However, after analyzing the history of asymmetric warfare and the changes and behaviors that have taken place through this time, I have become critical of the assumption that asymmetric warfare has ever ‘risen’. Warfare, in which weak actors have fought against unassailable opponents within their means and resources, is not a type of warfare that can be considered new. The notion of a “rise of asymmetric warfare” may be loaded with assumptions related to Western imperialism and…
Does the End Justify the Means? “A man who wishes to act entirely up to his professions of virtue soon meets with what destroys him . . . hence it is necessary for a prince wishing to hold his own to know how to do wrong, and to make use of it or not according to necessity” (Machiavelli, 1505, p.71). What political necessities justify wrong doing, lies, deceit, war, and the like? Most people highly regard the commandment “thou shalt not kill” found in translations of the Bible; yet, these…
Utopian Films and the Sense of "What If" How would the world react after a nuclear fallout? How would the country react if a dictator arose from the republic that is present today? The answer is probably not what one thinks. Utopian films are a rising genre in the United States. These movies fulfill the human sense of wonder by showing the viewers a ''What if" situation. Many utopian films are defined by a dictator-like government arising after some…
Composition II Essay Outline “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, is short story is about the soldiers during The Vietnam war and their struggles to maintain their lives. The author talks about how that their mental burdens they carry outweigh the physical burdens that those in war must carry. (O’Brien 1-12). In the story the narrator states, "They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing--these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own…
explains that it did not cast doubt on the moral structure of the army and that they were less dependent on military institutions because they provided their own equipment for battle. The Vietnam soldier needed to depend more on the military because warfare has evolved significantly since the time of the ancient Greeks. In a review by Arthur G. Neal, he gives other examples of how themis was violated “superior officers that were incompetent, who sheltered themselves from the risks they exposed…
Introduction A veteran comes back from the war in Vietnam. Some people thank him for his services and some people dishonor him for what he did in the war. Veterans go through so much during the war and has to go to a center to help them with their PTSD. Many people treat veterans with disrespect because of what they did during their time in combat. Returning veterans or people get treated with either honor, mental help, or with disrespect but mostly disrespect and mental help. Odysseus has a…
The Complexity of Forgetting In the short story Love and Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice by Nam Le, readers are acknowledged the reason behind the conflict between the two protagonists, the father and the son, that it is rooted from overly strict nurturing. Not to let readers dislike the character of the father too far, the story of Thanh, the father, about his experience in Vietnam War is inserted to offer the reason of his suffering from the memory of the war which,…
In 1945, the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 Super-fortress bomber, dropped an atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan, “killing about 70,000 people in a blinding flash of heat and radiation”, some died in an attempt to escape from the fire, some died drowning in the river, with a multitude dying years later due to radiation poising, cancer caused by the radiation as well as severe burns. This essay compares the two source documents reflecting the personal experiences of both Colonel Paul Tibbets, the pilot…
Authors can use symbolism countless ways to add underlying messages to a rather normal story. The most significant effect of symbolism in The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is that symbolism shows that the mental and emotional health of American troops was severely and negatively impacted in the Vietnam War, specifically Tim O’Brien. “The war itself offered him nothing but darkness; maybe, in writing about it, he [Tim O’Brien] can find a ray of light (Hope College/WTS Journal List).” Events,…
In the Roman Empire, England, France, and the Middle East, ever since people have been around, there has always been conflict and fighting. A common theme in war is inhumanity. For example, in World War I mustard gas would produce terrible blisters on soldiers who were exposed to it. Empathy for those suffering young men was not present in those causing the pain. While war is still ongoing in the world, Europe is much more peaceful today then it was a hundred years ago and people in general are…