`` Questing For Monsters `` By John Mueller, An American Political Scientist Essay

The September 11th terrorist hijackings and attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon caught the United States largely by surprise. Once the dust had settled, and the shock and horror of such an unprecedented event had waned, the American public began to ask questions. Names such as Osama bin Laden, countries such as Afghanistan, and organizations such as Al-Qaeda were brought into the public's consciousness for the first time. Through newspapers, talkback radio and television programs the nation asked ‘why do they hate us so much?' Others, such as those in the government and public service, asked ‘what could we have done to have prevented this?' It is

Prior to the September 11, 2001 many Americans were unaware of the unrest that existed in many Middle Eastern countries such as Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan. Regrettably on this day, America came under attack by Al-Qaeda. "Al-Qaeda is an international Islamist extremist terrorist network founded in the late 1980s by Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a U.S. military operation on May 1, 2011, and others who were involved in the war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan”( "FAQ ABOUT 9/11).

September 11th, 2001 was one of the most tragic days in American history. On this day, an Islamic group called al-Qaeda launched numerous attacks on the United States and killed thousands of innocent americans. Although the cause of it all was al-Qaeda, people believe that it was in fact the U.S. government that attacked its own nation. However, evidence from live footage of the attacks show that their claims are indeed false.

There were a number of specific threats that American citizens had to endure during the prolonged Cold War, which lasted for the better part of 40 years. One of the most eminent of these threats was the fact that during much of this historical epoch U.S. citizens believed that the Soviet Union could

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, former President George W. Bush gave a speech that resonated with millions of people. “America was targeted for attack because we 're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world,” said Bush. This rhetoric became a popular opinion which still lasts today. However, it is misleading. The true events that produced the 9/11 attacks are not realized by most Americans. In reality, the September 11th terrorist attacks were a product of the history of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, particularly regarding the covert operations enacted during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

The al-Qaeda of today is a vastly different entity from the al-Qaeda formed by Osama bin Laden towards the end of the Afghan war against the Soviets in 1988 (Alexander and Swetnam, 2001: 37). The evolution, or as Burton (2006) has termed it “devolution”, of al-Qaeda, is partially linked to its terrorist acts, and, in particular, the counter-terrorist measures employed by governments to deal with them. This is most evident in reference to the single most expensive, in terms of life lost and economical impact, terrorist act in modern history, the destruction of the World Trade Centre, and the subsequent declaration of a “war on terror” by George Bush’s United States and its Allies. It is the actions in response to terrorist acts that has

Al-Qaeda has shaped the U.S. and its Anti-Western ideology that has corrupted the world. This terrorist organization was constructed by Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden’s main goal was to drive the United States armed forces out of Saudi Arabia and Somalia through the technique of violence. Members of Al-Qaeda issued fatwas indicating that the attacks were both proper and necessary. Al-Qaeda had a command and control structure which included a consultation council, allowing many heartbreaking attacks to form. The al-Qaeda organization used horrendously violent acts to induce terror during catastrophes, causing social climate of distrust and fear to emerge the American citizens.

The following work will attempt to draw conclusions about the United States of America’s responsibility for global tensions with the United Soviet Socialist Republics, during the 20th century, using war data. This piece will attempt to discover patterns and make observational conclusions on American foreign policy through direct war data. The Correlates of War Project will serve as the source for the majority of data on American wars and American military involvement. However, the Correlates of War Project (C.O.W. Project), only provides data on American military action after 1816. But, many armed conflicts preceding 1816, played a crucial role in shaping American foreign policy and identity. Yet, historians and scholars disagree on

United States President Barack Obama announced on May 1, 2011 that “Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the most devastating attack on American soil in modern times and the most hunted man in the world, was killed in a firefight with the United States forces in Pakistan.” The death of Osama bin Laden is certainly a major blow to the Al Qaeda terrorist network causing many of its leaders to go underground. Yet, the threat of Al Qaeda still exists and many intelligence officials believe it has only grown. Since September 11, 2001 the terrorist network expanded into a global terrorist organization with thousands of followers. And when examined critically, the death of Osama bin Laden disrupted the

The following work will attempt to draw conclusions on the United States of America’s responsibility for global tensions with the United Soviet Socialist Republics, during the 20th century, using war data. This piece will attempt to discover patterns and make observational conclusions on American foreign policy through direct war data. The Correlates of War Project will serve as the source for the majority of data on American wars and American military involvement. However, the Correlates of War Project (C.O.W. Project), only provides data on American military action after 1816. But, many armed conflicts preceding 1816, played a crucial role in shaping American foreign policy and identity. Yet, historians and scholars disagree on

Extremist are marred with many flaws built in disillusionment of reality outside of their own social, cultural and religious belief system. The failure that Al Qaeda had in advancing their ideology and strategy plans was due to this misguided and fanciful worldview that’s been generated through jealousy, ignorance and false facts (McCabe, 2010). With each loss throughout the 80’s and 90’s Al Qaeda was able to hold strong and reorganize their efforts because they had established an organization with functional divisions and leadership roles with a collective goal orientation. Their Flaw was that they were narrow minded as to the depth of the United States reach across the globe, a lack of understanding in their own governments, and the reality

Throughout the twenty-first century, the global balance of political, economic, and military power underwent several paradigm shifts. Each of these transitions defined the security policy of the United States and changed the course of America’s grand strategy for advancing its interests and defending its territory. At the beginning of the century, the United States tried to avoid being drawn into two major European military conflicts yet found itself emerging victorious and relatively composed and powerful. World War II effectively ended a multipolar world with several great powers and replaced it with a bipolar international environment with only two superpowers. For more than five decades, the United States faced only one true rival, the Soviet Union, which not only mirrored the United States in military power but also opposed it ideologically, creating a high risk of major power war. Throughout the Cold War, United States security policy had but two key

On September 11th 2001, America experienced the most catastrophic terrorist attack on its home soil in the history of the country. The men responsible for this event hailed from Middle Eastern countries and identified as Islamic extremists. Two years after the attack, former president George W. Bush, announced that the United States would declare war on the terrorism and on the nations in the Middle East that harbored the terrorists group Al-Qaeda. The men at the top of this organization have been taken out of power and Al-Qaeda’s influence and leaders have been silenced to a certain extent. However, the United States still faces resistance in this unstable region and a new terrorist organization, ISIS, has appeared and is showing the

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.

After the 9/11 attacks in the United States, the War on Terror was the strategy that the Bush government developed with the aim to defeat the organization that had accomplished this attack, Al Qaeda. The immediate response of the Bush Administration after the attack was the invasion of Afghanistan, with the goal of eliminating and expel the targets that had made the country their sanctuary. This group was presented as the main threat of the 21st century, and as the enemy at the global scale. However, the idea of the War on Terror did not employ only in the Afghan context, the Islamic terrorist threat was spread through nine principal theatres . A new phenomenon had