Seeing the Twilight War

Human Rights and The 9/11 State of Emergency

HR 203   Fall 2016   M&W 10:10 – 11:30   Olin 309 

Mark Danner

 

For fifteen years – longer than some of us can remember – Americans have been living in a state of exception: a constitutional dictatorship where the human rights on which Americans so pride themselves have been routinely circumscribed. In Abu Ghraib and in secret “black site” prisons around the world American interrogators have tortured prisoners on the orders of American leaders. In Guantanamo, American troops stand guard over nearly a hundred men who are imprisoned indefinitely without trial. In Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, have struck and killed without warrant or due process perhaps 5000 people. Far from causing outrage or revolt, all of this has taken on the character of the barely noticed day to day. The United States, which prides itself on its leadership of the human rights movement, has become a nation that violates central precepts of the human rights regime every day as a matter of accepted state policy. In this class we will study this post-9/11 “new normal” and seek to understand how the state of exception came to be imposed, why it was accepted and how long it might endure. Among the authors we will read are Andrew Bacevich, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Barton Gellman, Osama bin Laden, Jane Mayer, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Sayyid Qutb, Clinton Rossiter, Ron Suskind, Bob Woodward, Joby Warrick, Robert F. Worth, Lawrence Wright, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Class Requirements This class will be a mixture of lectures and discussion, backed up by a large amount of reading. The most important requirements are that students

*Attend all class sessions

*Keep up with all reading assignments

*Participate in discussions

*Deliver one presentation to the class

A student’s record of attendance and participation in class discussion, together with the thoroughness of his or her preparation, will determine the success of our class and contribute the better part of the grade.

Schedule Note that classes will meet Monday and Wednesday mornings at 10:10 a.m. in Olin 309. Class will not meet September 5. 

Reading Our primary reading will draw largely from a number of books on the war on terror and its aftermath. They are listed below. I strongly urge you to obtain these books in your own copies, and in the edition specified, either from the school bookstore or from online suppliers, so that you will be able to highlight and annotate them.

Writing There will be a midterm examination on October 12. The midterm will consist of short-answer questions and some essay questions. Depending on response to the reading there may be an occasional in-class quiz.

To bolster the clarity and vigor of your English prose, I strongly suggest studying two works: George Orwell’s essay, “Politics and the English Language” and Strunk and White’s little manual, The Elements of Style. The text of the Orwell essay can be found easily on the web.

Presentations Each student will make one presentation in class on a subject related to our assigned reading or discussion. Use of multimedia and social media is strongly encouraged. 

Office Hours I will hope to meet with each of you individually at least once during the course of the term. We will make these appointments on an ad hoc basis. I am best reached via email, at mark@markdanner.com. My office is on the fourth floor of Stevenson Library. My writing, speaking and other information can be found at my website, markdanner.com.

Grading Students will be graded on their preparedness and their participation in class, the strength of their presentations and the quality of their written work, as follows:

Attendance            25 percent

Participation          25 percent

Midterm Exam      25 percent

Presentation          25 percent

 

To do well in this class a solid record of attendance is essential. 

 

Required Texts

Andrew Bacevich, America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History (Random House, 2016)

Mark Danner, Spiral: Trapped in the Forever War (S&S, 2016)

David Kilkullen, Blood Year: The Unraveling of Western Counterterrorism (Oxford, 2016)

Jane Mayer, The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals (Anchor, 2009)

Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Guantanamo Diary (Little Brown, 2015)

Jeremy Scahill, The Assassination Complex: Inside the Government’s Secret Drone Warfare Program (S&S, 2016)

Joby Warrick, The Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS (Doubleday, 2015)

Robert F. Worth, A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to ISIS (FSG, 2016) 

Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Vintage, 2007)

 

Recommended Texts

Gellman, Barton. Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency. New York: Penguin, 2008. Print. 

Gray, John. Al Qaeda and What It Means to Be Modern. New York: New, 2003. Print. 

Posen, Barry. “Contain ISIS.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 20 Nov. 2015. Web. 10 Nov. 2016. 

 

Tentative Syllabus

August 29, 2016 – Introduction to the Forever War. September 11 and What It Did. The Components of the Emergency State. Outlining the Class. Requirements: Attendance, Participation and Presentations. The Midterm Exam. How To Make The Class Succeed.

Class Notes 8/29/16: 

• Defined the “twilight war”- Murky, somewhat indiscernible war the USA has been involved in for 15 years. Most US citizens go about their days as if the war is not there.
• Defined “Human Rights” – Moral entitlements to protect humans under any circumstances. 
• Discussed Post-War Era and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of December 10th, 1948. 
• Introduced the idea that the USA was founded on ideals rather than blood, and discussed whether those ideals have been upheld since 2001’s declaration of war/ Authorization of Military Force (AUMF).
• Defined “State of Emergency” – or state of siege/exception, where in some way, normal actions are suspended.

Indefinite Detention

 

August 31 – The Coming of September 11 – and Why They Hate Us. Seeing the World from Their Point of View. Introducing Mohamedou Ould Slahi.

Class Notes 8/31/16:

• Discussed Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s life and the events that lead to his capture, key factors being his connection to Al Qaeda, use of Osama Bin Laden’s phone, and his membership to a mosque that had a member involved in the millennium plot.
• Discussed how prevention became the government’s priority following 9/11, as opposed to punishment.
• Defined “Habeas Corpus” – A writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person’s release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention (Oxford Pocket Dictionary). 
• Discussed how POW’s where considered unlawful combatants, and where therefore excluded from the Geneva Convention.
• Defined “Common Article 3” – section of the Geneva Convention that forbids the torture of POW’s.

Reading: Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Guantanamo Diary (Little Brown, 2015), pp. ix – 188.

 

September 5 – No Class

 

September 7 – Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EITs). The evolution of torture. We know they know: the Torture Paradox. Gitmo.

Class Notes 9/7/16:

• Discussed GTMO Diary. Specifically MOS’s travels during incarceration.
• Defined “Black Site”: secret USA location for interrogating suspected terrorists.
• Defined “Extraordinary Rendition”: When CIA seizes people and sends them to a black site for interrogation.

 

Reading: Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Guantanamo Diary (Little Brown, 2015), pp. 191 – 374.

Reading: President Bush Addresses the Nation. (http://wapo.st/2crjL3s)

 

The Meaning of September 11

September 12 – Why attack the United States? The roots of the 9/11 plot. The ideological underpinnings. Zawahiri and Qutb.

Class Notes 9/7/16:

• Discussed the singular nature of 9/11.
• Discussed how the hijackers were young intelligent, relatively privileged college students that were lead by strong ideals.
• Defined Jahilliya: pre-Islamic period.
• Defined Salafi: large movement that refers the blessed forefathers of Islam, and the need to return to this time’s way of life. 
• Defined apostate: someone who renounced Islam
• Defined infidel: someone is in not and never was muslim.   

Reading: Michael Scott Doran, “Somebody Else’s Civil War,” Foreign Affairs, Winter 2001. http://www.stetson.edu/artsci/political-science/media/civil_war.pdf

Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Vintage, 2007), pp. 3 – 138.

 

September 14 – Osama bin Laden and the rise of the Base. The move toward the Far Enemy. Preliminary actions leading toward The Big Wedding.

Class Notes 9/14/16:

• briefly discussed main characters of The Looming Tower.
• Defined Sharia: following law set by god.
• Defined Caliph: Leader of the faithful, follower/descendent of Muhammad.
• Defined Umma: the Muslim people.
• Discussed Abu Bakir Al-Bagdadi: current, self proclaimed Caliph.
• Discussed the nature/purpose of terrorism: the use of violence on an audience to instill fear on another audience.

Reading: Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Vintage, 2007), pp. 139 – 324.

Reading: Mohamed Atta’s final letter. Link: http://bit.ly/2cTH2Kf

 

September 19 – The United States and the War on Terror. The FBI and the Counterterrorism Center of the CIA. How to miss an attack.

Class Notes 9/19/16:

• discussed timeline of Al Qaeda terrorist attacks. 
• Discussed why 9/11 wasn’t prevented, despite CIA’s knowledge of a planned attack
• Sara did a presentation on ISIS’s use of social media

Reading: Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Vintage, 2007), pp. 325 – 421.

 

The Response to September 11: Whence It Came

September 21 – Oil and US Policy in the Middle East. Imperialistic Roots from East of Suez. “Foreign Intervention” and the Carter Doctrine.

Class Notes 9/21/16:

• Discussed the Carter administration: regarded Iran as an “Islan of Stability”, shortly before the Shah was overthrown.
• Discussed the Nixon Doctrine: Addressed the UN on the war in Vietnam
• Introduced the first gulf war: where Saddam Hussein targeted a weakened, revolutionary Iran. Lasted 8 years.

Reading: Andrew Bacevich, America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History (Random House, 2016), pp. 

 

September 26 – US Policy Toward Iraq. The Gulf Wars and the American “Tilt.” The Saudis, Saddam and America. 

Class Notes 9/26/16:

• Briefly discussed US policy on combatting ISIS.
• Discussed how the divide between Suni and Shia formed. 
• Discussed the Iranian leaders claim that Saddam Hussein was an apostate- thus leading to the first gulf war.
• Defined “status quo power”: country whose power/presence maintains stability in the overall area.
• Discussed the US support of Saddam Hussein against revolutionary Iran. The US did so in order to maintain order.
• USA provided Technical Intelligence (overhead satellite intelligence), and supplied weapons via egypt to Iraq. 

Reading: Andrew Bacevich, America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History (Random House, 2016), pp.

 

September 28 – United States’ Strategy in the War on Terrors

Class Notes 9/28/16:

• Defined “Policy of Decapitation”: killing the leaders of an organization as a method of deterring violence. 
• Defined “Deterance”: attacking only those who pose a threat.
• Defined “Unipolar Moment”: period of time following the fall of the Soviet Union where the USA was the dominant world power.
• Defined “Bipolar World”: Cold War, USA vs. Soviet Union.

Reading: Andrew Bacevich, America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History (Random House, 2016), pp. 200-end

 

October 3 – The Iraq War and Creative Destabilization. The Fiasco in Iraq. Consequences of Iraq and the Arab Spring.

Class Notes 10/3/16:

• Discussed “Sykes-Picot Agreement”: 1916, secret agreement between Great Britain and France regarding control in Southeast Asia. Assumed the fall of the Ottoman Empire. 
• Defined “Revolution of Military Affairs”: integration of higher technologies in military affairs in an effort to increase lethality. 
• Discussed “Guerilla Warfare” as the most effective way to defeat the USA.
• Critical question regarded Bacevich’s “War for the Greater Middle East”. Why did the USA invade Iraq

Reading: Andrew Bacevich, America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History (Random House, 2016), pp. 200-end

 

October 5 –  Another Path? Open Class Discussion

Class Notes 10/5/16:

• Defined the four misconceptions of America’s power:
  • Those Responsible for US policy in the middle east understand the cultural and historical powers at work
  • The USA’s dealings will ultimately be accepted by everyone
  • All other countrys want to be like the USA
  • USA military force is all powerfull
• discussed how the twilight war is a result of the failure of these assumptions.

 

October 10 – Fall Break (No Class)

 

October 12 – Midterm Exam: Short Answer and Essay Questions Intended to Gauge Your Grasp of Our Reading and Discussions 

From 9/11 to The Dark Side

October 17 – The September 11 Attacks and the Rise of Counterterrorism. The Black Sites. Torture and Enhanced Interrogation.

Class Notes 10/17/16:

• Discussed the fear and anger within the US government following 9/11, and the subsequent change in policy regarding torture (ex. Waterboarding).
• Discussed the misconception within the US that systemic errors led to 9/11, and needed to be fixed. However in reality, it wasn’t the system that failed, but officials failing to properly do their jobs. (ex. CIA’s failure to alert the FBI of terrorists residing in San Diego CA).  

Reading:  Jane Mayer, The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals (Anchor, 2009), pp. 1 – 138

 

October 19 – Making Torture Legal. The Torture Memos. Stress and Duress: A History. Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.

Class Notes 10/19/16:

• Discussed “The Wise Men”: Six men who were important foreign policy advisors during the Truman administration. Consisted of Dean Acheson, Secretary of State under President Harry Truman, Charles E. Bohlen, U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, the Philippines, and France, W. Averell Harriman, special envoy for President Franklin Roosevelt, George F. Kennan, ambassador to the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, Robert A. Lovett, Truman’s Secretary of Defense and John J. McCloy, a War Department official and later US High Commissioner for Germany.
• Discussed the National Security Act of 1947, which established the NSA (National Security Agency), CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and the Department of Defense.
• Discussed NSC (National Security Council), Comprised of the President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Defence, Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, Director of the CIA and the Attorney General. 
• Discussed Dick Cheney’s history in politics: Gerald Ford’s Chief of staff, high ranking congressman, Secretary of Defense under George H. W. Bush, Vice President under George W. Bush.  

Reading:  Jane Mayer, The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals (Anchor, 2009), pp. 139 – 335.

 

The Dark Side and the Black Flags

October 24 – The Rise of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Planning for Iraq. The Iraq Invasion as Opportunity. Zarqawi as International Hero.

Class Notes 10/24/16:

• Defined “color of law”: The appearance of legal validity, despite illegal nature.
• Discussed Dick Cheney’s partnership with the Office of Legal Council to legalize “cruel inhuman and degrading treatment” (CID).
• Discussed how Title 18, Section 2340 of federal law: which makes torture illegal. No longer being enforced.
• Discussed the US government’s fear based motivation to do “whatever needs to be done” to protect the country following 9/11.
• Defined the “Golden Shield”: John Yoo’s set of memos that protect interrogators and policy makers from legal jeopardy. 

Reading: Joby Warrick, The Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS (Doubleday, 2015), pp. 1 – 101

 

October 26 – The Iraq War and the Iraq Insurgency. Suicide Bombing as Industrial Warfare. Playing on the Sunni-Shia Divide.

Class Notes 10/26/16:

• Discussed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s rise from being a pimp/thug, to the leader of the al-Tawhid wal-Jihad.
• Discussed Saif al-Adel: ex special forces colonel of Egyptian army who later became a member of Al-qaeda.

Reading: Joby Warrick, The Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS (Doubleday, 2015), pp. 101 – 223

 

October 31 –The Rise of the Islamic State. The Syrian Crack Up. ISIS Mutates. From Terrorist Group to the New Caliphate.

Class Notes 10/31/16:

• Discussed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, founder of ISIS, master of insurrection. Wanted to create a caliphate greater than the UK.
• Discussed how the bombing of Jordan was a mistake, as it turned the country against ISIS. Discussed key differences between Zarqawi and Osama Bin Laden 
  • Bin Laden: working toward the eventual formation of the caliphate. Targeted near enemy.
  • Zarqawi: wanted caliphate immediately. Targested near enemy as well as the far enemy.

Reading: Joby Warrick, The Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS (Doubleday, 2015), pp. 223 – 317

 

Creative Destabilization in the Middle East

November 2 – The Coming of the Arab Spring. A Fire in Tunisia. From Self-Immolation to Tahrir Square: The Fire Spreads. Libya.

Class Notes 10/31/16:

• Discussed the murder of Nick Berg. Killed personally by Zarqawi. Extremely theatrical. Appealed to the young and oppressed in order to recruit new members. 

Reading: Robert F. Worth, A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to ISIS (FSG, 2016), pp. 3 – 126 

 

November 7 – An Advancing Revolution. The Ideological Vacuum. The Old Order Fights Back. The Fall of Morsi. The Return of the Dictator.

Class Notes 11/7/16:

• Briefly discussed “The Dark Side” and “Black Flags”.
• Examined the current state of affairs on Mosul.
• Discussed the disconnect between ISIS propaganda regarding life in Mosul and the first hand accounts that have surfaced.

Reading: Robert F. Worth, A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to ISIS (FSG, 2016), pp. 127 – 234 

 

Drones: Mowing the Grass

November 9 – Bush and the Roots of the Drone War. Drones as Supplement, Drones as Lead Weapon. Quick, Clean, Silent.

Class Notes 11/9/16:

• Discussed the 2016 presidential election results.
• Examined how Trump’s election was a repudiation of the country’s elite, as well as the cultural divide that represented by the 2016 presidential campaign.
• Briefly viewed Hillary Clinton’s concession speech. 

Reading: Jeremy Scahill, The Assassination Complex: Inside the Government’s Secret Drone Warfare Program (S&S, 2016)

 

November 14 – Do We Know Whom We Are Killing? Drones and Intelligence. Kill Lists and Conference Calls.

Class Notes 11/14/16:

• Discussed Trumps recent acceptance of aspects of Obamacare. 
  • Ability to stay on parent’s heath care until turning 26 years old.
  • Health insurance organizations can’t reject those with prior                                                                                                                                         conditions.

• Discussed Trump’s plans:
  • “Tear up” Iran Deal.
  • Bomb ISIS.
  • Make allies more self sufficient 
  • Improve relations with Russia
  • Fight Mosul with surprise/don’t release military plans.
  • Increase tariffs on China and Mexico
  • Pull out of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP).
  • Help Japan and South Korea get Nuclear weapons.

 

Reading: Jeremy Scahill, The Assassination Complex: Inside the Government’s Secret Drone Warfare Program (S&S, 2016)

 

The Great Unraveling: Terror and Counterterror

November 16 –The Strategy of the War on Terror. Striking Nodes and Mowing the Grass. Assassination. Where It Went Wrong.

Class Notes 11/16/16:

• Discussed ISIS’s policy on violence: The more violent they are the faster they will achieve their goals.
• Discussed the USA’s financial support of Egypt and the problems that arise from it. 

Reading: David Kilkullen, Blood Year: The Unraveling of Western Counterterrorism (Oxford, 2016)

 

November 21 – Can US Counterterrorism Be Reformed? How to Fight the War on Terror. Ending the War or Spreading the War.

Class Notes 11/21/16:

• Discussed Trump’s new government appointees. 
• Discussed the impact of the emotional impact of the personal accounts of those in “A Rage for Order”. 
• Examined the nature of the Sunni/Shia conflict among those living in the Middle East. (Ex. Nora and Aliya from “A Rage for Order” never really thought about sects.).
• Discussed the failure of the Arab Spring. 

Reading: David Kilkullen, Blood Year: The Unraveling of Western Counterterrorism (Oxford, 2016)

 

November 23 – No Class.

 

November 28 – What Have We Become? Defining the Constitutional Dictatorship. Can We Be Safe and “Who We Are”?

Class Notes 11/28/16:

• Discussed the steady decline of Libya since 2003.
• Discussed terrorist attacks in Tunisia and Egypt. Examined the tactic of destroying tourist industry. 
• Defined CIA and JSOC’s use of drones, and the respective territories they can do so in. 

Reading: Robert F. Worth, A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to ISIS (FSG, 2016)

 

November 30 – Toward A New Counterterrorism. Is Deterrence Possible? Protecting the Country, Ending the War.

Class Notes 11/30/16:

• Discussed the Obama Administration’s use of drones in the Middle East.
• At least 98% of the population is unaware of the drone problem.
• Defined EJK (Extra Judicial Killing). Deeming targets guilty of death despite not having a trial. 
• Discussed recent pushback against CIA’s drone use, and the subsequent effort to limit use of drones to the military. 

Reading: Jeremy Scahill, The Assassination Complex: Inside the Government’s Secret Drone Warfare Program (S&S, 2016)

 

December 5 – Seeing the Forever War: An In-Class Debate.

Class Notes 12/5/16:

• Discussed Trump’s possible foreign policies.
• Discussed James Mattis and his new role as Secretary of Defense.
•  Discussed Michael Flynn and his new role as Trump’s National Security Advisor.
• Discussed the possibility that trump ends the Syrian refugee program.

Reading: David Kilkullen, Blood Year: The Unraveling of Western Counterterrorism (Oxford, 2016)

 

December 7 – Round up discussion, David Killcullen’s “Blood Year”.

Class Notes 12/7/16:

• Discussed David Kilcullen’s “Blood Year” and his assertion that the US counterterrorism program in the Middle East has been a complete failure. 
• Discussed the strategy of Disaggregation: not letting terrorist’s actions against the US provoke a broad response. Instead discretely attack their nodes of contact.

Reading: David Kilkullen, Blood Year: The Unraveling of Western Counterterrorism (Oxford, 2016)

Spiral: The Coming of Constitutional Dictatorship

 

December 12 – Conclusions and Reflections on Endless War.

Class Notes 12/12/16:

• Discussed the overarching themes of the class, and defined the forever in terms of the course’s material. 
• Discussed possible foreign policy strategies that Donald Trump will employ.

Reading: Mark Danner, Spiral: Trapped in the Forever War (S&S, 2016)

 

Midterm Exam:

 

Seeing the Twilight War

Human Rights and The 9/11 State of Emergency

 

Midterm Examination – October 12, 2016

 

1. Answer the Following Questions In No More Than One or Two Sentences:

 

1. What is a Salafi and what does he believe?

 

2. What is “Somebody Else’s Civil War” and how does it relate the United States?

 

3. Of what crimes did the US government suspect Mohamedou Ould Slahi was guilty?

 

4. What were the two large events of the late 1970’s which seem to have loomed ever since over US policy in the Middle East?

 

5. Who is Sayid Qutb, what did he believe, and why is he important?

 

6. Where was Mohamedou Ould Slahi taken on his “worldwide tour”?

 

7. What was Ayman al-Zawahiri’s profession and where did he practice it?

 

8. What is the Carter Doctrine, when was it promulgated and why is it important?

 

9. What is jahiliyya and how is the term related to “infidel”?

 

10. What is habeas corpus and which of our authors applied for it? Was it granted? 

 

11. What is the US military command that has responsibility for the Middle East and where is it headquartered?

 

12. What was the legal status of those taken prisoner during the war on terror?

 

13. Who is the “Hubal of the Age” and who coined the phrase?

 

14. Why are those at Guantanamo referred to as detainees and not prisoners?

 

15. What is the Land of the Two Holy places and whence does it derive most of its funds?

 

1. Answer Three of the Following Questions in Essays Covering No More Than Two Pages Each

 

1. Why did the United States attack, invade and occupy Iraq in 2003?

 

2. Why did Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda organization attack the United States in 2001?

 

3. Why is Mohamedou Ould Slahi still in Guantanamo?

 

4. What is the significance of Afghanistan, past and present, when it comes to the war on terror?

 

5. Why do they hate us?