AMST Exam 2 Prep PDF

Differences between Vietnam War and Iraq War on Veterans ○ Deployments and active duty Vietnam War veterans serve one-year yours versus Iraq war veterans often faced multiple tours due to stop-loss policies. Post 9/11 veterans could not cap activ...

Differences between Vietnam War and Iraq War on Veterans ○ Deployments and active duty Vietnam War veterans serve one-year yours versus Iraq war veterans often faced multiple tours due to stop-loss policies. Post 9/11 veterans could not cap active duty times at 24 months as previously allowed ○ Survivability and injuries Iraq’s war improved medical technology saved more lives, with 15/16 seriously wounded surviving, compared to 5 /8 during Vietnam. Increased survivability resulted in long-term medical care needs for complex injuries ○ Mental health challenges Iraq est veterans compounded PTSD due to multiple deployments without adequate treatment. Much worse than Vietnam! ○ Living conditions Vietnam veterans had access to fraternization and alcohols, Iraq veterans had stricter rules in combat zones Continuous exposure to counterinsurgency and terrorism in Iraq unique stressors. Veteran Suicide Rates ○ Historical Context: Despite alarming rates, military suicide rates today are lower than in the pre-WWII era due to advancements in mental health awareness and treatment. ○ General Statistics: Post-9/11 veterans have a suicide rate 1.5 times higher than non-veterans. At least four times as many post-9/11 veterans have died by suicide than in combat. ○ Contributing Factors: Longer and repeated deployments increased combat exposure and PTSD prevalence. Rise in traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) added operational stress. Moral injury and diminishing public support for post-9/11 wars exacerbated mental health struggles Burn Pits ○ Definition and Use: Burn pits involved burning waste and debris in open areas during the post-9/11 wars, particularly in Afghanistan and Iraq. ○ Health Impacts: Exposure led to severe conditions such as cancer, interstitial lung disease, kidney toxicity, and cardiovascular toxicity.  The Department of Defense estimates 3.5 million service members were exposed to these toxic fumes. ○ Government Response: Veterans have struggled with the VA for recognition and compensation for burn pit-related illnesses. The PACT Act, signed into law in 2022, allocated $797 billion to extend healthcare and disability compensation for affected veterans. Veteran Struggles with the VA ○ Excerpts from Glantz’s book details veterans have historically struggled against the VA for fair treatment and help around a host of issues. Entire approach of governments has not been to help veterans but to make the benefits of service seem attractive to soldiers when they enlist. ○ He gives examples of veterans and veteran organizations that fought the government to have access to treatments and compensations for soldiers that included topics like vietnam war veterans exposed to toxins. Islamophobia ○ Ideology and Frames ○ Deepa Kumar, her book Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire Twenty Years after 9/11. ○ Uses the term frames to refer to the different ways an ideology (like Islamophobia) denotes a particular construction of the world. ○ For Kumar, Islamophobia relies on six different frames: 1. Islam is a monolithic religion 2. Islam is uniquely sexist and Muslim women need to be liberated by the West 3. Islam is anti-modern and does not separate religion and politics 4. The “Muslim mind” is incapable of rationality and science 5. Islam is inherently violent 6. The West spreads democracy because Muslims are incapable of democratic self-rule Clash of Civilizations ○ Refers to the fact that latinos/ and muslims as “foreginess” to the U.S and that these communities are detrimental and incompatible to US ways of life. This leads to a “clash of civilizations” (Samuel Huntington). Extension of Islamophobia to Latina/os ○ This sentiment forms the basis to extend Islamophobia and deportation coverage. ○ It allows for policies and institution policies that are normally reserved for anti-terrorism to be implemented in anti-immigrant efforts, most of which affect Latino/a immigrants. ○ Terrorism is used as justification for deporting Latino/a immigrants. Linking terroirs and immigration, politicians politicize the border.  Department of Homeland Security USA PATRIOT Act ○ Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act 0f 2001 ○ The USA PATRIOT Act was passed after the September 11, 2001, attacks to enhance U.S. law enforcement's ability to prevent and respond to terrorism. It expanded surveillance powers, improved interagency intelligence sharing, tightened controls on financial transactions, and broadened the legal definition of terrorism. While it strengthened national security efforts, it sparked significant controversy over privacy violations, civil liberties, and potential government overreach. Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act ○ Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, often referred to as the "business records" or "library records" provision, allowed the FBI to obtain a court order requiring businesses, organizations, or other entities to hand over "tangible things"—including books, records, documents, and other items—deemed relevant to a terrorism investigation. ○ In class read the article Librarians against PATRIOT ACT specifically section 215. Allows the gov to easily obtain information about what books people read, what websites they visit etc. Edward Snowden ○ ICON Librarians’ Opposition to the USA PATRIOT Act ○ Week 10 Operation Vulgar Betrayal The USA FREEDOM Act ○ Aftermath of the PATRIOT act Obama’s administration and Congress did not like due to the controversy around surveillance, specifically the bulk collection of data that was leaked by Snowden. SO instead new legislation was pushed. ○ The FREEDOM Act marked the first major rollback of government surveillance powers since 9/11. It sought to balance national security needs with individual privacy rights, addressing widespread concerns about unchecked surveillance. Mass Surveillance ○ First, we engaged in mass surveillance in the post-9/11 moment in the United States using the PATRIOT Act and John Oliver’s interview with Edward Snowden. Amnesty International defines mass surveillance as “the monitoring of internet and phone communications of large numbers of people – sometimes entire countries – without sufficient evidence of wrongdoing Overseas Contingency Operation ○ Obama largely moved away from the language of “War on Terror” and instead preferred “war with al-Qaeda” or Overseas Contingency Operation Countering Violent Extremism (CVE)  ○ Programs that began under the Obama administration and was aimed to be a “soft power” approach to ant-terrorism measures as compared to the more “hard power” criminal prosecution, surveillance approaches. ○ CVE works by engaging members of a community such as social workers, teachers, therapists, and religious leaders as part and parcel of a broader policing network. ○ Ngyen's article argues that the introduction of CVE programming intensified rather than mitigated racialized policing and targeted criminalization in the United States “CVE programs have called on community members and social service providers to monitor their own communities through physical watching and surveillance.” enhance policing powers.History of policing in the U.S and targeting communities of color. ○ CVE has a history of specifically targeting Arab and Muslim communities while other groups like white supremacits terrorist groups were not seriously targeted until the Biden administration. “Pre-Criminal Space” ○ CVE polices the “pre-criminal space” where certain behaviors or actions indicate that the person in question might move forward to commit terrorist acts. Different local communities and institutions are supposed to serve as a front line to prevent VE ○ Nguyen argues that there is no scientific basis for CVE “pre-criminal” behaviors that links those behaviors to eventual terrorist actions. Many of the behaviors that are considered pre-criminal are those that are associated with a growing religious practice or stresses that come with immigrating to a new country. ○ Redefining non-criminal behaviors like extremist thought and “acculturation related stress” as “pre-criminal” facilitates the criminalization of racialized communities, whereby certain behaviors are identified, reported, and treated as precursors to criminal violence, despite recognition that there are no scientifically proven indicators, warning signs, or risk factors of violent extremism … The social construction of a “pre-criminal space” enhances policing powers by reframing non-criminal behavior as pre-criminal and then calling on community members to report such non-criminal behaviors to law enforcement. ” ○ Docile Patriots/Citizens ○ The hypermasculine response to 9/11 created the need for Americans to fall in line and become “docile patriots” by showing support or deference to the war effort and the government's aims ○ There was a compulsory need to watch those around you to see if they were suspicious and to also rehearse your own loyalty/patriotism in the process. Jessica Lynch and Media Coverage ○ Household name after being captured and held at an Iraqi hospital during the iraq war. Name was all over the news, tv, etc.  ○ Media portrayed her as heroic and claimed that she fought fiercely against her captors before being captured. This narrative painted her as a symbol of American bravery. She was a young, blonde white woman from West Virginia which made her the ideal figure for heroism and resume. ○ Media played into the “damsel in distress” ○ She later came out and was able to debunk this and state that her supposed heroism were untrue and was uncomfortable with how her story was being portrayed ○ Camp Follower ○ Camp followers are... men and women who follow an army and perform services and support functions such as providing food and drink, clothing, and other supplies. They also perform various services from nursing to prostitution Protected/Victim – Threat/Villain – Protector/Hero ○ Whether in descriptions of the wars between Indigenous nations against US settlers or in other wars, Kumar argues that war narratives often are constructed around three actors: The protected/victim: the one who is violated by the villain The threat/villain: the one who attacks the victim The protector/hero: the one who protects/rescues the victim from the attacker Pro/Anti-War Feminisms ○ Those activists have argued that queer and trans advocacy should be working to separate the things people need to survive, like health care, immigration status, and parental rights, from the institution of marriage, and putting resources into fights like Medicare for all, opposing how family law systems tear apart the families of poor people, people of color and people with disabilities, and opposing immigration enforcement ○ Separation from identity Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) ○ 1993 the policy went into effect allowing LGBTQ people to serve in the military if they remained in the closet. Don’t ask part of the law prohibited military officers from investigating if someone was gay unless they witnessed same-sex activity ○ Rationale was that the knowledge of being gay would create an risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline that are essence of military capability.. The Palm Center ○ Research institution that played a key role in informing debates and policies related to LGBTQ individuals in the militarty including the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and the lifting of the transgender service ban. Lifting of Ban on Women in Combat Lifting of Transgender Military Ban