Knowing the Enemy

Flames and smoke everywhere. Debris falling out of the ski. People running around in extreme chaos evacuating the Twin Tower buildings. This is what was going on during the September 11th attacks. Nobody quite understood it at the time, was this intentional or an accident? Why did a plane just crash into the World Trade Center. Then soon after, bang! The other building was destroyed. And soon after that, well, we all remember what happened that day. It was a sad day for all Americans, and an extremely traumatic one for those directly involved. I cannot imagine what some of those innocent people had to go through. I think the biggest question we all had that day was "why?" Why take extreme measures to carry out a plot to kill. Why kill thousands of innocent people? Why America? A lot of these questions can only truthfully be answered by the people who did it, but through a little bit of research we can come to a lot of conclusions on our own.
It is very unfortunate that we live in a society that is hyper judgemental and stereotypical of those different from us. The term "xenophobia" applies perfectly here; we are afraid of what we don't know. I would have to guess that a very large percentage of Americans know little about Islam, yet there are jokes and stereotypes that knock them everywhere. Again, we are afraid of we do not understand about there religion. For me, I look at Muslims as believers in a God that I do not personally understand, they seem to value education and kinship, and a very small group of them believe in the use of violence.
Followers of this group are known as "Jihadists." Jihadism believes in the use of violence towards anyone who is a non believer or anyone who may pose as a threat to them. Al Qaeda, for example, is an example of a Jihadist group that doesn't hesitate to use violence to achieve their goal... global Jihadism. They are very organized and without the modern technologies that advanced countries have, they still are able to exist and operate. They use morally controversial tactics such as suicidal attacks. This is when a Jihadist may strap a bomb to his or her self and not only kill themselves, but take the innocent lives of others around them. Another way they can survive is that they hide underground, beneath innocent civilians. This makes it quite difficult to pin point their location, but even if we can we are not willing to attack because of collateral damage; we are not willing to take the lives of innocent Muslims even if it means killing the enemy.
The peaceful followers of Islam have no control over the Jihadist movement. They can't stop it, and in some cases, escape it. Unfortunatley, these extremists have, to a degree, destroyed the perception for all the other humane followers of Islam. Overcoming stereotypes and discrimination, even if held internally and not expressed, will be tough to overcome, but I believe if we can educate ourselves on their beliefs then maybe, just maybe we might be able to put our fear aside and earnestly accept these people as we would anyone else.

Army Training: It's In the Game! (props to EA sports)

Nowadays, video games are becoming increasingly popular among young people. Call of Duty, for example, consumes thousands of teenagers across the world at any given moment. Its main attraction is its incredible graphics and the game's ability to create a life-like environment for its users. While it's great that kids enjoy spending some of their recreational time on playing video games, it is somewhat unfortunate that they so passionately devote their time to a simulation world, which in no way, shape, or form can effect their real lives. They seemingly forget that they are actually a human staring at a 2 dimensional television screen, and not a U.S. Army Ranger defending America.
Recently, however, we have found a way to encorparate simulation in army training. The concept of simulation is easy: to create an environment that is not actually there in front of you. Keeping this in mind, simulation producers and the U.S. military have teamed up to use simulation as a training tool for soldiers. Simulation has the innate ability to produce a realistic experience to soldiers that are new to war. It can give a soldier the ability to know his way around a location, maybe a city for example, and familiarize him with the surroundings, all without him ever being there. Military simulation has other benifits too. It cuts down on the cost of ammunition and fuel.
Opposing claims to simulation is that it can make soldiers fall into bad habits because subconciously, the soldiers know that they are not in a real simulation, therefore, nobody can really die, and no ammunition can be wasted. But, I believe that with the right supervision, simulation can play a huge role in preparing our soldiers for war. I trust that the right people will be watching every step these soldiers make in the the simulation; precision and perfection will be stressed as in any other step of training. All in all, simulation saves money and is a huge helper to our military in just a few years of its existence... can't wait to see what it's like in 20 years!!

(http://www.army.mil.nz/at-a-glance/news/army-news/397/tasc.htm)