Articles in Sociology: Discussing the 'War on Terror'

"'Misunderestimating' Terrorism" is an article that discusses the U. S. State Department's 2003 annual terrorism report. It details how the information going into the report was mishandled and how the final report was "riddled with errors." This article also discusses the issues of U. S. concern related to putting together an inaccurate report about global terrorism.

This article was interesting to me on many levels, not the least of which is that the United States does actually try to publish a report about terrorist events and the resolution of the same. It is not surprising that the U. S. government would work toward publishing a document of this type. After all, terrorism has been quite a hot-button issue since the events surrounding September 11, 2001. It is not even surprising, however sad that may seem, that the document would be tampered with by politicians to shed as much glory as possible on to the president and his current administration regarding their actions in the 'War on Terrorism'. It is, however, surprising, that any government agency would publish a report so full of mistakes that the whole enterprise seems laughable.

I have always believed that our government is perfectly capable of creating and deleting history as necessary. I have also been well aware of our government's total incompetence in dealing with various issues, but to see a report of this nature bungled so thoroughly is nearly beyond belief. And it makes me realize, in some part, why we are subject to the threat of terrorism to the extent that we are. How can we honestly expect our government to protect us from the unknown threat of terrorism if our government cannot even put together a cohesive report about the terrorism that has already occurred? Of course, this also brings into the question the government's use of it's resources. If information about global terrorism is so important to the government and the American public, why is there not a more cohesive effort to put together a report of this import? And, if this report isn't vitally important, why are we wasting the resources at all?

To be honest, I think the majority of the government's focus on terrorism around the globe is misplaced. As this article states, "In 2003, a total of 625 people-including 35 Americans-were killed in international terrorist incidents worldwide. Meanwhile, 43,220 died in automobile accidents in the United States alone, and three million died from AIDS around the world." If we're going by numbers, then we all have to admit that terrorism is not the biggest threat that America or any other global society faces. Why then, are we expending so much time, energy, and money on expunging this threat? This is an especially good question when we consider the fact that terrorism will likely never truly be wiped off the face of the earth. I really believe now that our government's resources would be better spent making our roads and cars safer and stopping the spread of HIV and AIDS.

The only things that remain unclear to me are our government's motives for pursuing this 'War on Terrorism' and our government's budget for the same. I really wish this article could have gone into the overall costs to the government to create such a horrendously inaccurate and shoddily produced report. I think if we, as Americans, truly understood how much money was thrown at pursuits of this nature, we might think a little more about who we elected for office in the future.

Reference:Alan B. Krueger and David D. Laitin. *"Misunderestimating" Terrorism*. Foreign Affairs 83.5 (Sept-Oct 2004): p8.