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This paper uses narrative analysis, research on magical thinking and positioning theory to examine the narrative constructed by the Bush administration after 9/11/01 to position the invasion of Iraq as legitimate and necessary. It argues that the ‘War on Terror’ is the creation of a new myth, which absolves America from the responsibility of questioning its own policies, or reciprocity in our historical relationship with Iraq. It further explores the deep cultural tendencies within the American national identity that rose to the surface as the narrative itself emerged. These dualistic tendencies contributed to the uptake of the narrative and its eventual hegemonic positioning. This deterministic explanatory narrative pushed the country into an intractable conflict â€" a war now in its fifth year. For a brief moment after the events of 9/11/01, Americans seemed ready to reflect and engage in the critical thinking that would not strip the 9/11 narrative of its complexity and relational nature. As the narrative unfolded, however, character essentializing, impoverished moral themes and linear plots replaced complexity. In short, we came to understand ourselves as essentially, fundamentally, different from them. But are we? The second part of this study explores that question by examining the interface of the macro narrative with the micro narratives of individual soldiers caught in the story’s uptake. Specifically, the paper seeks to discern the location of any shifts in thinking regarding the presenting narrative and the presumption of its moral justification through interviews with veterans from the Iraq War. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]