In his speech to Congress and the nation on September 20, 2001, President Bush stated, “These terrorists kill not merely to end lives, but to disrupt and end a way of life. With every atrocity, they hope that America grows fearful, retreating from the world and forsaking our friends. They stand against us, because we stand in their way.” He goes on to make specific demands of the Taliban and to promise that America will take action should these demands not be met.
Ten years later, MIT Professor Emeritus Noam Chomsky observed in his essay, “Was There an Alternative” that, “On May 1st, the presumed mastermind of the crime, Osama bin Laden, was assassinated in Pakistan by a team of elite US commandos, Navy SEALs, after he was captured, unarmed and undefended, in Operation Geronimo.” Chomsky goes on to discuss the fact that bin Laden was not afforded a trial or burial.
Consider President Bush’s use of rhetoric shortly after the time of the attacks, as well as the ways in which his words constituted a promise to the American people which was essentially fulfilled by Operation Geronimo. Defend, challenge, or qualify Chomsky’s core premise that these actions by the United States constitute “American exceptionalism” from the very ideals we claim to uphold. Write an essay in which you use appropriate evidence from each selection, as well as your own experience and observations, to support your argument.
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