Blogs
The four blog posts below are from my blog New Experiences where I have written down my thoughts while reading The Forever War By Dexter Filkins
Final Portfolio
Will There Ever Be an Ending?After finishing The Forever War by Dexter Filkins I was left with the question in terms of current situations what forever means. Dexter spends ruffly 7 years traveling around Iraq and interviewing as many people as he could. Some of his time was spent before September 11th and the majority was spent there after September 11th. But even before the US invaded Iraq there was a war still going on between the different cultures and their customs as well as invading countries. The land has seen many violent years that it may never be able to recover from due to the fact that there seems to be always a new situation that they feel warrant war. What Filkins warns Americans through this book is the fact that not all of the native people in Iraq are intending harm for Americans. Although he does not come out and say it directly he lets the reader discover on their own that in this situation like in most any war there are completely innocent civilians that are used and murdered. He does point out that our soldiers are in fact soliders train to kill and to use they are protecting our country but to these innocent civilians they may stand as a threat. One of the main facts that opened my eyes to the Iraq war was the fact that in any problem there are always multiple viewpoints and what we as Americans see protection from terrorist others may see the potential for death, murder, destruction, disrespect and above all a threat to their home and culture. There is nothing more frightening that the thought of losing everything you have spent your entire life working for and living through. The Forever War uncovers the truth about Iraq in a way that just tells the facts and allows the reader to discover the truth for themselves.
The DangerWhile reading The Forever War it can easily be seen that Dexter Filkins faced many moments wondering if he was going to survive and spent days in such danger that many American civilians will never find themselves in. In the world we live in today the media plays one of the biggest roles in reporting the news to the citizens of the country. Unfortunately this media is often changed or distorted to either make others look better or to put fear into peoples lives. What Filkins is doing with the Forever War is showing a side of Iraq that many have not seen and many thought never existed. When people think of Iraq they this of September 11th and the brainwashed people of alkida and a land that is a much dead as the people who live there. What Filkins bring to light is the fact that these Iraqis are people too who want the same things in live that most Americans dream of. A place to call home, a job they can support their family with, and the enjoyment of life without destruction. Through Dexter's reporting the reader is able to see the truths of Iraq and to also see the danger journalist have to put themselves in every day in order to report the truth. While traveling around Iraq he found himself in many tight situations where he could have died if not for many friends who helped protect him from insurgents who thought he worked for the CIA and had a hand in destroying Iraq. As the book goes on the stories continue to get worse and worse but Dexter is able to write in a straight forward way without any bias to the story. Letting the reader judge his experiences souly based on facts.
Mid-Year Portfolio
The Forever War and the Real People of Iraq and Afghanistan
After reading further into The Forever War I have come to learn more about the lives of these people and my view on their culture has changed. Although most live by the rules of the Koran it seems that some just abide by the laws so they are not singled out and punished. The punishments are extreme and for very miner offenses like steeling the punishment is the amputation of a hand where in the United States the accused would maybe get community service or something more depending on the charges and crime. Also they truly believe in the saying "an eye for and eye" this is shown in a man charged with the murder of another man. The family of the murdered man has the right to kill the accused murderer with no judge or jury.
The author of the book was in fact in New York on September 11th and goes into some detail of his day but describes it in short words his experience then returned to his research in the middle east. At first I wanted more from his day but after thinking about it the reason why I believe he did not got deeper into that day was because they people he was interviewing and following around had nothing to do with that terrorist attack. The people who live and persevere through all of the fighting and murder, the people who still remember the days where their country was prosperous and free had nothing to do with the attack on american and the people who did are not supported by everyone. By taking the focus off September 11 and putting the main focus on the people not the terrorist the author shows that there is a difference between the terrorist and the natives and people need to see the difference and not just look at these people with blind hate.
The Forever War By Dexter Filkins
After some research on the three books given to us to chose for our class book club I settled on The Forever War by Dexter Filkins. The reason why I chose this book is because although it is the longest of three choices it is the most relevant to the United States today. Recently the United States as a country recognized the 10th Anniversary of September 11th; a wound in American history that will never completely heal. That day for many Americans will go down in their lives as a day they will never forget and for some Americans it is a day they would rather chose to forget. The author Dexter Filkins goes into Iraq and Afghanistan to bring the truth out by spending time with soldier, natives, and Taliban. After finishing the first chapter I was horrified to learn the customs of the people there who hold control over the culture. They ban everything from music to alcohol and handing out server punishment to anyone breaking their laws. The majority of the children are forced to take care of themselves or their families because their parents have died in battles or as casualties from Tribe Lords fightingfor possessionof land. Some even forced to fight for different alliance groups so they can support their families leaving them forever scared and changed never really knowing or understanding the meaning of a childhood.
I look foreword to reading further into this book and discovering the truth of what it is like surviving in the war as well as the families and people living in Afghanistan today who play no hand in terrorism but are forced into war with guns at their backs.
Will There Ever Be an Ending?After finishing The Forever War by Dexter Filkins I was left with the question in terms of current situations what forever means. Dexter spends ruffly 7 years traveling around Iraq and interviewing as many people as he could. Some of his time was spent before September 11th and the majority was spent there after September 11th. But even before the US invaded Iraq there was a war still going on between the different cultures and their customs as well as invading countries. The land has seen many violent years that it may never be able to recover from due to the fact that there seems to be always a new situation that they feel warrant war. What Filkins warns Americans through this book is the fact that not all of the native people in Iraq are intending harm for Americans. Although he does not come out and say it directly he lets the reader discover on their own that in this situation like in most any war there are completely innocent civilians that are used and murdered. He does point out that our soldiers are in fact soliders train to kill and to use they are protecting our country but to these innocent civilians they may stand as a threat. One of the main facts that opened my eyes to the Iraq war was the fact that in any problem there are always multiple viewpoints and what we as Americans see protection from terrorist others may see the potential for death, murder, destruction, disrespect and above all a threat to their home and culture. There is nothing more frightening that the thought of losing everything you have spent your entire life working for and living through. The Forever War uncovers the truth about Iraq in a way that just tells the facts and allows the reader to discover the truth for themselves.
The DangerWhile reading The Forever War it can easily be seen that Dexter Filkins faced many moments wondering if he was going to survive and spent days in such danger that many American civilians will never find themselves in. In the world we live in today the media plays one of the biggest roles in reporting the news to the citizens of the country. Unfortunately this media is often changed or distorted to either make others look better or to put fear into peoples lives. What Filkins is doing with the Forever War is showing a side of Iraq that many have not seen and many thought never existed. When people think of Iraq they this of September 11th and the brainwashed people of alkida and a land that is a much dead as the people who live there. What Filkins bring to light is the fact that these Iraqis are people too who want the same things in live that most Americans dream of. A place to call home, a job they can support their family with, and the enjoyment of life without destruction. Through Dexter's reporting the reader is able to see the truths of Iraq and to also see the danger journalist have to put themselves in every day in order to report the truth. While traveling around Iraq he found himself in many tight situations where he could have died if not for many friends who helped protect him from insurgents who thought he worked for the CIA and had a hand in destroying Iraq. As the book goes on the stories continue to get worse and worse but Dexter is able to write in a straight forward way without any bias to the story. Letting the reader judge his experiences souly based on facts.
Mid-Year Portfolio
The Forever War and the Real People of Iraq and Afghanistan
After reading further into The Forever War I have come to learn more about the lives of these people and my view on their culture has changed. Although most live by the rules of the Koran it seems that some just abide by the laws so they are not singled out and punished. The punishments are extreme and for very miner offenses like steeling the punishment is the amputation of a hand where in the United States the accused would maybe get community service or something more depending on the charges and crime. Also they truly believe in the saying "an eye for and eye" this is shown in a man charged with the murder of another man. The family of the murdered man has the right to kill the accused murderer with no judge or jury.
The author of the book was in fact in New York on September 11th and goes into some detail of his day but describes it in short words his experience then returned to his research in the middle east. At first I wanted more from his day but after thinking about it the reason why I believe he did not got deeper into that day was because they people he was interviewing and following around had nothing to do with that terrorist attack. The people who live and persevere through all of the fighting and murder, the people who still remember the days where their country was prosperous and free had nothing to do with the attack on american and the people who did are not supported by everyone. By taking the focus off September 11 and putting the main focus on the people not the terrorist the author shows that there is a difference between the terrorist and the natives and people need to see the difference and not just look at these people with blind hate.
The Forever War By Dexter Filkins
After some research on the three books given to us to chose for our class book club I settled on The Forever War by Dexter Filkins. The reason why I chose this book is because although it is the longest of three choices it is the most relevant to the United States today. Recently the United States as a country recognized the 10th Anniversary of September 11th; a wound in American history that will never completely heal. That day for many Americans will go down in their lives as a day they will never forget and for some Americans it is a day they would rather chose to forget. The author Dexter Filkins goes into Iraq and Afghanistan to bring the truth out by spending time with soldier, natives, and Taliban. After finishing the first chapter I was horrified to learn the customs of the people there who hold control over the culture. They ban everything from music to alcohol and handing out server punishment to anyone breaking their laws. The majority of the children are forced to take care of themselves or their families because their parents have died in battles or as casualties from Tribe Lords fightingfor possessionof land. Some even forced to fight for different alliance groups so they can support their families leaving them forever scared and changed never really knowing or understanding the meaning of a childhood.
I look foreword to reading further into this book and discovering the truth of what it is like surviving in the war as well as the families and people living in Afghanistan today who play no hand in terrorism but are forced into war with guns at their backs.