism after the incident. Other countries ranging from Japan, China, Tonga to Turkey have launched a war on terror, and have passed and revised laws to combat terrorism. As a consequence, “at least 35,000 people worldwide have been convicted as terrorists in the decade since the Sept. 11 attacks”, Huffington post reported on September 3 (2011). In short, the war on terror made great changes in governments and their attitudes toward people.

Transition in governmental policies is not the only change, but our perception of terrorism has changed greatly. We became more aware about terrorism. We started to think that terrorism exists in close proximity to our life. Even though terrorism has been problematic and caused tremendous damages and pain to many people in the past, it was not our issue but someone else’s. Now we feel it actually threatens our nation and lives. However, we should not forget that it is not only the problem of the United States, but also the problem of the world. Second change could be observed in media. They tend to focus and cover more news on terrorism in television, newspapers, and magazines after the September 11. We are more informed than before, however, we need to be aware that media selectively send information. They tend to change their attitude by their position, and sometimes such preference could distort facts.

Therefore, we need to distinguish what is fact and what is opinion. We also need to know and be aware what is going on in our society, especially for matters that threaten our lives. However, it is difficult to do so because of the media’s preference on what they cover. Thus we have to selectively receive information.  We must distinguish what is fact and what is opinion. This blog is intended to seek a new perspective on international terrorism by exploring various media sources and thinking critically and analytically. Also, I will try to find what makes us unable to reach the truth.

*1 Department of Homeland Security. (2011). 9/11 Ten years since September 11, 2001. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/files/9-11-ten-years.shtm

*2 Department of Homeland Security. (2011). Creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/history/gc_1297963906741.shtm

*3 Department of Homeland Security. (2011). Crosscutting programs retrieved from http://frwebgate2.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/TEXTgate.cgi?WAISdocID=6AFh1T/0/1/0&WAISaction=retrieve

Mendoza, M. (2011). “Global terrorism: 35,000 worldwide convicted for terror offenses since September 11 attacks. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/03/terrorism-convictions-since-sept-11_n_947865.html