War on Terror On September 11, 2001 tragedy struck in New York City, New York. Early on what seemed to be just another Tuesday morning a series of attacks happened that would leave thousands killed or injured and millions scared. The attack began with two commercial airline planes crashing into two very important buildings in New York City known as the “Twin Towers.” Hours later news struck that a third and fourth plane had also been hijacked, one of which crashed into the Pentagon and the fourth went down in a field in Pennsylvanian and it was assumed to be aiming for the White House. The outcome of these terrorist attacks left people with many questions including “Who is responsible for these attacks?” and “Why was nothing done by the president to prevent this from happening?” Soon after the attacks had been made, America received an answer to the first question. That answer was that the group that was responsible for these terrorist attacks was called “Al Qaeda.” Al Qaeda is a, “global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden.” After hearing this people were still left without an answer to the second question, “Why was nothing done by the president to prevent this from happening?” That question was left completely unanswered until an American film-maker and social critic named Michael Moore released a documentary that examined the aftermath in America regarding the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11th. To this day the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. In the film Michael Moore brings up little details that many people did not know anything about and explains them to people in terms that they could understand. After explaining the background information in the film he continues to go on to state that the “War on terror” is not a real thing and that the men and women that are risking their lives in the war in Iraq are doing it for no purpose at all. Partially through the film it switches from the details about the terrorist attacks on September 11 to the specifics about the war in Iraq. When Lila Lipscomb, a mother that lost her son in war, decides to visit Washington D.C. In this scene is shows her have a confrontation with a woman that believed that the war should be going on. At this point Lila snaps at her and tells her about how she lost her son in Iraq. After she has a short dispute with the woman it shows Lila crying very hard for a very long time. This appeals to the viewer’s Pathos, or emotions, very much because it is very difficult to imagine feeling the way that she is feeling and to have lost someone that is so close to you in a war that could possibly be going on for no reason. The reason that Michael Moore decided to put this story into his documentary is for that exact reason. He wants the audience to understand how greatly this war has affected so many people. Many people that have not lost somebody close to them have not felt that sense of sorrow that Lila Lipscomb felt after losing her son to war. Michael Moore is trying to persuade the audience that the “War on Terror” is not real and that it is only a way for President George W. Bush to look like he is trying to do something to prevent further terrorist attacks in the United States. The “War on Terror” is a highly controversial topic that has many people that absolutely believe
