War on Terror

War has changed since America entered the age of war on terror. War is no longer fought with large armies penned against one another, but instead militaries combat terrorism with drone aircrafts that can be controlled on safe ground. In “Zero Dark Thirty,” viewers see that information on terrorist groups, like Al Qaeda, is gathered by torturing suspected accomplices in hopes that they will to give up pertinent information. Torture is a huge part of the modern war on terror. Waterboarding has always been a tactic used to torture prisoners of war; however, now we militia has expanded their tactics to blasting music, personal threats, intense bodily harm, and psychological warfare as forms of torture.

Some terrorist attacks today are carried out with suicide bombings targeted to harm innocent civilians as well as soldiers. America responds to these attacks sometimes with drones controlled on the ground, taking away the man-to-man contact traditionally associated with war. While this tactic may seem likely to lead to less useless deaths, many more innocent civilians can also be harmed during these attacks. Terrorist attacks are much more personal and emotional on a nation than the previous wars off the home territory and over more economic or abstract ideas.  However, the response of torture is the least humane. The torture tactics take on the idea that whatever means are necessary to extract the information is acceptable. Many people in America that are for torture take on the view that killing one to save many is acceptable. These tactics can be incredibly damaging to individuals who may in fact not hold any useful information related to the terrorist attack. Laws and regulations on these torture form loosened greatly after the 9/11 attack as America in particular took on the more pro-torture attitude. Although torture tactics and targeted attacks on suspicious areas can result in useless deaths, it can sometimes be successful as seen in the film. However, this kind of hit or miss brutality is simply a different destructive nature than the destruction seen in previous wars. Instead of focusing on sending men out against one another to the death, governments and military torture and target certain suspicious people and areas. While both have their faults, it is hard to ever say which is the most effective or “better” route.