Paper Topic

In my paper, I'd like to explore the idea of affect and the concept of terrorism. After the events of 9/11, we labelled our stance against terrorist threats as the "War on Terror." How does this labeling effect our interpretation of affect? Is the war on terror actually, to quote Massumi, a "war with affect as one of its weapons?" I'm planning on really thinking through Tomkin's definition of fear/terror as affect and how that may translate to some of the decisions America has  made in a post 9/11 world. I'd also like to throw in some of the ideas that we discussed concerning mourning and melancholia to address the way that we approach the idea of war and terrorism. How does this epochal event and its labeling affect our collective psyche in dealing with the threat of terrorism?