Stereotypes and Terrorist Goals

Watching the two films makes Osama bin Laden’s objectives obvious. Both videos were made following the American 9/11 terrorist strikes. One of bin Laden’s objectives in the videos is to celebrate the recent terrorist assault his group committed. For instance, he claims that 19 men successfully assaulted the United States by Allah’s grace. (Youtube.com, 2008). His second objective in the video is to explain to the viewers what caused the attack. According to Osama bin Laden, the assault was “a response to the ongoing injustice and oppression against our sons in Palestine and Iraq.” (YouTube, 2011). Further, Osama also has the goal of creating fear among the American people by telling them that his group will continue with the war that was started by the American government. Additionally, Osama also wants to highlight past injustices which he perceived the U.S government is responsible for, such as the persecution of Jews.

At the same time, I perceive that the emotions Osama bin Laden wants to arouse in a listener are fear and insecurity. He does not show any remorse over the 9/11 attacks and continually emphasizes that it was a reaction to injustices as well as that more attacks are coming. I perceive that the warnings in the video only create fear and insecurity among the listeners as they keep guessing when the next attacks may come and whether they may become victims.

Question Two

Osama bin Laden uses language to demonstrate why actions against the West were necessary as well as to undermine the efforts of the western nations in Islamic states. He asserts the attacks on American soil are a retaliation of the various injustices done to his people, “the events of September 11 are but a reaction to the injustice and oppression… Palestine, Iraq, Somalia, Southern Sudan” (YouTube, 2008). Osama highlights that such atrocities concern the whole Islamic nation and urges humanity to wake up from their sleep and find a solution to the problem. Osama employs language figuratively, offering imagery to describe the war between Muslims and the West, ”their example is like a story of the wolf…so it must have been your mother… and ate the lamb...parrots joined in” (YouTube, 2008). Osama likens the sympathizers of America to parrots who blindly support them.

Question Three

Osama bin Laden in both videos uses various strategies to encourage the Muslim listener to support Al Qaeda. For example, Osama notes that the war that U.S is wedging only focuses on Islam countries; this is an effort to gain the support of the Muslim community. Moreover, Osama also notes that the young men that carry out the attacks are heroes before the eyes of Allah; this may not only encourage the Muslim listener to support Al Qaeda but also encourage other young men to join the group (YouTube, 2008). Furthermore, Osama also uses the strategy of sharing the plight of widows and orphans left behind an after the airstrikes that were carried out in Iraq and Afghanistan. Additionally, Osama also notes on the innocent lives that have been lost since the war started with the aim of gaining sympathy and support for his Al Qaeda group. It is Osama’s hope that by using these strategies he will gain the support of Muslims around the world.

Question Four

In my estimation, Osama’s overall purpose for the videos was to justify that he was righteous in his actions and he tried to prove the West, particularly America, is determined to destroy the Muslim world. Although he employed specific instances, his examples appear to be inaccurate. Additionally, Osama sought to persuade his audiences that all the terrorist actions were legitimate. In the two videos themes of justice, revenge, and threats are recurrent. Bin Laden assumes the role of an educator in his speeches, offering instances of atrocities against the Muslims comparing them to the West. Ultimately, Osama tries to motivate the Muslims against the Western nations and urge them to rise and defend their religion. The only solution he says this can be achieved is supporting the activities of Al Qaeda.

Question Five

As a Homeland security professional, a possible method for dealing with the effects of such tapes is pulling them down once they are shared on the internet. For example, in 2012, Google pulled down 640 videos from YouTube which contained terrorism propaganda and messages (Kelly & Benson, 2012). However, pulling these videos may not be enough as people have already watched them. When people watch these videos, they fear the terrorist may attack the U.S anytime. The Department of Homeland Security should educate the public on the propaganda contained in the videos. For example, when such video is uploaded, YouTube should pull it down and dismiss the contents by educating the public. Moreover, another way of dealing with the effects of the video is prosecuting individuals that are spreading it to creating fear and anxiety among members of the public.

References

Kelly, S. & Benson, P. (2012). The ”whack-a-mole“ strategy of pulling terrorist videos offline. Security.blogs.cnn.com. Retrieved on February 4, 2017 from: http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/19/the-whack-a-mole-strategy-of-pulling-terrorist-videos-offline/

YouTube,. (2008). Osama Bin Laden Talks About the 9/11 Attacks. YouTube. Retrieved on February 4, 2017 from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWVC4JBjtEE

YouTube,. (2011). Osama bin Laden’s message to the American people 1/3. YouTube. Retrieved on February 4, 2017 from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcRCAJlN1OY