War in the Age of Terrorism

War has changed dramatically in the Age of Terrorism. Much like in the Vietnam War, large-scale battles have been replaced with guerrilla warfare, in which American soldiers are fighting what is in many ways an unknown enemy. In Vietnam, the enemy often times presented themselves as civilians so as to confuse the Americans and cause paranoia. Similarly, in Zero Dark Thirty we can see quick and random attacks from those who seem like civilians but are actually terrorists. In the Age of Terrorism, the enemy can strike at basically any time. Battles do not take place on battlefields, but occur as fast and random skirmishes. Zero Dark Thirty gives us a lens into how much the CIA is tied into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Relatively small, militant Islamic groups such as Al-Qaeda perpetrated the War on Terror in large part. Because of this reality, the war on terror in the Middle East is much more about capturing those in charge; so as to break apart said militant groups. In Iraq and Afghanistan it is no the state fighting against the United States, rather it is these small militant terrorist groups fighting against the United States. War has become about stealth and strategy. As seen in Zero Dark Thirty, to capture someone like Osama Bin Laden much time, energy, and patience is required. The CIA planned and searched for many years in the hopes of capturing Bin Laden, but it was only after many meetings and planned out action plans that this end was achieved. Near the end of Zero Dark Thirty we see the infamous raid of Bin Laden’s hideout, where highly trained operatives were able to successfully find and kill Bin Laden, and this is an example of the covert and high-tech nature of modern war.