Public Speaking Essay 1

I have decided that this blog needs some therapy. So, as an experiment, I will begin to slap some of my college projects and essays up here. Hopefully they are satisfactory.

The following is an essay...ish thing... that I wrote for my public speaking class. I never got an official "score" for this, but my professor was pleased with my writing.

Lou Bruno

Public Speaking

Suspected US Missile Strike Sparks Controversy

by Josiah Teal

Last Saturday, a suspected Taliban stronghold in Pakistan was leveled to the ground, killing 27 and sparking an outcry throughout the Islamic world. The US are believed to be responsible for the attack, which came mere days after 8 Taliban rebels from inside Pakistan stormed an official building in Kabul Afghanistan killing 20 people.

Although Pakistan is claiming to be fighting a war against these extremists inside its borders, warnings are being given to the US to stay out of Pakistan’s business. They also claim that the suspected militants killed in Saturdays attack were mostly civilians. I am of the opinion that many times militants will dress like civilians so that when they are killed, people will say that the US is killing innocent people, causing a further rally for support in the fight against the West. In the war that Israel fought with the Hamas, militants used human shield tactics as well as hiding AK-47’s beneath their clothing to appear as civilians.

I am not claiming that this is the case with the Pakistani missile strike, but I will not rule out the possibility. Islamic guerrilla warfare has been known to involve clever deception to achieve goals.

Despite the claim that many victims of Saturdays attacks were civilians, some officials also believe that many were also militants. These officials however, were not speaking with permission from the Pakistani government.

The missile strikes are supposed to fuel extremism throughout the Muslim and Middle Eastern world. The US however, brushes off this claim without much thought. In my opinion, many of these militants will use any excuse they can in becoming more violent towards the US and the western world.

I am also of the opinion that the US is sloppy with attacks such as this; when Israel carries out these types of attacks throughout the world, they are so utterly embarrassing for the other party that they will not even make the news. Israel once took out an Iranian Uranium enrichment facility inside Syria guarded by the newest Russian-made missile defense network with such precision that it shocked everyone involved. The event was swept under the rug because it was too embarrassing for Iran, and too scary for Russia. Israel carries out attacks like this with regularity, yet they never make the headlines. Maybe we should take notes?

To sum it up, US attacks spark controversy. Anytime America defends herself it will spark controversy. Terrorists use anything they can to gain support. This includes surrounding their facilities with civilians. America should learn how to perform controversial militaristic actions from Israel, because they never get caught.