Full Description
What is terrorism? Academics search in vain for the unholy grail: the definition of terrorism that will exonerate or condemn American officials. There are many vying definitions and no tribunal to resolve the contest. In this unique essay, Ron Hirschbein analyzes conflicts in which officials themselves called their actions "terrorist." He reveals that terrorism didn't always get bad press. In fact, terror bombing was indispensable to winning World War II. Not only did the Allied Forces bombed German cities, but they also used the nuclear bomb in Japan, killing many noncombatant civilians. During the Cold War, the threat of nuclear annihilation became the strategy to deter war between the superpowers.
Many ironies are brought to light in revisiting these conflicts, such as the fact that it was accepted that safety depended upon the willingness to detonate weapons of mass destruction. Not even American citizens enjoyed noncombatant immunity during the Cold War as they were held hostage to mutually assured destruction and marked for sacrifice in various strategic scenarios. Indeed, their lives were risked in confronting crises in Berlin and Cuba. Subsequent conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, as well as the War on Terror itself, are also examined. Like World War II, all involved killing noncombatants by accident or design. Casting these conflicts in an ironic light reveals incongruities in language and situations in which triumphant dreams become self-defeating realities (as with the second Iraq war). The War on Terror, now rebranded as an "Overseas Contingency Plan" seems to be the answer to a Jihadist's prayer. Further, U.S.-led covert attacks and assassinations by drones raise many discussions of legalities. And today the curse of terrorism is fodder for captivating primetime entertainment, enjoyed even by the president of the United States.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Quest for the Unholy Grail
Chapter 1: World War II: Theory And Practice Of Terrorism
From Cold-Blooded Isolationism to Hot-Blooded Warfare
Bad Japanese, Good Germans, and Russian Comrades
From Emnity To Amity: The Occupations Of Japan And Germany
Chapter 2: Celebrating Nuclear Terror—Irony Of The Cold War
A Nukespeak /Doublethink Primer
The Irony of American Nuclear Endeavors
Oldest Psychology/Newest Logic
When Deterrence Fails
Nuclear Terror And War Prevention
Retirement Wisdom
Chapter 3: Goodwill Toward Men Without Peace On Earth
A World without Enemies
Hubris: Promoting What You Would Prevent
Korea: The Forgotten War
Vietnam: The War We Can't Forget
Coda: A Lesson from Grand Fenwick
Chapter 4: The War on Terror
The Transmutation of Terrorism
Terrorism Experts
9/11 and Its Discontents
Iraq: A Never-Ending-Story
Drones: Terrorism-Lite
Chapter 5: Terrorism As Entertainment
Shock and Awe Becomes Aw Shucks
Daydreaming In the Aftermath of 9/11
The Present Is a Foreign Country
The Sacred and the Profane
Watching Homeland with President Obama
Bibliography
About the Author
Index
