Summary Of The Looming Tower By Lawrence Wright

9-11 is one of the most memorable, tragic events to ever occur in history. Almost three thousand lives were lost on September 11th, and no one old enough to remember this attack will ever forget what happened. This tragedy started a ripple effect of policy reform and changes throughout America that we are still reeling from today. The causes of 9-11 were stated in Osama Bin Laden’s “Letter to America” in November of 2002. According to Bin Laden, his reason for orchestrating such a monstrous plan was due to the US foreign policy before September 11th, 2001. Support for Israel, sanctions on Iraq, and US military presence in Saudi Arabia were Bin Laden’s main reasons for an attack on America (“Letter”). Influence in Middle Eastern affairs was the cause of 9-11, an event that led to the formation of the Patriot Act and a stronger surveillance state. These new policies and powerful intrusive organizations have put the country in perpetual fear of another homeland attack.

On September 11, 2001, a series of terrorist attacks were directed for the United States by means of four hijacked planes. Two of which hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center, one hit the Pentagon, the headquarters of the Department of Defense, and the fourth crashed in a field near Pittsburg after it was meant to hit the White House. The terror spread in the United States and brought concern and fear to the citizens. The impact of these terrorist attacks caused serious and detrimental damages within the country, and their result on the people were enormous; insecurity, helplessness, and susceptibility spread. Especially after the release of a videotape in which Osama Bin Laden, head of Al-Qaeda, admitted that he was responsible for the terrorist attacks. Hence, President George W, Bush declared the “war on terror” against all terrorists in the Arab world, specifically Afghanistan and Iraq. In the following paper, we will be discussing how the war on terror was waged, its effects on the target countries, and how it was perceived by political thinkers, where some saw it as a conspiracy theory against the Arab countries, and others believed the USA was the victim.

As human beings, we live by our morals, outlining our ethical principles in distinguishing what is right from what is wrong. Our morals define who we are as a person, how we behave, how we communicate, and how we manage challenging situations. As stated by President John F. Kennedy, “a man does what he must – in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures – and that is the basis of all human morality” (225). In order to achieve and portray one’s morals and ethical principles regardless of the circumstances, a person must portray courage. As Ernest Hemingway defined it, “Grace under pressure (Kennedy 1).” According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, courage is the “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty.” In the Pulitzer Prize winning book Profiles in Courage, written on 1957 by John F. Kennedy, some of the greatest deeds of political courage in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are discussed through the accounts of the historical events that inspired such acts and the consequences of those brave enough to carry them out. The author of the award winning memoir The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls, could not be considered a candidate for John F. Kennedy’s Profile in Courage Award because of the failure to fulfill of the requirements of the award, the type of courage portrayed, and the limited sphere of influence.

Whether nature, nurture, or both influences a person’s individuality has always been up for debate. What makes a person who they are can be any combination of things. In The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, home is somewhat of an abstract idea; while in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Alexie Sherman, it is more of an internal struggle of identity and where one belongs. By the end of the novels, however, the main characters both have a strong sense of self. Although the concept of home varies depending on who is asked, the idea of it greatly affects one’s identity because home, whatever it may be, is where a person is nurtured and instilled with the values their lives will be based upon. Through the environment surrounding the main characters, Jeannette Walls and Alexie Sherman, with their novels The Glass Castle and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, communicate that the concept of home can be interpreted in various ways; but there is no doubt that home influences the ideas and values that one might possess.

Essay On The Glass Castle In the memoir The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls and her siblings must fend for themselves. Jeannette’s dad was a heavy drinker and an engineer who struggled to keep a job. Similarly, Jeanette's mom was mentally ill and was obsessed with her painting. As a result, Jeannette and her siblings grew up without the necessities of life.

Following the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, the Unites States found itself in a search for answers and revenge against those that had brought about this atrocity. The attack that has been compared to that of Pearl-Harbor elevated the tracking and collecting of terrorism from barely a priority, to the forefront of the American radar. I honestly believe that terrorism as the #1 priority is destined to remain at the top for the foreseeable future. The elemental thoughts on almost all American minds following the attacks were who had the strength and capability to could carry out such an attack on a country with the world’s strongest military and what led to their focus to attack the Untied States: In short, who

In “The Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, a man named Robert is coming to spend the night at the narrator’s house. Robert is a friend of the narrator’s wife who happens to be blind, which doesn’t sit well with the narrator. Robert and his wife have a ten year relationship which started with her working for him. Since then they’ve stayed in contact by sending audiotapes to each other. When Robert reaches the house, the narrator is a bit uncomfortable. The first reason being because the man is blind, and secondly he’s not really sure what to say to a man who has a past with his wife. Soon after, the narrator sees that Robert isn’t initially what he thought the man would be like. Robert’s suggestion for the narrator to close his eyes while drawing the cathedral creates a different perspective for him, which allows him to realize it is he who is limited and cannot see, not Robert.

In almost every story there is a meaning, whether that meaning is obvious or not is up to the readers’ interpretations. In some stories, that meaning hides behind a character, how that person acts, thinks, or express themselves and how they change throughout resembling growth. In Raymond Carver’s “The Cathedral”, the unnamed husband narrators the tale of his wife’s old blind friend Robert coming to visit after not seeing each other for years. They had remained in contact through audiotapes, but the husband seems to not understand the significance of their relationship, showing distaste with the visit for the majority of the story, due to his uncomfortableness. In this story, the writer displays his tale and its morals; by using the narration of the husband; Carver shows that there comes to be more meaning behind this bitter man that meets the eye, which argues the fact that perhaps this unlikable narrator is truly the antihero.

Wright offers a rather complex answer to the burning question of why such a horrific terrorist attack occurred. He seems to draw certain elements from Samuel Huntington's influential ‘Clash of Civilizations' thesis. Huntington contends that the cultural distinctions between people lie at the root of most conflict in the post-cold war world. Therefore, the West is despised by the Islamic world, not because of ideological, political or economic factors, but for cultural reasons. Wright also draws heavily from Barber's ‘Jihad vs. Mcworld' theory, which argues that the widespread Western belief in the universality of its own values and political system, combined with the unstoppable force of globalization, antagonizes the Islamic civilization and spawns tribal forces of resistance, spurred on by their own fierce religious convictions.

Jeanette Walls is a journalist and a writer who is best known for her work as a gossip columnist for MSNBC and for her memoir, The Glass Castle, which spent over 200 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list, received the Christopher Award, the American Library Association 's Alex Award and the Books for Better Living Award, and is being made into a film by Paramount entertainment. She now lives in Virginia and still writes occasionally for MSNBC.com.

For many people, the term “designer babies” sounds like something that could only exist in the novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. But, science has now advanced to the point where faulty genes can now be singled out, discarded, and replaced with more favorable ones. Just like the 16,012 babies manufactured in the Hatchery and Conditioning Centre in Brave New World, human embryos can be selected for fertilization based on their genes. This is done through the processes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). This involves removing mature egg cells from a woman and fertilizing it with male sperm outside of the body. The embryos are then analyzed for abnormalities and mutations in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The healthiest embryos are then implanted back into the woman’s uterus for regular gestation (Yount). The development of these techniques originated from the Human Genome Project initiated by the United States government in 1988 (Siegel-Itzkovich). Although established initially with the purpose of selecting healthy embryos free of disease, the same techniques can be applied to select genes that code for traits such as intelligence, strength, and beauty. IVF and PGD are useful techniques but should only be used for medical purposes, not for selecting the embryos of perfect children.

The Looming Tower, written by Lawrence Wright, examines the people involved and the events leading up to the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The text included the personal accounts of Osama bin Laden and other middle-eastern influences such as Dr. Ayman al Zawahiri (the most significant ideological frontrunner of al-Qaeda), Abdullah Azzam, Khallad, and Sayyid Qutb, along with western factors like, Daniel Coleman, Jack Cloonan, Patrick Fitzgerald, and John O’Neill. The choices made by those influencers in the Middle East, and in the west, during the 20th century created the climate in which the terrorist organization al-Qaeda was formed, and the terror of 9/11 was executed. Two specific

Ever since September 11, 2001 Americans along with the majority of the world’s population have been skeptical of Muslims. It’s a sad reality but it’s hard for people to think of a Muslim without linking them directly to terrorism. But these assumptions aren’t totally out of the blue—the Muslim’s religion, Islam, teaches a low tolerance for other religions and the Islamic government has no separation of church and state, so it’s only normal to assume that their government shall have a low tolerance as well—some however, immediately translate this into terrorism. Through the Islamic government and religion, relations with foreign countries, and separation amongst themselves it can be concluded that Islamic Fundamentalism is clearly a threat

In the days after September 11, 2001, American leaders rushed to portray Islam as a peaceful religion that had been "hijacked" by a fanatical band of terrorists. One hopes that these assurances were merely tactical—that nobody was meant to believe them and that they were meant to assure the Muslim world that the inevitable American

After the attack of 9/11 many American citizens sought out an answer to why one would hijack a plane and run it into the Twin Towers, killing millions. According to the Huffpost, Islam became the main reason for the attack and furthermore labeled religion as the inspiration for many terroristic attacks (Gibson, 1). According to many Muslims, however, the attacks are anti-Islamic because the Quran states not to harm civilians who are not involved with war and to avoid it at all possible times (PBS, 3). The conflict between Muslims and Americans is growing and many issues in the Middle East has become the focus for religious terrorism.