NICK REYNOLDS

1.) I have only learned little bits and peices about the Middle East in certain classes that I have taken like Geography, Social Studies and a little bit in holocaust. I learned that one of the reasons why we went to war in the middle east is because of the oil they have in Iraq. I also learned that after 9/11 Osama Bin Laden became number one of the FBI's most wanted. But most of the other stuff that I know is only things I have been told by my mom, brother or seen on the news.

2.) I have heard a lot of dispute over weather we should still be in Iraq fighting or why we should not. I never really payed much attention but I see everyday on the news the people who have died or their vehicles been blown up by road side bombs. I've heard people saying that we're never going to get out of the middle east because we are after Osama Bin Laden. My mom told me that Osama Bin Laden is hiding in the mountains in Afghanistan and why we can't just go in there looking for him. I beleive she told me it's because were not aloud in Afghanistan, and even if we were, the mountains are huge, and the Afghanistan people would probally protect Osama Bin Laden anyways. She also said that there are lots and lots of tunnels that go through the mountains and so you would probally never find him if you tried. I also learned that when we went to Iraq, we caught the dictator Saddam Hussein and the people of Iraq made a public hanging of Hussein. I also remember something on the news of this man who got a video of the hanging with his cell phone. They were interrogating him weather he took the video for the news media or not. But all I knew was that we were not aloud to film the hanging.

3.) I beleive terrorism is an act of violence towards ones own goverment and country. Things like trying to form a group to overthrow their country's goverment or who are against their own country and cause havoc towards their country. I also beleive terrorism doesn't always have to be an act of violence like shootings and bombs against one's country. I think it can also be in polotics if they're is a political group attempting to overthrow the goverment through polotics. Other than that I cant really explain my view on terrorism better than that.

4.) The Middle East I think has had a lot of terrorism acts because of all the different religious groups there, there are the Jews, Muslims, Israelies, Palestinians, and many other different other religious groups. I think each religious group is trying to bring the middle east under one religion, therefore there has been a lot of conflict between them. I am also aware of the problem between the Israelies and the Palestinians, and their long history of who should control Israel, and that also the christians think that they should control Israel, so I think Israel is one of the most dangerous places to be, and is the sole center for where one might see and call it terrorism.