The US Presence across the World and Terrorism

Topic 

The US Presence across the World and Terrorism

Instructions 

To get a good mark you will need to:

1)            Write your reviews every week. Practice and feedback is how you will improve their quality.

2)            Use the seminar questions to help you think about the pertinent issues.

3)            Compare and contrast the different texts you are reading.

4)            Move beyond pure description of a text into analysis of why it is or is not convincing.

 

Critical review 1:

Read:

  1. US President Donald Trump, Speech to Congress, Feb 2017 (begins 1.09.00).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOSaIvkDO6g&feature=youtu.be&t=4140

  1. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers keynote speech at WEF opening ceremony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOrQOyAPUi4

Points to review:

  • How do you think Donald Trump would reply to Xi Jinping’s points?
  • How might Xi Jinping justify globalisation to a US audience?

Answer Preview 

According to these articles, Islamic terrorists are the perpetrators of hateful acts, and the victims are the West. A major strength of the sources is the acknowledgment that terror activities threaten the lives of the general public and violate international laws. However, the “Global War on Terror” limits the focus on terror as an American problem and that counterterrorism is an American responsibility because of global involvement (Huysmans, 2019). This is different from the “Clash of Ignorance” and “Who are the new Jihadists?” which explains the problem as a threat to the public all over the United States and Europe. Therefore, the hate, according to the sources is perpetrated by the violent Muslims against the Westerners. The difference between the two groups is explained by the concept of identity. While the terrorists identify with the rhetoric of rupture which violence against the enemy (kafir), the westerners believe in fundamental rights against aggression, association, speech, and prohibition of war.

Word Count: 450