Malti1

InesMalti
AGSEnglishII
Cooper2ndperiod
September24,2014
PosingtheAmericanQuestion

TheidyllicimagesthatoftencometomindwhenthinkingoftheUnitedStatesof
America,areapplepie,hotdogs,baseball,amajesticstarspangledbannerandlivingthe
Americandreamoffreedomandprosperity.Theimagesnotsocommonlyassociatedwith
Americaareofwar.Bombs.ThebloodyandmaimedvictimsofU.S.drones.Youngrecruits
goingofftosacrificetheirlives.SowhatisitaboutAmericathatmakesussoinclinedtogoto
war?WhilesomemaysaythatAmericawageswartodefendourselvesagainstforeignthreats
andpreserveourliberty,EugeneJareckiarguesthroughthedocumentary
WhyWeFight
thatthe
U.S.wageswarbecauseofAmericanselfinterestforgreed,power,wealth,thespreadof
democraticidealsandtheoverallexpansionoftheAmericanempire.JournalistCharlesLewis
saysinthedocumentary:We(Americans)don'tliketothinkofourselvesasamilitantnation,
butweare,infact,anincrediblymilitantandmilitaristicnation.Thiscouldnotbemore
accurateanditisnotunusualthatonewitnessinthefilm,authorandprofessorChalmers
JohnsonequatestheUnitedStatesstandingarmytothatoftheRomanRepublics.Todevelop
hisargument,Jareckiusesrhetoricstrategysuchasethos,pathosandlogosbyincludinga
plethoraofperspectivesandopinionsfrommultiplewitnessessuchasconservativepoliticians,
expertsonmilitaryhistory,alumniofthePentagon,airforcepilotsandmilitaryrecruitsaswell
aseverydayAmericanssharingtheirresponsetothequestionWhy
do
wefight?


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Throughuseofrhetoricalstrategies,Jareckimanagestocomprisecredibility,hardfacts,
andevokeemotionfromtheaudiencebyorganizinghisfilminadynamicmannerhefollowsa
storylineandevenhasexamplesofcharacterdevelopmentwhilesimultaneouslyproducingan
informativeandshockingfilm.Hedisplaysethosthroughhisuseofcrediblewitnessessuchas
formerLieutenantColonelandPentagonworker,KarenKwiatkowski.Well,Iwasinthe
Pentagonwhenwegothit...Itwasavery...dramaticandterriblething,anditdoeschangeyour
perspective,butthewarinIraqhadnothingtodowiththewaronterrorism.Thatwasahuge
leap,amanufacturedleap,inordertoimplementaverycalculatedandpredevelopedforeign
policy.(
WhyWeFight
)JareckimostlikelyincludedKwiatkowskiasaprimarywitnessofthe
filmexpressesradicalopinionsofwarsthatAmericahasfederallyfundedandhercredibility
comesfromovertwodecadesofexperiencewiththemilitary.Thepredevelopedforeign
policythatKwiatkowskispeaksofisdiscussedmoreindepthlateroninthefilmwithexamples
suchastheCIAsallegedformeralliancewithIraqipresidentandU.S.overthrownSaddam
HusseinconsequentlytheeffectseventsoftheU.S.invasiontoIraqin2003manyreasonsof
whichdealtwiththegreedydesireforacquisitionofoilfromSaudiArabia.
Aswellasasubstantialuseofethos,Jareckiincludesasignificantamountoflogosor
logicalfactsandreasonsthatbackuphisargument.Forexample,atermcalledtherevolving
doorisexplainedtoenablethesupportofoneofthesubargumentsthatAmericaninvestment
inwarislargelybasedonjobsforthepeople,andasforthemultinationalcorporationssuchas
KelloggBrown&RootandHalliburton,thismeansprofit.FormermilitaryanalystFranklin
Spinneyassertsthatthreemaincomponentsmakeupthemilitaryindustrialcomplex,aterm
coinedbyPresidentDwightEisenhowerinhisfarewelladdressof1961.Formermilitaryanalyst


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FranklinSpinneystates:Becausethemilitaryindustrialcomplexisnottwolinks,it'sthree.It's
themilitaryandtheindustryandCongress.ForaCongressman,defensespendingmeansjobs.
(WhyWeFight)
TheU.S.spendsmoreondefensethanallotherfederaldepartmentscombined
andmoresothanallother18membersofNATOaswellasChinaandRussia.(Byrd)Spinney
evenmusesthatpartoftheU.S.B2bomberismadeineverystate.Withoutthesuccessesofthe
armamentindustrymanyAmericanswouldlosetheirjobsandasthosefamiliarwithpolitics
know,advertisingthegrowthofjobsareamajorcampaigningtoolforpoliticians.Johnson
explainstheinfluxofwarasdirectlycorrelatedtowealth.Iguaranteeyou,whenwarbecomes
thatprofitable,you'regoingtoseemoreofit.Throughouthiscoverageofthesubsequentprofit
fromwar,Jareckiismakingthestatementthatthemilitaryindustrialcomplexisnotonlyvitalto
thecontinuedgrowthofmegacorporationsbutoftheprivatesectoraswell.
ThroughtheimagesthatJareckidisplaysandtheemotionsfeltbythepeopleonscreen,
theaudienceisabletosharemanyofthefeelingssuchassorrow,angerandbetrayalwiththose
interviewed.Aparticularyoungmanorboyat23yearsofageismakingthelifealtering
decisiontoenlistinthearmybecauseofhishopelesssituationduetotherecentlossofhis
mother,hisinabilitytofinishschoolandsupporthimselffinancially.Solomonbelievesthese
threemainproblemsplainandsimple,[are]justgonnabesolvedby[his]enlistmentinthe
military.(
WhyWeFight)
)Hisnaivety,onthebrinkofdesperation,isillusivebyhissimpleview
thatthesestruggleshefacesinhislifecanbesolvedbyjoiningthearmyandpossiblysacrificing
hislifetofight.Solomonshowsanonchalantattitudeabouthisdecisionwhenhevisitsan
armyrecruiter,leadingtheaudiencetoinferthatformanyyoungmenandwomeninhopeless
situationsasthisyoungmans,theirdecisiontojointhearmycansometimesbenothingother


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thanimpulsiveandbasedonemotionsratherthanlogic.Theaudiencecansympathizewith
Solomonsstruggleandmayberelatetoitforthosewhohavebeeninasimilarcircumstance.
Jareckifeaturesthestorylineofoneman,WiltonSekzer,fatherofa9/11victim,aproud
VietnamveteranandNYPDcopwhoseanguishandsorrowispalpableduetothelossofhisson
totheterroristattacksofSeptember11th.Sekzerisapredominantfigureinthedocumentaryas
heissymbolicofmanyAmericansinitialfeelingsaftertheSeptember11attacks:adesireto
seekrevenge.Atthetime,thatwaswhattheBushAdministrationwasexpressingandeliciting
fromtheAmericanpeople:anAmericanmissionwhichwasamissiontoobliteratetheenemy.
Towardsthebeginningofthefilm,SekzercomesoffasawillingsupporterofAmericanmilitary
campaignsbutnearingtheendofthefilm,hisopinionseemstohaveshifted:Wehavebeenlied
toineverymilitaryescapade,frankly,overthelast50or60years,withoutexception.(
WhyWe
Fight)
SekzerdescribeshisreactiontothecamerawhenBushwasforcedtoclarify,onlive
television,ifIraqipresidentSaddamHusseinwasinvolvedinthe9/11attacks.Bushblursthe
connectionsbetween9/11andtheIraqWar,makingitunclearifthereisevenacorrelation.
SekzersemotionstowardsPresidentBushshifttoangerandbetrayalashefeelsheliedtothe
Americanpeople.Consequently,SekzerhasamuchlowerregardfortheU.S.militarythanhe
didpreviouslyandhenolongerfeelshecantrusttheAmericangovernment.Liestoldtothe
AmericanpublicsuchastheGulfofTonkinthatsupposedlycausedU.S.involvementduringthe
VietnamWar,asmentionedinthefilm,andtheambiguousreasonsforpursuingIraq,piquesthe
audiencesownquestioningofthepeoplethatruleoverthem.
Animportantpointmadeinthe
WhyWeFight
byKwiatkowskiandLewisisthelackof
truththeAmericanpublichasaccesstoconcerningwarssuchastheIraqWarandwarin


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Afghanistan,duetothemediaandnewsstationsbeingobscuredbypoliticalactors.(Lewis)
WiltonSekzercontrastspresentdayU.S.coverageofwarrelatednewstopastU.S.foreign
affairs,suchastheVietnamWarinthe1960s.TheVietnamWarpermittedAmericanstoseethe
livecombatandcarnagefromthecomfortoftheirlivingroomsandeventhecoffinsofAmerican
soldiersbeingsenthome.Although,asAmericans,weliveinarelativelyprivilegedsociety
comparedtomanyinrelationtoouraccesstoinformation,thereisstillagreatdealhiddenfrom
usaboutthegovernment'sforeignpoliciesandreasonsforgettingmilitaristicallyinvolvedwith
othernations.Littlewasshownbythemedia,besidestroopscominghometotheStatessafely,of
thefightinggoingonintheapproximatedecadespanoftheU.S.warinIraq.Inthefilm,Jarecki
appearstoavoidfeaturingclipsofwoundedU.S.soldiers,butdoesincludeclipsofvictimsofthe
firstU.S.bombdroppedonBaghdadinMarch2003.Atimelapseofthedroppingofthebombis
interweavedthroughoutthefilmandconnectstomultiplewitnessesincludingtheAirForce
pilotswhoinitiatedit.ThereareseveralinterviewswithIraqiciviliansontheirviewoftheU.S.
occupationandhowithasdrasticallytransformedtheirlives.Oneparticularclipintheaftermath
oftheexplosionthatmissedthetargetofwheretheallegedenemywas,showsayoungcivilian
boy,bloodyandmaimed,beingcarriedonastretchertoacrowdedemergencyroomashecries
outtohismother.FormanyAmericansfamiliarwiththetimeoftheSeptember11attacksand
theloomingfearofsubsequentterroristthreatstotheU.S.,thereisanacquiredsuspicionand
fearofMiddleEasternappearingpeopleandsomewhatofahostilitytowardsIraqisingeneral,
eventhoughthemajorityofIraqishadnothingtodowiththeWorldTradeCenterattacksorany
kindofsupposedterroristthreatingeneral.SoforJareckitoincorporatetheperspectiveofthe
Iraqiswasanimportantandpowerfulstatement.NomattertheaudiencesviewontheU.S.


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invasionofIraq,theviewercannothelpbutfeelsympathyandcompassionfortheseregular
people,farmersandworkersandchildrenalike,tobestruckdownbytheinadvertentinaccuracy
ofAmericanmanufacturedweaponsofmassdestruction
Jareckisfilmwashonest,insightfulandIfelthewassuccessfulincraftinghisargument,
particularlyinhisdiversifieduseoflogos.AlthoughJareckisargumentisfairlyclearthroughout
thefilm,hemanagestoweighopinionsfrombothsidesuppercrustpoliticiansandlobbyists
andeverydayAmericansalike.Previoustomywatchingofthefilm,Ihadanegativeandcynical
viewoftheUnitedStatesmilitaryescapades.IneversupportedthewarinIraqandifIhadbeen
aliveduringtheVietnamandKoreanWarera,Iwouldnothavebeenasupporterofthosewars
either.WatchingJareckisfilm,mycynicismandinfuriationattheAmericangovernmenthas
beenfurtherheightened.IwasignorantofmanyofthesubjectsandeventsthatJareckibringsup
inhisfilm,soIfeelwellinformedwithadeepenedperspectiveandanallowanceformeto
formulatemoreofmyopinionsnow,afterwatchingthedocumentary.Although,Whywefight
isanotquestionIhaveeveraskedmyself,evenhearingabouttheIraqandAfghanistanwarsall
thetimegrowingupasachild.Isimplythoughtitwasunnecessaryforourcountrytobeatwar,
killingmercilessly,anddroppingdronesoninnocentpeopleinordertosecureourborders.But
fromwhat,iswhatIdonotunderstand.Myenvironmentofgrowinguparoundpeoplewhohad
beliefsinnonviolenceandpacifismnaturallyinfluencedmyviews.WithoutadoubtIagreewith
Jareckisargument,andIbelievemanymoreAmericansunawareorsimplyinterestedinthe
topicshouldwatchhisfilmasitapowerfulproclamationtothestateofmodernwarfareinour
nation.


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InesMalti
AGSEnglishII
Cooper2ndperiod
September24,2014

WorksCited

WhyWeFight
.Dir.EugeneJarecki.Per.CharlesLewis.ChalmersJohnson.KarenKwiatkowski,
WiltonSekzer.WiltonSolomon.DwightD.Eisenhower.SonyPicturesClassics.2005.DVD.


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InesMalti
AGSEnglishII
Cooper2ndperiod
September24,2014

WorksCited

WhyWeFight
.Dir.EugeneJarecki.Per.CharlesLewis.ChalmersJohnson.KarenKwiatkowski,
WiltonSekzer.WiltonSolomon.DwightD.Eisenhower.SonyPicturesClassics.2005.DVD.