Re: View this page "e3 final draft: post here by 5/28"

[Sandy Bonilla]

Mr. OC,

I was wondering if it's alright for me to make a post about streaming the documentary film of Worse Than War online, so some of the students who hasn't seen the movie or read the book can watch it. Also to use it for their essay. Only for a day. I'm only suggesting this idea, if you want sir.

Sincerely,

 

Sandy Bonilla

---

From: oc <eng10...@yahoo.com>
To: "English 101, spring 2010 online section #3226" <eng101spr1...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sun, May 23, 2010 9:23:07 PM
Subject: View this page "e3 final draft: post here by 5/28"



Click on http://groups.google.com/group/eng101spr10online3226/web/e3-final-draft-post-here-by-5-28?hl=en
- or copy & paste it into your browser's address bar if that doesn't
work.

[Meagan Judkins]

Rosemarie,

Why is your essay 3 separated by 3.1 and 3.2? and where is the essay
3 "bonus" coming from? I have been writing my essay 3 according to
the original syllabus. I am now worried I am missing something, or
that perhaps I am doing this essay incorrectly.

On May 27, 7:08 pm, "Rosemarie J." <uge...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Nemesis
> (Final)
> May 28, 2010
>
> Essay 3.1
> Rosemarie Johnson
> Professor E. O’Connell / English 101, Class 3226
> May 7, 2010
>
> “O noble father, you lament in vain,
> The Tribunes hear you not, no man is by
> And you recount your sorrows to a stone.”
> (Lucius, Titus Andronicus, Act II.3, lines 27-29)
>
>  Talat Pasha was quoted as saying, “Scruples of conscience have no
> place here.”  (Trial Watch, 2010).  His words are as relevant today as
> they were in 1915 to the failures of both the former President Bush
> and President Obama to recognize the Armenian Genocide.  Armenian-
> Americans, inured to their pleas for just resolutions falling on the
> deaf ears of Congress (tribunes), will no longer recount their sorrows
> to a stone.  Few Armenian-Americans, however, aware that President
> Obama, who worked hard to suppress well-documented evidence of Israeli
> war crimes, never expected Obama to go so far as to definitely deny
> genocide.  Cognizant of the relative newness of the Democrats’
> ascendancy to power, and the United States’ ambiguous alliance with
> Turkey, Obama followed his Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton’s
> (Tamora’s) advice and sided with Turkey.
>
> “My lord be ruled by me, We won at last!
> You are but newly planted on your throne.”
>         (Tamora, Titus Andronicus, Act I.1, lines 150-154)
>
> It was reported (Zunes, 2010) that Paul Wolfowitz, who served
>
> as Deputy Secretary of Defense for President George W. Bush stated in
>
> 2002, “one of the things that impresses me about Turkish history is
>
> the way Turkey treats its own minorities.”  The Bush Administration
>
> exhibited as callous a disregard for human life in its criminal
> intervention in Iraq as Talat or the rational Aaron, who chose to do
> evil.  Goldhagen would rightly consider Talat and Bush, and by
> extension, Obama as political opportunists.  “Whatever their
> difference in time, political leaders are human amalgams of cunning
> and deceit,adept Machivellians.” (Goldhagen, Worse Than War, p 281).
>
>  “That which you cannot as you would achieve.
>         You must perforce accomplish as you may.”
>         (Aaron, Titus Andronicus, Act II.1, lines 106-107)
>
> Armenian-Americans have turned their back on the ungrateful,
> egotistical, saturnine Obama, and have chosen to financially support
> the Goths of the former Soviet Armenia, a choice that may well change
> the balance of power in the Middle East and depose Obama.  Oblivious
> to signs of eliminationist assaults against Armenia by Muslim
>
> Azerbaijan, a generation of young men have lost their lives and limbs
> in defense of a homeland whose only importance is that it stands in
> the way of an oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea to Syria and Israel.
>
>         The situation is so politically charged with propagandists and
> partisans attacking each others’ views that the Armenian Army of
> Liberation’s fight is like that of Lucius, nothing but an empty, and
> to Turkey, a provocative display of force.  Armenia is fighting a
> disproportionately superior military force supplied with the latest in
> armaments by the American aerospace and defense industry. CEOs of the
> aerospace and defense industry have gone so far as to issue a rare
> joint letter to the House of Representatives warning of the negatives
> of an Armenian genocide bill. (Shalal-Esa, 2010).  Armenia would do
> well to remember Titus’ words to his son, Lucius.
>
>         “Why foolish Lucius, does thou not perceive
>         That Rome is but a wilderness of Tigers?
>         Tigers must prey, and Rome affords no prey
>         But me and mine.”
>
>         Like Rome, the United States and the international community are too
> self-absorbed in political adventurourism to recognize the expulsions
> of Armenians from Azerbaijan and Turkey and the forced
>  labor of Armenian men by Turkey and Russia.  It is only Turkey’s
> quest to join the European Union that prevents Turkey absorbing
> Armenia, and obliterating the Armenian people.  While a degree of
> reciprocity is to be expected from Armenia, it does not require a
> watch-dog organization to observe the first signs of eliminationist.
>
>         Titus Andronicus does not provide exact parallels with the Turkish-
> Armenian hostilities but war is war, whether waged with relatively
> unsophisticated weapons or today’s latest tanks and missiles.
> Political leaders still make rational choices, and when they perceive
> that time and circumstances are propitious they instigate or renew
> elimionatist assaults.  Armenia has been placed on the Tier 2 watch
> list by the CIA for Trafficking in Persons, and is the primary source
> for the export of girls to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. (CIA
> Handbook, 2010, p32).
> The rape and mutilation of Lavinia mirrors Goldhagen’s Prevention of
> Reproduction, and her death is preordained.
>
> “Because the girl should not survive her shame,
>         And by her presence still renew her sorrows.”
>         (Titus Andronicus, Act V.3, lines 41-42)
>
> Nothing is being done to save these girls from sexual slavery.  They
> are victims of the international community’s policy of appeasement of
> the Arab world and OPEC.  Meanwhile, the severed hand’s imagery of
> Titus equates with Armenia’s loss of agency, and ultimate
> powerlessness.
>
> Goldhagen correctly observed that, “people can be deemed guilty only
> as individuals for their individual acts (guilt cannot be inherited by
> subsequent generations) and, guilty in the legal sense, only when
> those acts are crimes.” (Goldhagen, Worse Than War, p 234).  With this
> statement, Goldhagen gives Turkey a face-saving way out of its self-
> made impasse.  This is the correct approach for Turkey and Armenia to
> take in an intractable situation.  Goldhagen exemplifies the caution
> of Marcus, the tribune, who counsels his brother, Titus.
>
> “O brother, speak with possibility,
>         And do not break into these deep extremes.”
>         (Titus Andronicus, Act IV.1, lines 214-216)
>
> If the Republic of Armenia ever realizes the importance of its
> position, and exploits it appropriately in the international arena
> Armenian-Americans will no longer need empty Congressional
> resolutions, and Armenians everywhere will have engineered their own
> vindication.
>
> References
>
> CIA. (2009). The CIA World Factbook 2010
>         United States: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
>
> Goldhagen, D.J. (2009). Worse Than War
> United States: Public Affairs, a member of the Perseus Books Group
>
> Shakespeare, W. (2000) Titus Andronicus
>         In R. McDonald (Ed.).
>         United States: Penguin Group
>
> Shalal-Esa, A. (2010, March 2). Reuters
>         CEOs warn against Armenia “genocide” bill
> Retrieved March 12, 2010 fromhttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62157G20100302
>
> Staff. (2010, February 27), Trial Watch
>         Trial Watch- Mehmed Talat Pasha
> Retrieved April 25, 2010 fromhttp://www.trial-ch.org/en/trial-watch/profile/db/facts/mehmed_talat-...
>
> Zunes, S. (2010, March 1). Huffington Post
>         Obama and the Denial of Genocide
> Retrieved April 6, 2010 fromhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-zunes/obama-and-the-denial-of-g...
>
> Nemesis
> Essay 3.2
>
> Rosemarie Johnson
> Professor E. O’Connell / English 101, Class 3226
> May 28, 2010
>
>         “Can the son’s eye behold his father bleed?
>         There’s need for meed, death for a deadly deed.”
>         (Lucius:  Titus Andronicus:  Act V.3, lines 65-66)
>
>         In an excess of vengeance as uncompromising as that proposed by
> Lucius to avenge his father, Titus’ suffering, when the Armenian Army
> invaded Azerbaijan, Turkey’s Muslim ally, the concept of revenge as a
> political tool reached critical mass.  The Turkish media, (Today’s
> Zaman) accused Armenia of “…expelling close to a million people from
> their lands and of undertaking a massacre at Khojal.”  In response to
> almost a century of hostilities, and financed by prosperous Armenians
> in the global diaspora, the Armenian Army invaded the Armenian
> dominated enclave of Nagarno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, and expelled its
> Muslim population.  Luke Lucius, bound by familial ties and
> punctilious in his observance of a barbarous code of honor, the
> President of Armenia refused to back down from a potentially
> disastrous course of action.  Lucius’ promise is particularly apt to
> the Armenian situation.
>
> “And wherein Rome has done you scath,
>         Let him make treble satisfaction.”
>         (Lucius:  Titus Andronicus:  Act V.1, lines 7-8)
>
>         Turkey, like Rome, will pay threefold for its refusal to acknowledge
> the Armenian Genocide.
>
>         The countries involved in the conflict, Turkey, Azerbaijan and
> Armenia have a common history of hostilities that like the ourbourus,
> the snake that swallows its tail, it has become impossible to clearly
> define where one conflict begins and another ends.  Goldhagen’s
> observation:  “One real or manufactured act of brutality by a member
> of a hated group can be enough to become a powerful symbol of
> malevolence and threat,” can be applied equally to each party to the
> conflict. (Goldhagen, Worse Than War, p 287).  So great is the
> distrust of Armenia that Azerbaijan’s newspaper (Today’s Zaman)
> promises:  “Azerbaijan is ready for the final battle.”
>         The final battle may well mirror the last act of Titus Andronicus by
> destroying Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan in a disaster of unforeseen
> proportions.  Armenia with no resources of its own has been forced to
> reopen the Russian built Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, constructed on
> one of Armenia’s many fault lines close to the Turkish border.  The
> fuel for the power plant, secretly flown to Armenia by
> Russian planes, has been likened to “flying around a nuclear bomb.”
> The situation, which has been compared to a potential Chernobyl, calls
> for the advice of Marcus, the tribune, the sole voice of reason in a
> senseless tragedy.
>
>         “These quarrels must be quietly debated.”
>         (Marcus:  Titus Andronicus:  Act V.3, line 20)
>
>         The United States, which has taken a leading role in Turkish-Armenian
> reconciliation negotiations, has been rebuffed by Turkey and Armenia
> alike over President Obama’s attempt to avoid using the word
> “genocide.”  President Obama’s use of the words “Great Calamity,”
> instead of genocide, succeeded in angering both sides of the conflict
> and undermining US power to mediate a resolution that is not perceived
> as a genuine, disinterested gesture of the International Community.
> Although Marcus, as a statesman, advocates the correct course of
> action in a self-perpetuating cycle of revenge, the words of Titus, as
> a father, are more applicable as a plea for all sides to lay down
> their arms.
>
>         “Unbind my sons, reverse the course of death.”
>         (Titus:  Titus Andronicus:  Act iii.1, Line 24)
>
> Whether such a plea is heard or heeded means the difference between a
> possible nuclear disaster or a peaceful solution.
>         With the failure of the United States to bring both sides to an
> agreement, the International Crisis Group, a non-profit, non-
> governmental organization committed to preventing and resolving deadly
> conflict has proposed a peaceful solution which essentially removes
> third parties from the negotiations.  The ICC, while stressing shared
> history and commonality of interests, preserves the autonomy of each
> party and avoids drastic solutions.  Each side has to make a series of
> good will concessions, such as Turkey agreeing to rebuild Armenian
> cultural centers like the City of Ani.  Armenia is required to give up
> claims on Turkish or Azerbaijani territory, and Azerbaijan will
> provide Armenia with all the power it needs in return for Armenia’s
> withdrawal from Nagarno-Karabakh.  On the surface, this proposal
> should meet Goldhagen’s assertion that war is not inevitable, and that
> a Pacifist solution can be reached by the simple matter of trading and
> receiving something of value in return. (International Crisis Group).
>         If nothing else, the shared prospect of a nuclear disaster, and
> Russia’s involvement should open the doors to a rapprochement that up
> to now has had little possibility of ever being realized.
>
> References
> Goldhagen, D.J. (2009). Worse Than War
> United States:  Public Affairs, a member of the Perseus Books Group
>
> Shakespeare, W. (2000) Titus Andronicus
>         In R. McDonald (Ed.).
>         United States: Penguin Group
>
> The International Crisis Group. (2009, May 4)
>         Turkey and Armenia:  Opening Minds, Opening Borders
>         Retrieved May 21, 2010 fromhttp://www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/media-releases/2010/eu...
>
> Today. Az. (2010, May 21). Azerbaijani Defense Ministry:
>         If second Karabakh war begins, Armenia will be defeated.
>         Retrieved May 21, 2010 from
>        http://www.today.az/news/politics/68445.html
>
> ESSAY 3 “Bonus”
>
> Rosemarie Johnson
> Professor E. O’Connell / English 101, Class 3226
> May 28, 2010
>
> Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide
> Resolution (Introduced in the House)
>
> 109th Congress
> 1st Session
> H. Res. 195
>
> In the House of Representatives, June 29, 2005
>
> Sponsor:  Rep. Schiff, Adam B., (CA-29) co-sponsors – 88
> Latest major action: 9/15/2005 House committee / subcommittee
> actions.  Status:  Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and
> Nays: 35-11
>
> Concurrent Resolution
>
> Commemorating the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, urging the
> Government of the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge the culpability of
> its predecessor state, the Ottoman Empire, for the Armenian Genocide
> and engage in rapprochement with the Republic of Armenia and the
> Armenian people, and supporting the accession of Turkey to the
> European Union if Turkey meets certain criteria.
>
>         H. Con. Res. 195, like H. Con. Res. 256, attempts to circumvent
> President Obama’s refusal to recognize the Armenian Genocide by
> combining a request for acknowledgement with US support for Turkey’s
> bid to join the European Union.
>
>         Unlike H. Con. Res 256, H. Con. Res 195, explicitly details the
> sequence of atrocities suffered by the Armenians.  Although H. Con Res
> 195 leaves no doubt about the reality of the Armenian Genocide, former
> Secretary of State, Colin Powell praised Turkey and the Turkish people
> for the benefits that they will bring to the European Union, and that
> Turkey is firmly anchored in Europe and shares European values that
> will be a positive force for prosperity and democracy.
>
>         Given the subservient platitudes of Colin Powell, it is perhaps
> better that the Armenian Genocide resolution, coupled with a tribute
> that Turkey did not deserve, did not pass.  No major actions are
> anticipated.
>
> Reference
>
> Schiff, Rep. A.B. (2005, June 29). House Resolution 195,
>         (Thomas) Library of Congress
>         Commemorating the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923
>        http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.CON.RES.195:

[patrick d]

Patrick D
#3226
Ess 3
Final Draft


These are the words of a disguised Tamora to Titus. “ I am Revenge,
sent from the’ infernal kingdom, To ease the gnawing vulture of thy
mind. By working wreckful vengeance of thy foes. Come down and welcome
me to this world’s light.” (Mcdonald, p91)
Different conflicts all over the world have embraced these welcoming
words of revenge by Tamora that have cause catastrophic deaths of the
ill- fated. Shakespeare’s play, Titus Andronicus, is a well drafted
tragedy. Titus, Tamora and their families were engulfed by
circumstances that led to a cycle of vengeance. These fictional
characters reflect today’s war and conflict. The Taliban and the
United States conflict in Afghanistan-Pakistan war have reached
tumultuous deaths of innocent people. They are no different than
Titus, Tamora and their families. The root of war and conflict can be
attributed to revenge.
The war in Afghanistan has caused the deaths of thousands of
civilians and military troops and insurgencies involved in the war.
After the fateful September 11, 2001 attacks, which were believed to
be “a series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the
United States” (September 11, Wiki) the American government, under
the leadership of former president Bush, called to attack on the
people behind the incident. Iraq’s Saddam Hussein was targeted for
capture. On the other hand, Al -Qaeda’s Osama Bin Laden, admitted his
ties to the incident. This led to the United States‘ government to go
after the Al-Qaeda group in Afghanistan, where war began. “ The War in
Afghanistan is an ongoing coalition conflict which began on October 7,
2001, as the US military's Operation Enduring Freedom that was
launched, along with the British military, in response to the
September 11, 2001 attacks on the US.”(War in Afghanistan, Wiki) True
to Goldhagen’s word, “war is a political act, and is part of political
leader’s repertoire…a choice by political leaders- a calculated choice
taking into account many factors, including their often erroneous,
prejudice -laden world views.” ( Goldhagen, p.266) Like Titus
Andronicus and Tamora, who wanted vengeance for the deaths of their
sons, the United States, under the Bush administration wanted justice,
for the deaths of the American people on 9/11. Osama Bin Laden, on the
other hand, wanted freedom of Islamic people from the Americans. In a
videotape released, he said that the “ injustice and tyranny of the
American-Israeli coalition against our people in Palestine and
Lebanon” triggered the events leading to 9/11. The invasion of
Israelis in Lebanon in 1982 was permitted by the US. He continues that
“In those critical moments, I was overwhelmed by ideas that are hard
to describe, but they awakened as a powerful impulse to reject
injustice and gave birth to a firm resolve to punish the oppressors.
As I was looking at those destroyed towers in Lebanon, I was struck by
the idea of punishing the oppressor in the same manner and destroying
towers in the US, I give it a taste of what we have taste and to deter
it from killing our children and women.” ( Translated )
The series of deaths in Titus Andronicus were with the help of their
families. Titus with his sons: Lucius, Quintus, Martius, Mutius.
Tamora with her sons : Alarmus and Demetrius. Former Pres. Bush,
called for his military troops to invade Afghanistan, while Osama Bin
Laden’ s Al -Qaeda group retaliated. In turn , all those people who
oppose the American troops became Talibans. Air strikes, bombings, and
killings from each group have transpired. The Talibans have crossed
over neighboring Pakistan. “ the Pakistani government, primarily
because of financial and political coercion by Washington, has ordered
its military into a brutal offensive against the Pashtun people of
northwest Pakistan. Their crime is that they share a common history,
language and culture with the Pashtuns of Afghanistan and provide
support to the Taliban insurgency over the ill-defined border between
the two countries.” (Cogan) Like the characters in Titus Andronicus,
Titus and Tamora have their allies in the perpetuation of their crimes
of vengeance. Marcus Andronicus, brother of Titus; and Aaron, the Moor
lover of Tamora.
After more than 10 years, “Afghanistan will pass Vietnam as America's
longest war”. (USA Today) Thousands of military troops and civilians
have died. “Civilians indirectly as a consequence of displacement,
starvation, disease, exposure, lack of medical treatment, crime and
lawlessness resulting from the war.” (Civilian Casualties, Wiki) In
Pakistan alone, “the Pakistani military has forced at least 2.5
million people from their homes in tribal agencies such as Bajaur and
Mohmand and from the Swat Valley district of North West Frontier
Province”. ( Cogan )
Lavinia, in Titus Andronicus, was not spared. She was raped. Her
hands and tongue were cut off, so as not to speak of the dreadful
event. In the Afghanistan- Pakistan war, women and children were not
spared. In a video documentary by Frontline
“ Pakistan: Children of Taliban“, As Sharmaine Obaid-Chinoy reports,
women and children were not spared. More than 200 schools were bombed.
Women and children’s right to education were implemented. They were to
cover their faces. Much like Lavinia in Titus, who was raped by
Tamora‘s sons, these women and children were ripped of their dignity
as people by the war. In time, Lavinia found a way to tell the truth
by telling her father the perpetuators. She found a way to write in
her mouth. The women and children of Pakistan have stopped going to
school, but their hunger for education does not end.
War has to stop. Elimination around the world is an act that takes of
people and their rights. Daniel Goldhagen’s ideals of elimination to
end requires prevention through intervention. As he said there are
several components: “ an accurate recognition of exterminationist and
eliminationist assaults and poltics: an accurate understanding of the
domestic and international failures producing catastrophic state of
affairs; and an agreement act to stop current and prevent future
exterminationist and eliminationist, to send eliminationist politics
to extinction”. ( Goldhagen, p516) These efforts are needed to be done
to prevent any hate of crime to happen. Any leader and person will be
overshadowed by their desire of revenge. We must act as a people,
different countries to unite to stop war and death. The United Nations
may have been stagnant in doing so, but should come out as a major
force for the cessation of war amongst people. Violence begets
violence. It’s time for laws to be implemented, for people to follow,
and eliminate retaliation as a force to get vengeance. Representative
Dennis Kucinich, in his resolution no. 248 has urged the President,
“pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove the
United States Armed Forces from Afghanistan.” ( Thomas Library )
It failed in the house. This means that the ideals of Daniel Goldhagen
are still not implemented. The United States does not want their
troops out.
The political idealogy behind the war was to catch Osama Bin Laden.
“The resolution authorised military force for the purpose of capturing
or destroying the Al Qaeda leadership, beginning with bin Laden, so as
to prevent further terrorist attacks”
( Cogan ) The intention has been overshadowed by the United States
political move to “establish strategic and economic dominance over the
resource-rich region”. ( Cogan )
The United States should make an effort to retreat.
One has to make a decision to stop. One has to acknowledge the
incidents from happening. The Titus Andronicus characters have gone
through a series of deaths, but in the end, Lucius have acknowledged
his family’s tale of these circumstances. The unending series of death
and vengeance halted with the saving of the newborn of Tamora and
Moor. A new era begun. Like Goldhagen’s suggestions of ending
eliminationists, acknowledging the problem and understanding it would
halt the process of exterminationist. Someone has to make an effort to
begin the process of healing and reconciliation. In time, this war has
to stop. Either the Talibans, or the United States should bow to close
the curtains.

Works Cited:

Afghanistan: America’s longest war. United States Today. Accessed May
27, 2010.
http://www.United Statesatoday.com/news/military/2010-05-27-longest-
war- afghanistan_N.htm?csp=34


Civilian casualties of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present).
Wikipedia. Accessed May 20, 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Civilian_casualties_of_the_War_in_Afghanistan_% 282001%E2%80%93present
%29>


Cogan, James. A War of Colonial Conquest in Afghanistan. World
Socialist Web Site. Accessed May 24, 2010. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jul2009/pers-
j10.shtml

Goldhagen, Daniel. Worse than War.

Obaid-Chinoy, Sharmaine. Pakistan, Children of Taliban. Frontline.
PBS. Accessed May 05,2010.http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/
pakistan802/video/video_ind ex.html

September 11 attacks.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
September_11,_2001_Terrorist_Attack

Thomas Library of Congress. Web. Accessed May 20, 2010. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-
bin/Thomas

War in Afghanistan. Wikipedia. Web. Accessed May 20, 2010. <http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Afghanistan_%282001%E2%80%93presen t%29>

Translated Transcript of Osama Bin Laden‘s “ Message to the American
People”. Web. Accessed May 21, 2010.<http://mprofaca.cro.net/
binladen_oct2904.html>

[patrick d]

[Ryota F]

　　　　　The Correct and Incorrect Courses of Action against Political
Islam


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Ryota Fujii



　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　English 101
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Professor Ed O’Connell
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　May 28, 2010





The Correct and Incorrect Courses of Action against Political Islam
Political Islam is “a powerful transnational movement, with its
adherents governing counties and vying for power in others, and with
enormous political influence throughout the Middle East and the
Islamic world,” writes Goldhagen (2009) in his book, Worse Than War
(p. 490). According to Goldhagen, it is the most dangerous
eliminationist political movement we face today. In fact, several of
its leaders and adherents have already committed mass murder and
practiced eliminationist politics, or openly threatened to do so in
countries like Iran – whose nuclear program, the United States and its
allies suspect, is “geared toward producing weapons” (Dareini, 2010).
Goldhagen states that “[l]ittle is more chilling, and more indicative
of this death culture’s power and reach, than Political Islamists’
broadcasts and podcasts of music videos directed at children,
depicting children happily explaining that they want to die for Allah
by killing Islam’s enemies” (p. 495). Therefore, it is critical that
the United States and its allies take the correct course of action to
deal with the threat. Interestingly, an analysis of two characters,
Titus and Lavinia, from Shakespeare’s play, Titus Andronicus, offers
insight into the current threat the United States and its allies face.
A careful analysis of these characters reveals that the actions taken
by Titus represent a better course of action, while the actions of
Lavinia represent a worse course of action on the threat, and this
realization makes it clear that Goldhagen’s recommendations for
preventing future eliminationism are correct.
Worse than War suggests the correct course of action, especially
dealing with Political Islam, is to implement the anti-mass murder and
elimination monetary prevention program that Goldhagen (2009)
outlines. He states that “in working to prevent the much more massive
eliminationist assaults,” the program must cover “a much wider range
of people and not only seeking their arrest but also authorizing their
killing” (p. 579). He also states that the program must
“automatically apply to those perpetrating wars against humanity so
all those considering mass murder and elimination know they will
become target” (p. 578).
The actions taken by Titus from Titus Andronicus represent the correct
course of action and are consistent with Goldhagen’s ideas on how to
deal with the enemies who are ready to die for Allah by killing
Islam’s enemies. In this play, Titus is a Roman general who fought
wars against the Goths. He is engaged in a cycle of revenge with the
Queen of the Goths, Tamora, and as a result, he is miserable. What has
made him most miserable is the fact that his daughter Lavinia has been
raped and mutilated by the enemy. In Act III, 1., one of Titus’ sons
Marcus brings Lavinia and tells his father to “prepare thy aged eyes
to weep,/Or if not so, thy noble heart to break” (p. 48). Titus
expresses his agony by saying, “It was my dear, and he that wounded
her/Hath hurt me more than had he killed me dead” (p. 49). Although he
is in tremendous pain, he cannot just sit down and cry. It would be
great if he could forgive and forget, but he must fight until the end
especially if he is dealing with a character like Aaron who says, “…
nothing grieves me heartily indeed/But that I cannot do ten thousand
more” (p. 89). In fact, Titus has his revenge. He catches Tamora’s
sons Chiron and Demetrius who raped Lavinia and cut out her tongue and
hands, and kills them by cutting their throats. Then, he has their
mother eat them at the banquet.
Although the actions of Titus are extremely brutal and unrealistic in
today’s society, they still help illustrate that Goldhagen is right.
The Political Islamists are extremely dangerous and want to destroy
the West. Like Titus, the United States and its allies in Europe must
be ready to use force when practical and prevent them from causing
mass murder. Seeking revenge does not make us happy, but it is
necessary when dealing with enemies whose goal is to destroy us.
The incorrect course of action is to continue with the status quo and
not to implement the program proposed by Goldhagen. Fernholz (2010)
states that during his campaign Obama “pledged to discard discredited
notions about the causes of terrorism such as the belief that it was
primarily and ideological struggle based on religion and hate” (p.
21). Unfortunately, Obama’s idea is not consistent with Goldhagen’s
ideas and underestimates the degree of hatred and desire to destroy
the west harbored by the Political Islamists. According to Fernholz
(2010), the Obama “administration would use so-called smart-power
ideas about development and engagement to reduce threats while
deploying military force responsibly and as a last resort” (p. 21).
What the Obama administration is hoping to do is to “alleviate the
poverty and despair that led people to violence” through “development”
and “remove the state support of extremist groups and build productive
alliances” through “engagement” (p. 21). While these measures might be
effective to some extent, they are not aggressive and effective enough
toward the Political Islamists whose goal is to commit mass murder at
any cost.
In fact, one can argue that the Obama administration’s approach is
like that of Lavinia in Titus Andronicus. Instead of confronting and
fighting the enemy, Lavinia tries to plead with her enemies who are
trying to rape her. At first, she tries to remind Tamora that her
father saved her life by saying, “O, let me teach thee for my father’s
sake,/That gave thee life when well he might have slain thee,/Be not
obdurate, open thy deaf ears” (p. 37). Her statement suggests that she
expects her enemy to consider what’s fair, just like how the Obama
administration expects the Political Islamists to stop hating the
United States if it helped “alleviate the poverty and despair” for
them. Lavinia also begs Tamora to kill her instead. She say, “O, keep
me from their worse than killing lust,/And tumble me in to some
loathsome pit,/Where never man’s eye may behold my body,/Do this, and
be a charitable murderer” (p. 38). However, despite her desperate
plea, she is raped and mutilated, demonstrating that trying to reason
with the enemies that are ready to destroy us does not work.
In fact, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently stated that
President Obama’s recent push for a fourth round of sanctions against
Iran is “no problem” (Ferran & Trachtenberg, 2010). Ahmadinejad says,
“Any measure [Obama] takes will be proportionately confronted by a
position that Iran will take… we will act the same way as we have been
doing so far against hostilities,” suggesting, just like Titus and
Tamora, Ahmadinejad is ready to take revenge on the United States.
Ahmadinejad’s defiance is demonstrated when he says, “Don’t worry
about us, we know how to defend ourselves. We will not accept
something that’s forced upon us” (Ferran & Trachtenberg, 2010). His
remarks reflect the attitudes and beliefs of the Political Islamists
that Goldhagen describes in his book. The United States and its allies
need to realize that diplomacy without implementing the anti-mass
murder and elimination monetary prevention program that Goldhagen
outlines can lead to massive eliminationist assaults in the near
future. As a matter of fact, in the past, “Obama’s attempts to
emphasize diplomacy over confrontation in dealing with Iran…have
failed to persuade Tehran to open its nuclear installations to
international controls” as well (McGreal, 2010). It is time that the
international community implemented the program that covers a wider
range of people like Ahmadinejad and authorizing their killing if they
are plotting mass murder.
In conclusion, it is clear that the United States and its allies must
take the threat that Political Islam poses seriously and take the
correct course of action to prevent future eliminationism. An analysis
of two characters, Titus and Lavinia, from Shakespeare’s Titus
Andronicus, suggests that the action taken by Lavinia did not work in
the face of merciless enemies. The type of actions she took would also
not work against Political Islam leaders. The actions taken by Titus
are the result of agony and anger, and they are vengeful actions;
however, they represent not only a better course of action but perhaps
the only course of action that one can take in the face of enemies
like Political Islam. This realization makes it clear that Goldhagen’s
recommendations for preventing future eliminationism are the only
choice the United States and its allies have, and they should
implement the program recommended by him immediately to prevent future
eliminationist assaults.















　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　References

Dareini, A. A. (2010, April 11). Iran says new U.S. policy a nuclear
threat.
ABC News/International. Retrieved May 6, 2010, from
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=10343908
Fernholz, T. (2010, March). The ultimate test case. The American
Prospect,
21(2), 21-25.
Ferran, L., & Trachtenberg, T. (2010, May 5). Ahmadinejad defiant in
face of
U.N. sanctions, Israeli military. ABC GMA. Retrieved May 6, 2010,
from
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/iran-president-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-
defiant-face-sanctions-israeli/story?id=10556122
Goldhagen, D. J. (2009). Worse than war: Genocide, eliminationism,
and the ongoing assault on humanity. New York: Public Affairs.
McGreal, C (2010, January 31). US raises stakes on Iran by sending in
ships
and missiles. Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved May 6, 2010, from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/31/iran-nuclear-us-missiles-gulf
Shakespeare, W. (2000). Titus Andronicus. New York: Penguin.

[Rosemarie J.]

Nemesis
(Final)
May 28, 2010

CIA. (2009). The CIA World Factbook 2010
United States: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

Goldhagen, D.J. (2009). Worse Than War
United States: Public Affairs, a member of the Perseus Books Group

Shakespeare, W. (2000) Titus Andronicus
In R. McDonald (Ed.).
United States: Penguin Group

Shalal-Esa, A. (2010, March 2). Reuters
CEOs warn against Armenia “genocide” bill

Retrieved March 12, 2010 from http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62157G20100302

Staff. (2010, February 27), Trial Watch
Trial Watch- Mehmed Talat Pasha
Retrieved April 25, 2010 from

http://www.trial-ch.org/en/trial-watch/profile/db/facts/mehmed_talat-pasha_479.html

The International Crisis Group. (2009, May 4)
Turkey and Armenia: Opening Minds, Opening Borders
Retrieved May 21, 2010 from

http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/media-releases/2010/europe/Turkey%20and%20Armenia%20Opening%20Minds%20Opening%20Borders.aspx

Today. Az. (2010, May 21). Azerbaijani Defense Ministry:
If second Karabakh war begins, Armenia will be defeated.
Retrieved May 21, 2010 from
http://www.today.az/news/politics/68445.html

Zunes, S. (2010, March 1). Huffington Post
Obama and the Denial of Genocide

Retrieved April 6, 2010 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-zunes/obama-and-the-denial-of-g_b_495548.html

[Meagan Judkins]

Meagan Judkins

English 101 section #3226

Essay 3

May 28^th, 2010

Professor O’Connell

 

The conflict now happening in Sierra Leone, Sudan and The Republic of Congo metaphorically and literally shares ties with Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus”. In Goldhagen’s “Worse Than War” war crimes are highlighted throughout; the Khmer Rouge implemented death marches in Cambodia, starvation in the Warsaw Ghetto camp and the Soviet gulag’s inhumanity and enormous death rates.  There are many outcomes for the victims of war.  Tied together is the enslavement of an opposing force or outfit, as well as the enslavement of an opposing force’s youth.  This compares to Tomara being held with her three sons by the Romans after the fall of the Gloths. This is explicitly mentioned when Saturnicus chooses the enslaved Tamora to be his wife:

 

"Behold, I choose thee, Tamora, for my bride".

 

 In the article “Human trafficking & Modern-day Salvery” it states that The Democratic Republic of the Congo is often a destination for men, women and children who have been trafficked from their homeland with the full intention of using them for forced labor and sexual exploitation.  Related is the enslavement of children with the intent to use them in combat as child soldiers. Titus clearly offers Tamora's children to Saturnicus as a "gift",

 

"The wide world's emperor,

do I consecrate my sword,

my chariot, and my prisoners,

presents well worthy Rome's imperious lord.". 

 

According to Ann O’Neil in the report entitled, “Stolen Kids Turned into Terrifying Killers” children are kidnapped, some after witnessing the murder of their families, and are given drugs, weapons and militia training. Known as “Kadogo” or “the little ones” these children, some as young as 6, if not trained especially to torture and kill, are used for slave labor. According to a report by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, about a third of the world's child soldiers are in Africa. If ever, and certainly rarely, these children are returned to their families, the emotional damage is more than not, irreversible.  There is no exact number known of the amount of child soldiers currently being held in Africa, although the number is thought to be at least several thousand. Enslavement is a most terrifying fate, but there are fates just as horrific. After savagely pillaging a village, guerrilla rebels often use rape, torture and mutilation as acts of control. Gratuitous violence and revenge are generally present during a time of conflict; this seems especially true in Africa. In “Titus Andronicus” Tomara clearly wills her two sons to rape and then mutilate Lavinia, Titus’ daughter, as an act of revenge.

 

"So should I rob my sweet sons of their fee,

no, left them satisfy their lust on thee."

 

Filmmaker Lisa F. Jackson was once a victim of rape herself.  Propelling her own suffering and experience with not only the violent act, but also accepting the sad truth that her perpetrators had never and most likely would never be caught, made her relate to the rape victims in The Republic of Congo.  She traveled to Africa armed with a video camera determined to give a voice to the silenced women and girls of the war-torn area of Africa.  What she found is nothing less than heinous.  Victims ranging in age, some as young as 4, tell of their experiences; he was cut “into three parts, the head, the chest, and the bottom part.  Then they raped me and abandoned me there.  I passed out next to my husband’s legs.”  In an article by The Guardian, Kira Cochrane interviews Lisa Jackson on her latest documentary entitled “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo”.  Lisa echoes her experiences interviewing not only victims, but also the unapologetic attackers; “It’s hard to keep a record.  We stayed too long in the bush, and that induced us to rape.  For an approximate number, maybe 25.”  Lisa found that ironically the women she interviewed were wrought with guilt and shame; however, the men who attacked them showed no signs remorse. Rape is so prevalent that one tends to forget just how permanently damaging it can be psychologically, emotionally and physically.  Only murder is worse than rape, and even rape can be considered murder in that rape is “murder of the mind.”  Rape is considered a “weapon of war”.  It breaks families and people.  Leaves the victim immobile and terrified, it causes silence.  Often the women and young girls are raped in front of their families, their fathers, their husbands.  The men are left helpless.  This fear tactic is incredibly strong, and more importantly to the attackers, “more easily obtainable than bullets or bombs.”  According to the article, there are an estimate 200,000 survivors of rape living in the Republic of Congo today.

Of the examples I have correlated from “Titus Andronicus” to the genocidal events in Africa, the most literal is the removal of Lavinia’s hands and tongue to ensure the silence against her attackers, Tamora's son’s Chiron and Demetrius:

 

"But when you have the honey you desire,

let not this wasp outlive us both to sting." 

 

This correlates to the use of mutilation and amputation as an act of control, as seen in Sierra Leone.  Lavinia suggested the story of Philomela to her Father Titus and her uncle Marcus, in which a mute victim “wrote” the name of her attackers.  Marcus then gives Lavinia a stick so that she may write out the name of her own perpetrators.  In Sierra Leone people’s hands were amputated by rebels who (although all of the amputations could not be confirmed for this reason) told their victims “they were cutting off their hands as punishment for using their hands in the 1996 vote”.  Although not directly the same, this correlation shows the use of violence to silence a person, because although Lavinia’s amputation was used to silence her after the fact and amputations in Africa were as punishment for making their voice heard, both are acts of violence to instill fear and silence.  In Africa the removal of the hands or tongues by the rebels has befallen so many victims it is almost tragic to say that the act has lost its shock value.  Reasons of punishment, example and torture all can be attributed to the act.  Made famous by the movie “Blood Diamond” we learn that if a person or in some cases a child, is unable to produce goods or is accused of stealing they will lose their hand or arm at the elbow.  As mentioned earlier, often this kind of mutilation is often political.  In an article by Roland Bankole Marke entitled, “No Compassion for Sierra Leone’s Amputees” Mamsu Thoronka tells of the removal of her hands in 1999, “I attempted to take refuge in a building to escape the vengeance of the rebels.” but “they found me. I begged for mercy asking them to respect God” they responded “point to God” and then began to hack at her right hand, after successfully removing her left.  The rebels then said to Mamsu “get another hand from President Kabba, who has several hands to spare.”  Tamba Ngaujah who once served in the Republic Sierra Leone Military Forces is now living on the streets after being kicked out by military officials from the Wilberforce barracks where he lived in military quarters. His hands were removed by rebels and thus left him useless and a burden to the outfit he once served.   Unlike Tamba, Mamsu has been fortunate in benefiting from outside resources brought in by foreign countries.  A Norwegian charity has helped in offering her and her children housing.  Unfortunately it is not only the government who shames amputees by disregarding them, discrimination of amputees is rampant in Sierra Leone, socially amputees are looked down upon.  Mamsu’s children are mocked at school, “your mother is a half-person.” Mamsu expresses her emotional pain in correctly stating, “It is so demeaning” especially because “I’m a victim of mere circumstance.”  .

In a paper entitled “Disability as Embodied Memory?  Questions of Identity for the Amputees of Sierra Leone.” Maria Berghs explores how the Sierra Leone government tried in the early 90’s to contain and then exploit the amputee identity.  Establishing camps, the government then tried to create a “genderless visual metaphor” to receive monetary aid from foreign donors. Creating camps and hiding these victims in order that they could again, gain donations but also control the way the international public viewed the severity of the civil war.  But with the aid of foreign N.G.O’s and religious organizations, the amputee victims were able to reject being used.  Through an online presence and the media, they told their stories, lobbied for personal aid through other governments and “demanded compensation and rehabilitation from those who had caused their injuries.” Much like Lavinia was silenced, she overcomes her limitations and uses a stick to relay to her father Titus the names of her attackers:

 

“Marcus:
This sandy plot is plain; guide, if thou canst,
this after me. I have writ my name
Without the help of any hand at all.
Cursed be that heart that forced us to this shift!
Write though, good niece, and here display at last
What God will have discovered for revenge.
Heaven guide thy pen to print thy sorrows plain,
That we may know the traitors and the truth.
                    She takes the staff in her mouth, and guides it wih her stumps and writes.
O, do you read, my lord, what she hath writ?

 

Perhaps the most frightening aspect of the violence in Africa is that there are more times than not, no real reason for these war crimes.  Political reasons, issues of land and resources are a huge factor, but unlike Hitler’s Nazi Germany, there is not necessarily one ultimate goal.  On page 331 in “Worse Than War”,  Goldhagen describes “demonizing” of a people to explain the motivation for genocide.  However in the case of Africa it seems most of the victims are brutalized to make a statement or for personal relief.  Often the victims of these eliminationtist assaults are victimized by their own countrymen.  “Killing in a manner inflicting maximal suffering” a quote from Goldhagen can be used to describe the horrific fate of those victims in war-torn Africa.  The answer to Africa’s problems is not an easy one.  Multiple organizations throughout the years have tried to calm the blinding violence and appalling brutalization.  But as the years pass, the situation has proven itself a problem that requires an answer not easy to give.  Just as “Titus Andronicus” ends in a murderous bloodbath with no real victor, thus does the conflict in Africa continue. Only the victims “lucky” enough to be left alive know the true terrifying nature of humans and that of our powerful and truly horrific capabilities.

 

 

References:

 

"Africa Recovery, United Nations". Vol.15 #3, October 2001, page 10. (Part of Special Feature: Protecting Africa's Children) Retrieved on May 26^th, 2010 from:  http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol15no3/153chil2.htm

 

bbc.co.uk “UN Highlights Human Trafficking” Retrieved May 19^th, 2010 from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6497799.stm

 

Butcher, Tim.  “Sierra Leone War Amputees Learn to Vote with their Feet”. Retrieved May12th, 2010 from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/sierraleone/1394199/Sierra-Leone-war-amputees-learn-to-vote-with-their-feet.html

 

Cochrane, Kira. “The Victim’s Witness”. Retrieved May 22^nd, 2010 from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/may/09/women.congo

 

Goldhagen, D.J. (2009). Worse Than War
United States:  Public Affairs, a member of the Perseus Books Group

Marke, Roland Bankole. “Harvest of Hate – Stories and Essays: Fuel for the Soul. Publish America, 2006.

O’Neil, Ann. “Stolen Kids Turned into Terrifying Killers” Posted February 12^th, 2007. Retrieved May 21^st, 2010 from: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/02/12/child.soldiers/index.html

 

Shakespeare, William. “Titus Andronicus.” (Pelican Shakespeare Series)

[MG]

Mariz Girgis
English 101
Professor O’Connell
28 May 2010

Even in our seemingly civilized world today humans still use
violence , to take revenges against specific people to help relieve
grievance. What is an even more sad and catastrophic truth is that
there are still those who carry hateful feelings and evil intentions
against their fellow man because of things like ethnicity, culture,
religion, or gender. These hateful and bitter individuals feel if it
is their priority, right, or even duty to inflict pain and evil
against a specific person (or people). If these people who are
attacked strike back in self defense, the racist offenders feel the
need for revenge. To them, revenge is the only way to eliminate
suffering.


Even though individuals like Hitler are not around (with the exact
prejudice, and racisms ), there are still those who have similar
racist and prejudiced minds, except their hatred is targeted because
of other reasons. An example of two peoples that are in a continual
war with each other are the Israelis – Palestinians . Unfortunately,
the Hamas - run government will not accept peace at any price because
its idealogy is fueled by hatred and prejudice against Jews. Although
it may seem as if vengeance fills Israel’s actions, sometimes it is
just that ; vengeance. Israel’s attacks are usually done in response
to terror offenses done by Hamas. Israel’s whole existence is not
based on trying to wipe out a whole culture or people. That does not,
however, mean that revenge is right morally or ethically. After all,
if the only defense to an offense is an equally heinous act, what
makes the offended person better than the offender? Revenge comes from
equal bitterness.

Revenge is a theme in both the Israeli Hamas Conflict today and
in Shakespeare’s play Titus Andronicus . The stories of Titus and
Tamora and the Hamas have something very significant in common:
revenge against an enemy. In Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus most of
the characters want revenge against each other. The two characters
Titus and Tamora , share an abundance of similarities with the Israeli
-Hamas Conflict. Tamora's revenge on Titus is so similar to the
Israeli's government revenge on the founder of Hamas: Mahmoud
Mabhouh. Titus’s character is similar to Mahmoud Mabhouh, and the
Israeli government is similar to Tamora’s character. In Shakespeare’s
story Titus Andronicus , Titus felt a tremendous religious duty to
sacrifice Tamora’s eldest son Alarbus so he can avenge his sons who
died in the war. As a mother, of course, Tamora begged Titus not to
kill her son, but Titus refused. Tamora could not sleep until her
son’s revenge was taken. Tamora took revenge for her son by killing
the son of the late emperor of Rome, Bassianus. She also made both her
sons rape Titus's daughter Lavinia. Following that, Tamora then framed
Titus's sons Martius and Quintus for the killing of the emperor son
Bassianus. This part of the story is so similar to the Israeli Hamas
conflict. It is very similar to the avenging of the Israelis in 1972.
In 1972, a group of Palestinian terrorist group killed 11 Israeli
athletes and coaches at the Munich Olympics in a barbaric and brutal
way. They killed the athletes with no conscience and no heart. Some
say that the Israeli government is known for getting back at their
enemies (articles.latimes.com). As revenge for the 11 Israeli
athletes and coaches that were killed by Mahmoud Mabhouh, the Israeli
decided to go to Dubai and kill Hamas terrorist Mahmoud Mabhouh.


The only difference between the Israeli Hamas conflict and
Shakespeare’s story Titus Andronicus is that the Israeli Hamas
conflict is considered genocide and elimination. Mahmoud Mabhouh wants
to terrorize , slaughter, and kill people because he is filled with
prejudice against this group of people. He does it because he hates
where this group of people are from. He dislikes these people because
of who they were born to be. He despises them because they are Jews.
Individuals like People like Mahmoud Mabhouh are born thinking that
without a doubt it is morally and ethically right to slaughter Jews.
Mahmoud Mabhouh in this manner is at war against humanity. Golhagen’s
analysis claims that elimnationists like Mahmoud Mabhouh are thinking
in terms of war (spiegel.de). Goldhagen claims "if they are making
war, the rules of war apply (spiegel.de)." Shakespeare’s story Titus
Andronicus is not considered genocide and/or elimination. Titus did
not want to kill a group of people because he hated their religion,
culture, race, or where they came from. He killed Tamora’s son because
he thought it was a religious duty to sacrifice Tamora’s eldest son
Alarbus, so he could avenge his sons who died in the war. Titus’s
anger is fueled by personal issues (losing a loved one). Titus is at
war against the person who killed his son. He is not at war with a
whole nation or race. What Titus did is not considered genocide,
elimination, or even war because genocide is the destruction of a
group of people and war is the destruction of humanity. It is
blatantly clear that Titus did neither of these. If both Titus, and
Hamas founder Mohamed Mabouh, actions were brought forth to be
judged in a court room, they would likely be sentenced very
differently. Take for example what Goldhagen states about Truman and
Hitler. Goldhagen claims that if Truman and Hitler were judged in a
courtroom, both Truman and Hitler would be judged differently because
what Hitler did is different from what Truman did (Worse than War pg
8). In his book Goldhagen , claims that, Hitler killed Jews because
he had an unfounded delusional belief that Jews were the source of
evil. Truman slaughtered the Japanese because he thought that if he
struck them with the atomic bomb they would surrender, and the war
would end faster and more effeciently (pg 8). By this standard of
judgement, Hamas founder Mahmoud Mabhouh and Titus have very different
motives behind killing.



Goldhagen’s analysis on recommendations for preventing future
eliminationism states that "we should encourage those who can to kill
them (spiegel.de)." He claims that if someone has the courage to kill
people like Hamas founder Mahmoud Mabhouh, then we should encourage
them more to do it. Goldhagen is correct because the killing of mass
slaughterers saves the world from cold hearted killers who would
slaughter and murder large numbers of innocent human beings. If
someone has the courage to kill people like Mahmoud Mabhouh, then
that person will be saving many innocent people from being brutally
murdered in large numbers. It true that we as human beings have no
right to say who should die and who should live, but when it comes to
people like Mahmoud Mabhouh, he and people like him should be
sentenced to death. It is just that people like Mahmoud Mabhouh should
get what is coming to them as a result of their actions. Removing
terrorists and elminationists like Mahmoud Mabhouh (who have
threatened, terrorized and put society under suffering ) is certainly
justified. In the Los Angeles Times claims that it was “wrong for the
Israeli government to go to a different country that is not theirs and
kill Mahmoud Mabhouh (articles.latimes.com).” The LA times point of
view is that “the killing of a murderer is not right because if that
murderer was caught, they could have been arrested and brought to
justice (articles.latimes.com).” It is true that the killing of a
murderer is not right because if that murderer was caught, they could
have been arrested and brought to justice; but what if this murderer
was never caught? If the a man like Mahmoud Mabhouh was not killed,
there is no doubt that the world would still have yet another mass
murderer on the loose. What makes individuals like Mahmoud Mabhouh
even more threatening is that they encourage others to kill. They
indirectly breed more terrorists. Killing a mass murderer is
considered self defense. No court in the world would say that self
defense is a crime. If people like Mahmoud Mabhouh are not dealt with,
then the world will just be left with a nonstop murderer, who will
kill in large numbers with no mercy. Also, why should a cold hearted
murderer be arrested and be kept alive for the sake of political
reasons when the blood of many innocents remain on his or her hands?
One agrees one hundred percent with Goldhagen’s analysis and if the
only way to protect the world from people like Mahmoud Mabhouh is for
them to be killed then that is what should be done.

It is easy for the Los Angeles Times to say that killing Mahmoud
Mabhouh is wrong for the sake of political correctness because those
who wrote the article have no clue what it is like to be Israel.
Israel is attacked regularly by suicide bombers. Israel has to deal
with terrorists on a daily basis. It has no choice but to kill a
terrorist who threatens its people whether these people are men,
women, or children.

works cited

Miller, Marjorie. "Targeted for Death - Los Angeles Times." Featured
Articles From The Los Angeles Times. 21 Feb. 2010. Web. 6 May 2010.
<http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/21/opinion/la-oe-miller-
web21-2010feb21>.

Alston, Philip. "Targeted for Death - Los Angeles Times." Featured
Articles From The Los Angeles Times. 21 Feb. 2010. Web. 6 May 2010.
<http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/21/opinion/la-oe-miller-
web21-2010feb21>.



SPIEGEL. "SPIEGEL Interview with Daniel Jonah Goldhagen: 'Mass
Slaughter Is a Systemic Problem of the Modern World' - SPIEGEL ONLINE
- News - International." SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten. 10 Aug. 2009.
Web. 6 May 2010. <http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/
0,1518,653938,00.html>.

[MG]

[Sandy B]

Sandy Bonilla
English 101 #3226
Professor
Essay 3 O’Connell
May 28, 2010

Hopeless Conclusion

The Holocaust is not the only bizarre genocide that has
happened in the world’s history or in the recent decades. In the 21st
Century there have being many secret wars that are currently active.
Many people around the world don’t have any idea that these secret
wars could be happening in their own country. Genocide doesn’t
necessarily means to eliminate a group of people or an ethic by
killing them, also when the people agrees to participate in a genocide
plan or by expulsing a specific group of people or an ethic for
benefits its also genocide. Daniel Goldhagen is the writer of the book
Worse Than War and the narrator of Worse Than War documentary. He
doesn’t only write books but fight against genocide and pursues the
United Nation Allies Leaders to start some action to stop genocide
from happening. Also the characters from Shakespeare’s play Titus
Andronicus, it’s an example of the ordinary people in the societies
that make the choices to participate in genocide plans for benefit and
revenge. Goldhagen reveals the readers and viewers how corrupt
leaders like Tamora and Titus can drive ordinary people (or victims)
like the Goths and the children of Titus to kill their friends or
neighbors, and how can genocide be avoided by punishing these corrupt
leaders or enemies and not to let it happen in our neighborhood.
People depend on the government when they are in need or in
the moment of crises, like when Hitler motivated his German people in
those days of economic depression and days of hunger. People’s
behavior can be changed in desperate moments when they need something,
and they are more likely to go against their neighbors if an idol like
Hitler tells them to slaughter their neighbors for better economics
and food. In December 10, 2008 Courtney Yager from CNN wrote about
and interviewed Nusreta Sivac a suvivor of the concentration camp in
Bosnia:
“Nusreta Sivac watch ordinary people become killers while
imprisoned...she was
shocked to see people she knew running the camp. ‘They acted
as if they had never
seen me before...It was difficult for to understand how
people could turn into beasts
overnight” (Yager CNN.Com).
The werewolf is a man that when he sees the full moon in the
middle of the night, he turns to an unstoppable beast. Ordinary people
can change their good behavior to beastie and unstoppable like the
Nazis did. Also in many countries like the Revolution of Republic of
China, Soviet Union, Guatemala, Rwanda, French Revolution, and the
American civil wars.
“Leaders choose to initiate the killing. Ordinary people make
conscious choice to
participate, and those with the power to prevent or stop it
choose to do nothing”
(Daniel Goldhagen Worse Than War Documentary).
During the Rwanda genocide the UN troops stop the terrorist from
attacking the Tsusist people after 8,000 thousands of them have been
murder. On May 26, 2010 three judges of the court signed a document of
the lack of cooperation that the UN Security Council doesn’t follow
the appropriate actions to take control of the war crime in Sudan.
"’The Republic of Sudan is failing to comply with its cooperation
obligations ... in
relation to the enforcement of warrants of arrest’ issued
in April 2007 for former
government minister Ahmed Haroun and militia leader Ali
Kosheib” (AFP google.com).
Since 2003, the UN Security Council has been assigned to investigate
the Sudan secret war in Darfur. Then in March 2009, the UN Security
Council place the arrests warrant for the President Omar al-Bashir but
he refused the arrest warrant.
“Ms le Fraper said it was the first time the ICC had formally asked
the Security Council
to take action against a member country for failing to
implement arrest warrants
against its citizens “ (Editor Martin Plaut BBC News
Online).
The UN Security Council Prosecutor to appear at the UN meeting for
June 11 to explain why did they failed to arrest the criminal
President Omar al-Bashir. For seven years, someone decides to take
some action to stop the genocide in Darfur. For seven years, many
families have been murder and slaughter painfully by the military
corrupted of their President Omar al-Bashir.
“Since the conflict in Darfur began in 2003, some 2.7 million people
have fled their
homes and the UN says about 300,000 more have died” (BBC
News Online).
All the leaders of the UN Security Council knew this secret war was
active since 2003 until today and it continue to mass murder the
people of Darfur. The UN who has the power might be able to stop this
genocide war, until the people from Darfur have been eliminated or
much worse. Many people who are fighting against genocide and
demanding the UN Security Council to do something are people like
Goldhagen. Goldhagen it’s trying to open people eyes to realize what’s
going on outside their homes, their neighborhood, and their country.
In the famous play of Shakespeare Titus Andronicus Tamora Queen of
the Goths beg Titus Andronicus who mass slaughter her people (The
Goths) beg for the life of her son mercy.
“These are their brethren whom your Goths beheld...
Religiously they ask a sacrifice.
To this your son is marked, and die he must”
(Titus: Titus Andronicus Act 1.1 125-127 pg. 8).
Titus is the “Great Leader” of the Roman Empire whom has
returned to his homeland as hero for winning a war by eliminating The
Goths, plus he gave the order to murder the son of the Queen of the
Goths Tamora. Titus can be compared to any other corrupted leaders
that have committed genocide in the world’s history. Tamora as any
victim from the genocide wars or the victims of Rwanda the Esperance
Nyuraguria begged to not kill their families. Except the women of
Esperance Nyuraguria did not looked for revenge after the war of
Rwanda, they looked for justice and peace. In the other hand, Tamora
as a leader of The Goths decides to take revenge on Titus by the same
way as Titus murdered her son and her people.
“’Tis present death I beg...where never man’s eye may behold
my body. Do this, and be
charitable murderer.” Said Lavinia. Tamora replies to her,
“So, should I rob my sweet
sons of their fee. No, Let them satisfice their lust on
thee” (Lavinia and Tamora: Titus
Andronicus Act II.3 143-180 pg 38).
Rape it’s the worse crime than any other crime or than any way
of murdering someone. Tamora does much worse than Titus crime. Revenge
can bring anyone worse consequences than someone who have done wrong
suffered at their hands. Most women fear to be raped and to be
discriminated by the ordinary people. There are many new laws in USA
that protect and help women who are sexually abused, but many won’t
speak because they few to be judged and rejected by ordinary people.
No human kind has the right to eliminated or wipe out other
humans kind or any living creature. Many wars of genocide are
currently active. For example, the wars in Israel, in Dahfur, in
France, in UK, in Spain, and in USA (Arizona) are powerful countries
that are expelling or eliminating people by their ethic, and religion.
These countries have the same issues or excuse that are eliminating a
specific group of people for being “illegal immigrants”, but in
reality, mass murder and expelling them it’s another way to
participate in genocide. The UN should think for solutions not for
more problems, revenge, and mass murder.

Reference:

Edited McDonald, Russ. Titus Andronicus. The Pelican Shakespeare. New
York; 2000: 38.

“Court asks UN to help catch Sudan war crime suspects.” Google News,
2010. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jj_kcwTIN-va6f6HOWLW-nvsiThg.

Goldhagen, D. J. (2009). Worse than war: Genocide, eliminationism,
and the ongoing assault on humanity. New York: Public Affairs.

JTN Productions PBS International. "Worse Than War" Film.
http://goldhagen.com/worse-than-war-the-film.

Plaut, Martin editor. “ICC refers Sudan war crimes cases to UN.” BBC
News Online, 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10167800.stm.

Yager, Courtney. "They killed their neighbors: genocide's foot
soldiers". CNN Online. 2008.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/11/25/sbm.perpetrators/

[Laura C.]

Revenge Has No Winners
Laura Cortes
English 101 Section 3226
Professor O'Connell

The underlying theme throughout Titus Andronicus is revenge. Revenge
was used to make an example out of someone and there was revenge that
resulted out of pure anger. It is a theme we can see reflected in so
many of the mass murders that have taken place. Normally revenge is
never mentioned as one of the reasons for genocide; however for many
leaders the resentment they feel towards a particular group usually
creates a need to rely on mass murder to eliminate the source of the
problem. One particular conflict, that isn't necessarily current but
has been ongoing, has been the fight against Osama bin Laden/Al-Qaeda
and the terrorism they have brought upon the world. Even though this
terrorist group has had an immense impact on the world, it is quite
common to come across people that are only familiar with Osama bin
Laden because of the attacks on 9/11. Realistically speaking before
such an attack, North Americans had never really experienced mass
murder first hand. Even fewer people understood why such a thing
happened to us. What did we do to deserve such a hateful act? There is
no way to justify intentionally killing innocent people, but bin Laden
used the invasion of Lebanon by the Israelis as a reason to exact his
revenge. As a result the United States became a target because of the
assistance they had provided Israel. This particular conflict reminds
me of the vengeful acts perpetrated by Titus and Tamora. In this case
Tamora is the metaphorical representation of Osama bin Laden and Titus
represents the United States. Titus loyal as always to his emperor
conquered the Goths, captured Tamora their Queen as well as her sons
and brought them back to Rome. Even though Titus was only following
orders, Tamora decided that she would take her revenge out on him.

Relatively speaking, the role the U.S. played in that particular war
was rather minor, yet it was enough to make it the prime target of
Osama's revenge. Israeli was the one that wanted to take over but the
U.S. had a lot more to lose if any type of retaliation was taken. I'm
not certain if 9/11 falls under what Goldhagen refers to when he
describes eliminationism but it was genocide regardless. Osama openly
admitted that attacking the United States had never occurred to him
until the attack on Lebanon, Allah knows it did not cross our minds to
attack the towers but after the situation became unbearable and we
witnessed the injustice and tyranny of the American-Israeli alliance
against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, I thought about it. And
the events that affected me directly were that of 1982 and the events
that followed -- when America allowed the Israelis to invade Lebanon,
helped by the U.S. Sixth Fleet. As I watched the destroyed towers in
Lebanon, it occurred to me to punish the unjust the same way (and) to
destroy towers in America so it could taste some of what we are
tasting and to stop killing our children and women (Osama bin Laden).
After capturing Tamora queen of the Goths and her sons, Titus felt it
necessary to kill one of her children to make an example out of them.
This act just like the war created yet another chain reaction of
revenge that could have probably been avoided.

Many countries around the world have suffered because of the terrorism
created by this one group and many to this day still continue to be
the target of Al-Qaeda's attacks. Our country alone experienced a
recent bomb threat in New York that reminded us that terrorism is a
part of our daily lives. When I think back to Titus Andronicus, I am
reminded of Titus' suffering having lost his sons and having his only
daughter ravaged and mutilated. Our country has been ravaged just as
well and we struggle everyday to get back to where we once were. Yet,
attacks like the one perpetrated by people like Faisal Shahzad, who
was behind the failed New York bombing; we continue to be reminded
that these types of things will not end until the terrorists are
caught and punished. We know who is behind the attacks; still we find
ourselves unable to do anything to stop the source. Perhaps this is
what Goldhagen means when he implies that the international community
doesn't work together enough to stop anymore attacks from happening.
How can it be that after 9 years we still haven't been able to stop
Osama and Al-Qaeda once and for all? Even now Osama threatens our
country because we seek our own "justice", which of course when we get
down to it is another name for justified revenge. Thus the cycle of
revenge continues.

After all these years Osama bin Laden continues to threaten us even
though he already "punished" us for our role in the Lebanon War. So,
was that really the reason behind the attacks on 9/11 or was that
simply an excuse? A few months ago it was announced that Khaled Sheikh
Mohammed, self proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, would be put
on trial sometime next year. Of course when Osama bin Laden received
word of this he immediately came out and threatened the United States
with retaliation, The White House has declared its wish to execute
[Mohammed]. The day the United States takes such a decision, it would
be also taking the decision that any of you falling into our hands
will be executed. The politicians of the White House were, and still
are, wronging us especially by supporting Israel and occupying our
land in Palestine. They think that America, behind oceans, is safe
from the wrath of the oppressed . . . Equal treatment is only fair.
War is a back-and-forth (Osama bin Laden). Similar to Osama, Tamora
never sees any of her acts as wrong or unjustified. She always finds
an excuse to do the things that she does. What's worse, she manages to
manipulate the emperor to such an extent that he doesn't even realize
that she is having an affair. Even though Osama bin Laden tries to
come off as someone seeking "justice" for the people of Palestine and
Lebanon, his manipulation only worsens the conflicts.

It is rather uncertain what exactly will happen in the next couple of
years. With 9/11 now behind us and the war still ongoing we can't help
to ponder in the back of our minds whether or not Osama bin Laden and
Al-Qaeda will receive proper punishment for the horrors they have
inflicted on the world. At the end of Titus Andronicus everyone
suffers a horrible death because of Tamora's and Titus' need to
continue exacting revenge on each other. This exact scenario is what
continues to happen between the U.S. and Al-Qaeda. Hopefully things
will not end as badly as it did for Tamora, Titus, and their families.
Still, somehow the idea that all this could ultimately escalate to a
3rd World War doesn't feel quite that farfetched when you factor in
that if our military were to retreat before the proper apprehension of
the terrorists, the U.S. and its allies would most likely be attacked
immediately.

Ultimately the cycle of revenge that was started some twenty-eight
years ago will not come to an end until one of the two parties is
completely wiped out. It is one of those simple realities of war, both
sides cannot walk away undamaged. Many years have already passed and
by the looks of it many more are still to come, but some day it will
all come to an end and it is our hope that we, the United States come
out victorious. Many efforts are still being put into finding Osama;
it was merely over a year ago when news broke out that the U.S. had
zeroed in on a potential hiding spot in Chitral, Pakistan, The U.S.
won't say it officially, but an exhaustive Daily News investigation
finds the world's biggest manhunt for the monster who murdered nearly
3,000 people on 9/11 has zeroed in on Chitral's stunning peaks and
deep valleys. He can run and hide but much like Tamora he will get
what is coming to him. Though on that same coin, just like Titus, the
United States will continue to have many casualties as a result of
this almost pointless war. Revenge has once again been the main theme
in this very realistic conflict and it is revenge that continues to
fuel it day after day. But unfortunately revenge is the necessary evil
that motivates the efforts to stop a truly horrible person.

References:

Johnson, D. (n.d.). Osama bin Laden wealthy Saudi exile is a terrorist
mastermind. Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/osamabinladen.html

Hines, N. (2010, March 25). 'Osama bin laden' Threatens Revenge for
9/11 Trial. Retrieved from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7075585.ece

The Lebanon War. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.adl.org/israel/record/lebanon.asp

Chomsky, N. (2006, August 19). On the US-Israeli Invasion of Lebanon.
Retrieved from http://www.chomsky.info/articles/20060819.htm

Times Square suspect charged in terror plot. (2010, May 4). Retrieved
from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36892505/ns/us_news-security/

Keller, A. (2010, May 14). Exclusive: al Qaeda bomb-factory video.
Retrieved from http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/05/14/bad_bombmakers

Meek, J.G. (2009, March 14). Where is Osama bin laden? U.S. zeros in
on Chitral, Pakistan in hunt for 9/11 mastermind. NY Daily News,
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/03/14/2009-03-14_where_is_osama_bin_laden_us_zeros_in_on_.html