Discovering the interplay between the news media and acts of terrorism

The latest bill SB 1070 has come under a lot of fire here in the US and I wanted to know if Ilias had heard anything about it or had any opinions. It turns out he had heard of it and had VERY strong opinions concerning how sensitive America has become to the issue of racism. While this isn’t a conversation of traditional terrorism, some claim that it terrorizes innocent citizens so I found it an appropriate topic. Again, profanity has been censored; Ilias has some very passionate stances on the issue.

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Ilias and I discussed Eco-terrorism and he has a very strong stance on it but not an extremist one. I have removed occurrences of profanity; Ilias and I have become somewhat comfortable and he expresses things with a certain intensity at times.

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Unfortunately, Ilias did not see Hurt Locker or any other film focusing on terrorism but here are his brief thoughts on the matter. The conversation was necessarily cut short because it was 4am his time.

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This is the conversation Ilias Kiritsis and I had concerning the bombing of the Munich Olympics in 1972

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This is my first terrorism-related correspondence with Ilias Kiritsis from Grece:

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It has been said that the media is the oxygen that fuels the flame of terrorism. Susan Moeller quotes Walter Laquer ‘s Terrorism, stating “it is not the magnitude of the terrorist operation that counts, but the publicity.”(Moeller 19) Further citation of this phenomenon is Brian Michael Jenkins’ words “Terrorism is theater,” indicating the need for an audience. However, it is not only media that provides this publicity or demonstrates this audience dependency; dramatizations of such events through the cinematic medium are also characterized by the same copious amounts of publicity and audience.

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Amidst the somber international view of the United States with 9-11 at the pinnacle, the selfless devotion to providing education to those who might otherwise fall into a whirlpool of extremist indoctrination certainly qualifies Greg Mortenson to receive considerable praise and admiration. However, many would find it extremely difficult to assume the same responsibility that guided Mortenson to devote so much of his time to these strangers despite having a family to support. Mortenson believed, though, that his approach was the only way to truly combat terrorism because as General Bashir Baz told Mortenson, “The enemy is ignorance. The only way to defeat it is to build relationships with these people, to draw them into the modern world with education and business.”(Mortenson 310) However, it seems that Bashir neglected a crucial aspect of modernization—technology. Read more

Since February, a Greek student named Ilias Kiritsis and I have corresponded, talking on various topics related to terrorism. Ilias has provided some surprising accounts of common views in Greece.

Here is our conversation concerning the event known as Bloody Sunday(note: the conversation does diverge back to the USA topic because this is only an excerpt from a more broad conversation): Read more

Divided We Fall

There is no question about it, warfare is one of the most tragic experiences for humankind. However, when considering the topic of war, we Americans have a tendency to recall most prominently the foreign conflicts in our history. This is likely due to the fortunate circumstance that the USA has not faced a militaristic domestic issue in nearly a century and a half. However, one need only read a brief history of recent domestic conflicts like those in Rwanda or Darfur to see the horrendous hatred that a person can harbor toward his countryman. Read more

An introduction:

Ilias has provided has provided several eye-opening insights in particular about Greece’s views on terrorism and the USA that at times proved rather shocking. So far, he has been very helpful in providing these insights for our class and has been a pleasant correspondent. He has provided his own self-introduction: Read more