Week 10 Reading Response “Their Hearts and Minds?”.

We are at war. David Rieff believes that we are at war, and in his piece "Their Hearts and Minds" He expands on the idea that the struggle that we face today against the extremists of the Middle East is fundamentally different than the past war where we tried to capture the hearts and minds of those we fought against. Reiff tell us that unlike our previous battle with communism, this current battle is much more difficult for America. We face an enemy which differs from us at a fundamental level, a level at which at its core reflects the difference between two societies, the modern and the anti-modern, as coined by Reiff. We see here that unlike our old war of communism, which was much like our American ideals, striving for equality and freedom as founding principles, all be it going about it in a completely different manner, this current enemy holds old traditions are relevant than ideological truths. Many of those who are now fighting against us have watched the "American dream" of democracy and communism fail to provide them with even the most basic of human needs, and firsthand experience is the true teacher in this war of ideas. The old regimes of the past have done little to help much of the muslim world, so again they turn to the one thing they all share in common, their religion. It is here where the line is drawn between east and west.