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War makes the world understandable, a black and white tableau of them and us. It suspends thought, especially self-critical thought. All bow before the supreme effort. We are one.

(Hedges, War Is a Force p.10)

Resources for Instructors

Instructors may wish to use some of the following exercises to begin discussion on the first year book.

First Year Book Articles

Notes from the CTE Library - The First Year Book by Henrike Lehnguth (CTE) September-October 2008 Issue.
As a war reporter, Chris Hedges knows war - its destruction, its cruelty, its perversion. And his book War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning, this year’s First Year Book on the College Park campus, introduces readers to much of the devastation inherent in war..."For our students this means that the book is only a starting point for discussions that help them separate war's enticing myths from its actual human cost."

Book: A force that gives the campus meaning by Malcolm Harris (Diamondback) September 11, 2008.
Something missing in the educational experience students receive at this university is a common experience. The First-Year Book program, which offers freshmen a free book they can read together, tries to fill this gap. The trick is to find a book that is relevant; one that's not too arduous to read and can interest people from all walks of life...

Exercises

Exercise 1.
Read the introduction. Read the first chapter, The Myth of War.

  •  Identify myths in the current Iraq war.

  •  How does one dispel the myths?

  •  Compare the example of cookies in former Yugoslavia on page 32 with the renaming of "freedom fries."

  •  What are other examples of "the narcissism of miniscule differences" in today's world conflicts?

  •  How does America make identity claims using "negative space"?

  •  Why is this particularly difficult for this country considering its "melting-pot" heritage?

Exercise 2.
Read the introduction. Read Chapter 1, especially page 21 concerning sensory reality and mythic reality.
  •  Do you agree that "mythic reality" is dangerous?

  •  Can you think of a time in your own experience when your "mythic reality" of a cause was shattered by new "sensory reality"?

  •  How does one succeed in telling the truth?

Exercise 3.
Have everyone read the introduction. Discuss the book having two students take each chapter, one agrees and the other disagrees with the main point.

Exercise 4.
Read the introduction. Read the Myth of War. Interview someone who has been in war.
Possible interview questions:

  •  In which war did you serve?

  •  What is your first memory of the war?

  •  Where were you living at the time?

  •  Did you see combat?

  •  Did you stay in touch with your family?

  •  Where did you go after the war?

  •  Did your experience change your thinking about war or the military in general?

Exercise 5.
Read the introduction. Read Chapter 4, The Seduction of Battle and Perversion of War. Watch the movie, "Redacted." Read the New Yorker article from 3.24.2008, "Annals of War: exposure: Behind the Camera at Abu Ghraib."
  •  Why does one document the war?

  •  What does the lens of media filter out?

  •  Why is the spiritual damage to those who experience war generally downplayed?

  •  What is heroism?

Exercise 6.
Read the introduction. Read Chapter 6, The Cause.
  •  Can we honor the dead AND oppose the war? Is this possible?

  •  Do you agree with the author on this point?

  •  Hedges also said that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is an "un-memorial." What does this mean?

Exercise 7.
Read the introduction. Read Chapter 7, Eros and Thanatos. Watch the film, "Redacted." What is your reaction to this?
  •  Why is the objectification of women so prevalent in war?

  •  Hedges said there is an absence of culture in War- do you agree? Why or why not?

  •  Why did the main character make a movie (other than the fact that he wanted to go to film school)?

  •  Is his story like/unlike Sabrina Harman's in the New Yorker article?

Multimedia

Budget Hero
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/2008/05/budget_hero/

Budget Hero is an engaging and journalistically sound game that encourages players to think through the complexities and challenges of the federal budget and the major policy issues of the 2008 election. It frames the policy debate as a set of federal budget choices determining how money will be raised and spent. Budget Hero forces players make tradeoffs and confront compromises inherent in balancing a budget. Can they be Budget Heroes by staying true to their values while creating a sustainable government?

Budget Hero is built and maintained by American Public Media, the producer and distributor of national public radio programming, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and is supported in part by funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Simulations from UMd ICONS Project

The International System
A 3-week-long simulation providing an overview of the policy interactions among nations in the international system, focusing on international security concerns, the global environment, world health, human rights, debt, and related issues. Features: Messaging, conferencing, proposal drafting and management, voting. 10-25 students per team. Preparation time: 3 weeks.

International Relations of the Americas
Negotiations on the International Relations of the Americas come at a critical time for the nation-states of the region. They must decide whether progress on important issues such as economic integration, environmental degradation and border security will be sought on a hemispheric basis, thereby cementing the Americas as a key bloc in the international system, or whether individual states will pursue bilateral agreements and subregional integration at the expense of this vision. Features: Messaging, conferencing, proposal drafting and management, voting, team messaging. 3-5 students per team. Preparation time: 2 weeks.

World War II and War Crimes
As the end of World War II drew near, with the imminent defeat of Germany, the victorious Allied powers worked together to determine the fate of those German officials who had participated in acts of unprecedented brutality during the War. Leaders in France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States agreed that German officials had to be held accountable for actions taken against civilians and soldiers alike throughout Europe. But, at this time in history, there was no mechanism in place that would ensure that the perpetrators of these brutal acts could or would be brought to justice. It was up to the Allied powers to construct guidelines for how to deal with the German leaders. Representatives from each of the Allied powers met at the London 4-Power Conference of Jurists and were tasked with establishing such a set of guidelines. This exercise is a simulation of the London Conference. Features: Messaging, conferencing, proposal drafting and mangagement, voting, reports, role sheets. 4 teams, 3-6 students per team. Preparation time: 2 weeks.

Quotes

p. 10: "The historian Will Durant calculated that there have only been twenty-nine years in all of human history during which a war was not underway somewhere."

p. 13: "Look just at the 1990's: 2 million dead in Afghanistan; 1.5 million dead in the Sudan; some 800,000 butchered in ninety days in Rwanda; a half-million dead in Angola; a quarter of a million dead in Bosnia; 200,000 dead in Guatemala; 150,000 dead in Liberia; a quarter of a million dead in Burundi; 75,000 dead in Algeria; and untold tens of thousands lost in the border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the fighting in Colombia, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Chechnya, Sri Lanka, southeastern Turkey, Sierra Leone, Northern Ireland, Kosovo, and the Persian Gulf War (where perhaps as many as 35,000 Iraqi citizens were killed). In the wars of the twentieth century not less than 62 million civilians have perished, nearly 20 million more than the 42 million military personnel killed." Remember that this book was published in 2002, previous to the recent war death-tolls.

p. 17: "I wrote this book not to dissuade us from war but to understand it. It is especially important that we, who wield such massive force across the globe, see within ourselves the seeds of our own obliteration. We must guard against the myth of war and the drug of war that can, together, render us a blind and callous as some of those we battle."

Further Reading

Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism. 1973.
War Costs Calculator
Rising Cost of War in Iraq
Cost of Iraq War Comparisons
The Pentagon vs. Peak Oil

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War on Terror Timeline

1964 | 1986-1988 |2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006-2008

1964

January 8 - President Johnson declares a "War on Poverty" in his State of the Union address beginning the onset of war-on-concepts from the American presidents in times to come.

1986

February 16 - The U.S. ships 1000 anti-tank missiles to Iran.

February 25 - Reagan asks Congress for $100 million in aid for Contras. The House rejects appeal; the Senate approves his request. Bill returns to the House.

May 29 - Colonel Oliver North tells McFarlane that profits of weapons sales to Iran are being diverted to the Contras.

June 25 - The House finally passes the Contra aid package by 12 votes. Reagan calls it "a step forward in bipartisan consensus in American foreign policy."

August 27 - President Reagan signs an anti-terrorism law that bans arms sales to nations that support terrorism, and strengthens U.S. anti-terrorist measures. Reagan Timeline

September - Former National Security Advisor WilliamMcFarlane takes 23 tons of weapons to Iran.

October 30 - 500 anti-tank missiles shipped to Iran.

November 3 - Lebanese magazine "Al Shiraa" reports that the U.S. has sold arms to Iran. The Iranian government confirms the story. This marks the beginning of Iran-Contra.

November 13 - In a nationally televised speech to defend against charges concerning arms sales to Iran, Reagan admits sending some defensive weapons and spare parts to Iran, but denies it was part of an arms for hostages deal. "Our government has a firm policy not to capitulate to terrorist demands.... We did not -- repeat, did not -- trade weapons or anything else for hostages, nor will we." Polls show that the American people do not believe Reagan.

November 21 - Attorney General Meese is asked to conduct an inquiry of the Iran affair to get facts straight.

November 22 - Meese's office discovers the Iran-Contra connection. When searching North’s office, they found a memo dated 4/4/86 from North to Poindexter, which included an amount that to be sent to the Contras from the profits of the Iran sales. North, who had spent the night shredding papers, later called the diversion of funds, "a neat idea."

November 24 - Meese tells Reagan that some proceeds from the sale of arms to Iran went to the Contras. Reagan is visibly shaken and according to Meese, surprised. He is aware that the diversion of funds could mean impeachment for violation of the Boland Amendment.

November 25 - National Security Advisor John Poindexter resigns and Oliver North is fired. In press conference, Meese announces Iran-Contra: $10m to $30m of profits from sale of U.S. arms to Iran had been diverted to Swiss bank accounts for use by Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

December 1 - Reagan appoints the Tower Commission to review Iran Contra.

December 19 - Independent counsel Lawrence Walsh is appointed to investigate Iran-Contra.

1987

February 2 - Reagan testifies to the Tower Board for a second time. His testimony is inconsistent and confused. The Board pointed out Reagan hadn’t known about August shipment of anti-tank missiles, but Reagan had said he DID know. When asked for an explanation, Reagan picked up a briefing memo he had been provided and read aloud: "If the question comes up at the Tower Board meeting, you might want to say that you were surprised."

February 20 - A Reagan memo to the Tower Board reads: "I don’t remember, period." "I’m trying to recall events that happened eighteen months ago, I’m afraid that I let myself be influenced by others’ recollections, not my own.... The only honest answer is to state that try as I might, I cannot recall anything whatsoever about whether I approved an Israeli sale in advance or whether I approved replenishment of Israeli stocks around August of 1985. My answer therefore and the simple truth is, ‘I don’t remember, period.’"

February 26 - The Tower Commission report is delivered to Reagan. The report could not link Reagan to diversion of funds from Iran to the Contras. But it concluded that Reagan, confused and unaware, allowed himself to be misled by dishonest staff members who organized the trade of arms to Iran for hostages held in Lebanon and pursued a secret war against the Nicaraguan government. The report charges that Reagan had failed to "insist upon accountability & performance review, " allowing the National Security Council process to collapse. Reagan’s approval rating is down to 42%.

March 4 - On national television, Reagan acknowledges mistakes on Iran-Contra. "A few months ago I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions tell me that’s true, but the facts and evidence tell me it is not. As the Tower Board reported, what began as a strategic opening to Iran deteriorated, in its implementation, into trading arms for hostages. This runs counter to my own beliefs, to administration policy, and to the original strategy we had in mind. There are reasons why it happened, but no excuses. It was a mistake." Reagan’s approval rating rebounds to 51%.

May 17 - A missile from an Iraqi warplane hits the U.S.S. "Stark," killing the 37 sailors onboard. The frigate is part of a naval task force which was sent to the Persian Gulf to keep the waterway open during the Iran-Iraq war.

August 3 - Congress completes its public hearings on Iran-Contra. "We may never know with precision or truth why it ever happened." Meanwhile, Reagan’s close aides Lyn Nofziger and Michael Deaver are convicted of influence peddling. Meese is investigated and cleared. Nofziger’s conviction is overturned on appeal.

1988

March 16: Oliver North, John Poindexter, and two others are indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government by secretly providing funds and supplies to the Contra rebels fighting the government of Nicaragua.

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2001

September 11 - Attacks are made on the World Trade Center and Pentagon by terrorists.

September 12 - Bush Declares War
President Bush announces, "The deliberate and deadly attacks which were carried out yesterday against our country were more than acts of terror. They were acts of war."War Timeline

September 14 - Congress Authorizes Military Response
Congress passes resolution authorizing President Bush "to use all necessary and appropriate force" against the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks, their sponsors, and those who protected them. The bill passes the Senate by a vote of 98-0 and the House by a vote of 420-1.

September 18 - The Justice Department publishes an interim regulation allowing non-citizens suspected of terrorism to be detained without charge for 48 hours or "an additional reasonable period of time" in the event of an "emergency or other extraordinary circumstance." The new rule is used to hold hundreds indefinitely until the USA Patriot Act passes in October.

September 20 - "Freedom and fear are at war." Bush Addresses joint session of Congress Bush outlines his war plan to a joint session of Congress. Just before he delivers his speech, he instructs the military to begin planning for war. The president proposes a new Office of Homeland Security.

September 21 - Chief United States Immigration Judge Michael Creppy issues a directive instructing immigration judges to close cases that might be of "special interest" to the September 11 investigation to all members of the press and public.

October 7 - The military phase of the War Against Terrorism begins under the name "Operation Enduring Freedom" setup to dismantle the Taliban regime, harboring al Qaeda.

October 8 - Bush establishes the Office of Homeland Security in the Executive Office.

October 20 - The New York Times reports that, although 830 people have been arrested in the 9/11 investigation, there is no evidence that anyone in custody was a conspirator in the 9/11 attacks.

October 26 - Patriot Act signed "to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world," known by its other title of "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism."

October 31 - Ashcroft announces the creation of a Foreign Terrorist Tracking Force, which effectively institutionalizes his strategy of mass preventive detention of noncitizens in order to "enhance our ability to protect the United States from the threat of terrorist aliens."

November 13 - President Bush authorizes a Military Order establishing military tribunals to try suspected terrorists. Anyone held under the Military Order can be detained indefinitely without charge or trial.

December 4 - Senate holds hearings on 9/11 detainees. Ashcroft testifies that those who question his policies are "aiding and abetting terrorism," and goes largely unchallenged.

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2002

January 9 - The White House declares that the Guantanamo detainees are, as "enemy combatants," not entitled to the protections accorded prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions.

January 16 - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says of the (by now 80 or so) detainees at Guantanamo Bay, "I do not feel the slightest concern at their treatment. They are being treated vastly better than they treated anybody else."

January 22 - A memo from Assistant Attorney General Jay S. Bybee argues that the War Crimes Act and the Geneva Convention did not apply to al Qaeda prisoners and that President Bush had constitutional authority to "suspend our treaty obligations toward Afghanistan" because it was a "failed state."

May 3 - A University of Michigan poll finds that a majority of Americans, post-9/11, would give up some civil liberties in the name of greater security.

July 16 - Terrorism Information and Prevention System (TIPS) announced. The program is to allow volunteers, whose routines make them well-positioned to recognize suspect activities, to report what they see to the Justice Department.

August 26 - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit rules that the press and public must be allowed to witness immigration hearings for suspects detained in the Sept. 11 investigation, strongly rebuking the Bush administration for its policy of maximum secrecy in the war on terrorism. "Democracies die behind closed doors," wrote the senior judge in the court's opinion.

November 25 - President Bush signs the Homeland Security Act of 2002, establishing the Department of Homeland Security.

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2003

March 11 - A federal appeals court rules that the 650 Guantanamo detainees have no legal rights in the United States and may not ask courts to review their detentions.

March 17 - Homeland Security Department commences Operation Liberty Shield, an increase in protective measures to defend the homeland coinciding with the commencement of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

March 19 - President Bush launches Operation Iraqi Freedom to end the regime of Saddam Hussein and its support of terrorism.

April 2 - House passage of the $79 billion Wartime Supplemental Appropriations bill to provide crucial funding for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

May 1 - The Terrorist Threat Integration Center begins operations.

May 28 - Amnesty International Press Release: "The 'war on terror', far from making the world a safer place, has made it more dangerous by curtailing human rights, undermining the rule of international law and shielding governments from scrutiny. It has deepened divisions among people of different faiths and origins, sowing the seeds for more conflict. The overwhelming impact of all this is genuine fear -- among the affluent as well as the poor."

December 13 - Saddam Hussein is captured.

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2004

January 5 - The ACLU warns that a new immigrant tracking program, known as US VISIT, would increase confusion among immigrants coming to America, and would primarily target Arabs and Muslims.

January 26 - A federal judge declares a portion of the USA Patriot Act unconstitutional. The section in question bars anyone from giving advice or assistance to groups designated as terrorist organizations. It is the first time a court has declared part of the Act unconstitutional.

April 20 - The Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments on the status of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The court gets ready to consider whether the United States government can hold foreign nationals as "enemy combatants" without hearings and without charges.

May 6 - Brandon Mayfield, a lawyer living in Oregon, is arrested after the FBI reportedly finds his fingerprints on a bag containing detonating devices in Madrid. Mayfield is held for two weeks as a material witness, without access to his family. Two weeks later, on May 21, Spanish authorities announce that the fingerprinting ID was incorrect.

June 28 - The Supreme Court decides three landmark cases in the war on terror:
Of the three decisions, that of Hamdi et al v. Rumsfeld turned out to be the most significant.

The case concerned the fate of Esam Hamdi, an American citizen captured in Afghanistan and held in a Navy brig in South Carolina. The administration had argued that the president had the right to designate any American an "enemy combatant" without first consulting the courts. The Supreme Court's 8 to 1 majority opinion concluded that while the president could keep Hamdi away from the battlefield, that detention could last only until the end of "active combat operations in Afghanistan." After that time, Hamdi must be granted a trial and legal counsel in order to contest his status as an "enemy combatant."

In Rasul v. Bush, the Supreme Court granted foreign nationals detained at Guantanamo the right to file lawsuits to contest both their detentions and conditions at the base.

In Rumsfeld v. Padilla et al, the court essentially punted, arguing that Jose Padilla should have brought his case before South Carolina, where he is being held indefinitely. Nevertheless, Padilla's case will likely resolve itself along the lines of Hamdi, meaning that Padilla will get to contest his status as an "enemy combatant" before civilian courts.

July 8 - President Bush vows to veto a Congressional spending bill if it includes an amendment to curb features of the Patriot Act. The amendment eventually fails on a 210-210 vote, with the Republican leadership holding the floor open for longer than the traditional 15 minutes in order to get the votes it needed. The amendment would have limited the Justice Department's ability to force book dealers, librarians, and others to surrender records.

September 21 - Yusuf Islam, Islam convert, peace activist, and singer known as Cat Stevens, is diverted on his flight from London to the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge accuses Islam of having an "unspecified relationship with terrorist activity." Islam was denied entry to the United States when the diverted aircraft landed in Maine. He is taken to Boston and Washington.

September 22 - Yusuf Islam is sent back home to London on another United flight from Dulles International Airport. US government officials determined he was on the government's "no-fly" antiterror list, however he was allowed to board the plane in Britain due to a spelling error. "Yousouf Islam" is on the no-fly registry, but the British passport of the former Cat Stevens has the name "Yusuf Islam". TSA alleges that Islam has links to terrorist groups, which he has denied. (CNN)

September 30 - A federal judge in New York rules unconstitutional a portion of the USA Patriot Act that allows the FBI to demand information from Internet service providers without judicial oversight or public review. (Most of Judge Victor Marrero's ruling, however, did not focus on the Patriot Act, but rather earlier statutes upon which the Patriot Act expanded.) John Ashcroft promises to appeal the decision.

November 17 - The Department of Homeland security requires that its 180,000 employees and contractors sign a secrecy pledge, covering sensitive but unclassified information.

December 18 - The U.S. government cuts the satellite feed of al-Manar, Hizbullah's television station. The administration declares the station a "terror organization."

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2005

January 1 - The Washington Post reports that the administration is preparing long-range plans to hold indefinitely those detainees whom it does not want to set free or turn over to the courts.

January 18 - White House counsel Alberto Gonzales says that the CIA and other nonmilitary personnel are not bound by a 2002 presidential directive that pledged the humane treatment of prisoners in American custody. Gonzales also claims that a Congressional ban on cruel, unusual treatment had a "limited reach" and did not apply in all cases to "aliens overseas."

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2006-2008

April 2007 - Democratic Presidential Debate
Six years after the 9/11 attacks, the term "war on terror" was fading from the accepted political lexicon. When NBC anchor Brian Williams asked the Democratic candidates to raise their hands if they "believe there is such a thing as a global war on terror," only half of the participants in the April 2007 Democratic debate raised their hands.

April 17, 2007 - British Shed "War on Terror" language

June 12, 2008 - Boumediene et. al. v. Bush, President of the United States
The Supreme Court strikes down the military commissions President Bush established to try suspected members of al-Qaeda, rejecting an anti-terrorism measure and the assertion of unchecked executive power. (Washington Post )

July 21, 2008 - Tribunal Begins For Bin Laden's Former Driver
Salim Ahmed Hamdan pled not guilty at his terrorism trial in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Military prosecutors say that when Hamdan was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001, he was on his way to a battlefront with two surface-to-air missiles in his car. Prosecutors say the Yemeni citizen was part of bin Laden's inner circle, and as such, was party to the planning for al-Qaida attacks, including the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

August 6, 2008 - Bin Laden Driver Convicted Of Supporting Al-Qaida
Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's former driver, was convicted of providing material support for terrorism but found not guilty of conspiracy by a panel of six military officers at Guantanamo Bay. Hamdan, a Yemeni, is the first person to face a U.S. war crimes tribunal since World War II. His 10-day trial is the first demonstration of a special U.S. system for prosecuting alleged terrorists at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The Pentagon-selected jury deliberated for about eight hours over three days before reaching its verdict.

August 7, 2008 - Bin Laden's Driver Sentanced
Although the sentance could have been up to serving for life, a military jury has handed Salim Hamdan a 5 1/2-year sentence. Hamdan, a Yemeni with a fourth-grade education, will get credit for the 61 months he has already spent in custody while awaiting trial, according to the military judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred. It's unclear what will happen to Hamdan after he serves the time ordered Thursday. The U.S. government has, however, argued it can detain Hamdan and other "enemy combatants" indefinitely as long as the war on terrorism continues.

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