AMERICAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY
HOW EFFECTIVE IS U.S. GOVERNMENT POLICY IN COUNTERING TERRORISM
VICTOR RAY HOLLIFIELD
TERRORISM AND COUNTERTERRORISM INTL450
10 DECEMBER 2017
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The United States of America has for centuries been confronted with many situations of terror. However, these situations had never before the 2001 September attack made Americans feel anxious about their safety. Most times that American security was threatened, the war was conventional, and the country’s military was always prepared for the attacks. However, the 2001 September terrorist attack awakened America to an age of unconventional terror and heightened anxiety. The aftermath of the attack forced the USA to change its view and tactics of dealing with terrorism drastically. Having identified the need to deal with terrorism from its roots, president’s Bush administration declared war on terror with the aim of bringing Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden to justice and to stop further attacks and existence of other terrorist groups. According to Urgoji (2017), the first tactic that the government used was to place economic and military sanctions on states that were perceived to harbor or fund terrorism.[footnoteRef:1] The other tactic the USA employed was increasing global surveillance and intelligence sharing among its allied states. The third policy initiated involved the USA invasion of Iraq targeting Al-Qaeda and Taliban camps. Some of the domestic policies
September 11th catalyzed a major revival in the American public’s concern for domestic national security, which had dropped off following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The attacks, which were the first on American soil since Pearl Harbor, prompted American leaders to respond with swift and ambitious military action. At this time, the public perceived security of American territory against “terrorism”–an intentionally broad and emotionally charged term– as its chief national interest. Following the attack, President Bush announced the launch of a “global war on terror”, an international effort to combat terrorist groups and the nations that harbor them–prompting him to establish the Department of Homeland Security later that year.
Our nation’s actions toward seeking justice and preventing any attacks of this scale from happening again came with quick notion, “Less than a week later (following the 9/11 attacks), Congress authorized the President to use military force ‘against those nations, organizations or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks,” (Yin). In essence, Congress gave the president the ability to use the military to seek out and detain terrorists responsible for 9/11, showing our country’s dedication to ending these attacks and those who initiated them for good. Overall, this tragic event revealed the need for stricter defense regulations against non-state actors (terrorists). For this reason, 9/11 was the catalyst for the beginning of the War on Terror and, consequently, the opening of Guantanamo Bay.
On September 11th 2001, the United States was hit with a devastating blow when four commercial airplanes were hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorist who deliberately crashed two of the planes into the World Trade Center complex, and a third plane into the Pentagon. The fourth plane, headed for Washington D.C., instead crashed in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost on this egregious day. In response, President George W. Bush waged the controversial “Global War on Terrorism” which turned out to be a self-inflicted wound for America, bleeding still today. Bush’s highly-criticized decision was inconsistent with the strategic principles of war.
On September 11, 2001, a series of terrorist attacks were directed for the United States by means of four hijacked planes. Two of which hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center, one hit the Pentagon, the headquarters of the Department of Defense, and the fourth crashed in a field near Pittsburg after it was meant to hit the White House. The terror spread in the United States and brought concern and fear to the citizens. The impact of these terrorist attacks caused serious and detrimental damages within the country, and their result on the people were enormous; insecurity, helplessness, and susceptibility spread. Especially after the release of a videotape in which Osama Bin Laden, head of Al-Qaeda, admitted that he was responsible for the terrorist attacks. Hence, President George W, Bush declared the “war on terror” against all terrorists in the Arab world, specifically Afghanistan and Iraq. In the following paper, we will be discussing how the war on terror was waged, its effects on the target countries, and how it was perceived by political thinkers, where some saw it as a conspiracy theory against the Arab countries, and others believed the USA was the victim.
On September 11, 2015 the greatest act of terror known was committed at the World Trade Center, as well as the Pentagon. The terrorist group known as al-Quaeda coordinated an attack by hijacking U.S. commercial flights and sending two planes into the World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon. Luckily, a fourth flight was retaken by the passengers and could not reach its target, yet sadly it crashed in a Pennsylvanian valley. This event broke the hearts of American citizens and citizens worldwide, and the actions coming after wards would have a huge impact on America.
On September 11 2001, an attack was made on United States. Four systematic terrorist attacks were pulled off by the group al-Qaeda simultaneously bringing down the World Trade Centre in New York and damaging the Pentagon in Washington D.C. As extensive and in depth as the cause for the attack may have been, September 11 is an event that has undoubtedly left its mark in American history. A turning point, as some would call it, of the political, social, and economic systems of the United States. Quickly following the terrorist attack on 9/11, President George W. Bush called for a “war against terrorism.” Instead, what truly occurred was an act of counter terrorism. After 9/11, the political system of America took a turn for the worst;
When the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred the United States responded in a manner which was seen as a traditional reaction to such an attack; it used its overwhelming superior military to invade the nation of Afghanistan. As Afghanistan was the operating base of the terrorist group responsible for the attacks, Al Qaeda, the invasion all but destroyed the group's operating capacity. But in response to the United States' apparent victory the terrorists have re-organized themselves into a looser confederation and turned to alternative methods of finance and operation. One could say that the success of the American military's answer to the September 11th attacks have created a new environment in which terrorists currently operate. This includes the use of the internet, unconventional alliances with international criminal organizations, as well the inception of the "lone wolf" terrorist. Faced with these new type of threats, the United States and its allies must find a way to identify and deal with them.
The events that occurred on September 11th, 2001, changed the United States and the rest of the world. President George W. Bush declared a war on terrorism on national television, during a joint session of Congress on September 20th, 2001. The President’s words echoed the cries of this country and during his speech he went step-by-step in his explanation of the events and actions moving forward. After explaining to the nation the details of the events that occurred on September 11th, he requested that American’s not hold all Muslims responsible for the cowardly acts and attacks. He acknowledged the country may face many challenges in finding and eliminating the elusive enemy. Turning our countries grief and anger in to a mission to rebuild and overcome was part of his plan.
As a direct consequence of September 11, a number of substantial challenges lie ahead in the area of counter-terrorism.. The most prominent of these is the changing nature of the terrorism phenomenon. In past years, when terrorism was largely the product of direct state sponsorship, policymakers were able to diminish prospects for the United States becoming a target using a combination of diplomatic and military instruments to deter potential state sponsors. Today, however, many terrorist organizations and individuals act independently from former and present state sponsors, shifting to other sources of support, including the development of transnational networks.
The world has been changed forever since the tragic attack on September 11, 2001. An observer described the atrocity by saying, "It just went 'bam,' like a bomb went off. It was like holy hell (CNN 1). " The new world will be different from what any American has known before. A new war has arisen, not against a foreign country or a major region of the world, but rather against a select group of people who have the capabilities to destroy the lives of so many. The war against terrorism which the United States is now forced to wage will not be an easily won battle. This war will not be fought solely on scattered battlefields in certain countries. It will instead permeate through every aspect of life as we
The Iraqi war was highly unjustified, the imposition of the American forces in the Iraqi soil was uncalled for, and it bred a lot of hostility between the Middle East and the United states that resulted in acts of terrorism against the United States. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people were killed including civilians
The Global War on Terror is a military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom and supported by other NATO members. It was originally against al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations with the purpose of eliminating them. This paper discusses how the Bush Administration handled the War on Terror as well as different aspects of it, including its terminology, its objectives, its military operations and criticism against it.
Although the debate about terrorism has especially sparked in the past decades, terrorism is not a new phenomenon and it has been used since the beginning of recorded history. Nevertheless, it is rather difficult to define terrorism. Depending on from which side one assesses terrorism it can be defined as either a tactic or a strategy, a crime or a holy duty, a heinousness or a justified reaction to oppression. Terrorism uses coercive power with many of the advantages of military force, but with only a fraction of the cost and due to their small size covert operations, it is difficult for governments to actually deter or defend against terrorist organizations. Terrorism has thus become one of the most threatening phenomena for citizens
Despite spending billions of dollars to fight endless wars, global terrorism rose 43% in 2013. As a result, terrorism has been brought to the fore of not only the American mentality, but the international mentality as well. Consequently, we must do a few things in order to maintain our sanity, dignity, power, and security.
The cost for suicide bombing is as low as $150 which can easily cause 12 deaths and a fear among the people which will last forever. Being on the receiving end of terrorism becomes more expensive is ever plausible sense. The world is aiming to counter terrorism with extremely expensive measures which is putting a strain on the worlds resources. The cost incurred on terrorism in the last 16 years has been close to $80 billion but despite the measures undertaken, terrorism is rising by a great measure every year. The only effective measure could be to either make all possible ways of attacking extremely difficult or cut off terrorist organizations from access to any resources whereas the world seems to be doing neither of the do. Increased diplomatic relations should be brought into focus to mutually shut down the terrorist organizations sponsored by states all together.