Outside Reading #5, A History of the World Since 9/11, Wrap Up

A History of the World Since 9/11 is a book about the significant events that led up to, caused, and were results of 9/11 and the War on Terror. It really helped me understand what happened during the War on Terror and how the government reacted. I felt that the most interesting chapter was the 4th Chapter "Groupthink 7075-T6". I enjoyed this chapter the most because I could relate what I learned during US History last year, and Psychology this year and apply it to this book. Groupthink occurred when the U.S. government failed to anticipate the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the escalation of the war in vietnam, and the bay of pigs invasion. It helped me understand that the government is always susceptible to groupthink. This chapter helped me realize that the American Government is mostly to blame for the events that occurred after 9/11, but they were also somewhat forced into it. The American Public was scared and was demanding a response and retaliation. The Government wasn't sure who exactly our enemy was, and as a result groupthink occurred. The government needed to act fast so all of the events like the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan occurred, and the U.S. government said that they believed that Iraq was in possession of weapons of mass destruction. IT needed to find a solid reason to invade Iraq and search for the Taliban, even though they weren't sure who supported the Taliban, and where they were.