takeaways from 1/18

Hi all,

I’d like to keep asking the question, “what are the takeaways?” from our class discussions. Here are a few points from yesterday that are worthy of ongoing thought and consideration.

**There is an important tension between a state’s need to name and identify terrorist activity, and the need to temper the tendency for language to generalize and stereotype people.

**we need to define what we mean by terrorism and think about if it should be distinguished from “domestic” terrorism

**When faced with violence or a choice to kill, humans choose fight, flight, submission, or posturing. The United States’ “empire of bases” can be considered an act of posturing as can uniforms, noises, and other efforts to intimidate enemies.

**Researchers have demonstrated that the vast majority of soldiers fighting in USAmerican wars up until Vietnam did not fire their guns. Only after the military began using operant conditioning did firing rates rise. See On Killing by Lt. Dave Grossman for more.

**in the US our relationship with Iraq is tied up with our extensive use of oil imported from the region

**A majority of Americans thought the Iraq war was a bad idea by 2006 and Obama’s promise to end the war was a major reason he won in 2008