War on Terror and Fear after 9-11 - Research Paper Example

? War on Terror: The Fear the American People Have Lived with After 9/11 September 11, 2001 represents a in history that none of our contemporaries will forget. This day is the day when American society, if not the Western world, changed completely and was forced to face the threat of terrorism. After September 11, 2001, the U.S. government learned that Osama Bin Laden was tied to the terrorist attacks on America. This resulted in the subsequent War on Afghanistan. The aim was to bring Bin Laden out of hiding, democratize the region, and make America safe against the threat of terror. Within this policy included a variety of new challenges. This essay examines these challenges including the effect of the War in Iraq and Afghanistan on our country, the Anthrax threat and its real threat, the fear that the American people has lived with after 9/11, and the goal’s for the Obama administration in terms of America’s security. One of the main justifications of the United States involvement in Afghanistan is the belief that Al Qaeda’s attack on the United States violated the "just war" theory. The just war theory explains that only government led groups can lead an attack, but they must do so for a just cause. It’s been said that Al Qaeda broke the just war theory because they attacked civilians with no cause. Furthermore, as indicated by Rashid (2009), the attack on the Pentagon, one could argue, was a government driven attack. The subsequent war represents the American response to the threat. There is no doubt that the American response had its economic and strategic interests, but the essential reason for the America’s actions following September 11 has been indicated by Bennis (2009) to be for the defense of freedom. Supporters of the war in Afghanistan believe in the progress that can be made in defending freedom and democracy anywhere in the world. Indeed, freedom became after September 11 an all-purpose explanation for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The wars conducted by the United States were justified as a response to the terrorist attacks which aimed the basic liberties of the American society. Rashid (2009) indicates that freedom was soon perceived as an American good that must be promoted everywhere and the United States was seen as having the moral duty of promoting democracy throughout the world. While it is yet to be seen if the attempted change in the political system of Afghanistan represents progress, supporters of the war believe that democracy in the Middle East will eventually lead to progress. Even as the war policy in Afghanistan was initially justified as a means of national security, the United States’ longevity and continued presence many argue has proved to be problematic. 2,463 Americans. Almost 18,000 military personnel have been wounded during the Indeed, as early as 2002 Time reported that, “Officials estimate that, altogether, more than 3,500 al-Qaeda operatives and their Pakistani comrades are hunkered down in the tribal belt along the Afghan border and in the sprawling cities of Karachi and Peshawar, sheltered by homegrown extremists” (Kohat 2002, pg. 23). In these regards, the continued efforts of the United States military (and the substantial tax dollars that support it) have gone to fight a losing battle. Other opponents to the Afghanistan policy decisions deride the structural possibility of achieving policy aims. For instance, it’s argued that the “more ground the United States is able to make in defeating terrorist organizations in Afghanistan, the more we are simply moving to the surrounding regions” (Ginsberg and Weir 2008, pg. 111). Other perspectives contend that America has used freedom and democracy as being universally desirable and US being their protector, disregarding the fact that perhaps other nations might have a different view of what freedom is. It’s been indicated that a primary element was the “invocation of freedom as an American rallying cry” (Mayer 2008, pg. 34). Americans imagine themselves as being guardians of freedom in an oppressive world has roots in the American Revolution and the Civil War. It is a historical perspective of Americans of themselves, so there is little surprise that the United States identified itself after the attacks of September 11 as the guardian of freedom and democracy everywhere in the world. While this belief has noble roots, it is argued that this is an ethnocentric view of the world and is one of the central reasons the American policy in the Middle East has been ineffective. In the aftermath of the September 11th attacks the nation faced a great amount of panic. The panic manifest itself in a variety of contexts. Immediately following the attacks, Jones (2010) indicates then President Bush’s approval rating soared to an unprecedented 90%. The country also offered support through generous donations to relief efforts. While there was a modicum of positive reliefs efforts, there was also an outpouring of hate crimes that occurred in response to the terrorist attacks. Throughout the nation Muslims and individuals of Middle Eastern descent increasingly found themselves the focus of prejudice. Another root causes of panic can be traced back to Anthrax attacks. Jones (2010) indicates that the Anthrax attacks began occurring a week after the 9/11 attacks and constituted one of the largest FBI investigations in recent years. Indeed, it’s been indicated that The Amerithrax Task Force—which consisted of roughly 25 to 30 full-time investigators from the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and other law enforcement agencies, as well as federal prosecutors from the District of Columbia and the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section—expended hundreds of thousands of investigator work hours on this case. Their efforts involved more than 10,000 witness interviews on six different continents, the execution of 80 searches, and the recovery of more than 6,000 items of potential evidence during the course of the investigation (‘Anthrax Investigation’). These figures represent the substantial impact and threat the American people felt in response to these attacks following the 9/11 hijackings. The attacks themselves came in two waves, with the first wave being sent in letters to major media outlets. The second wave of letters was sent a number of weeks later to assorted Senators and politicians. While it was immediately believed that the Anthrax was a result of Al Qaeda attacks, two Americans later came to be under heavy suspicion. Ultimately, the attacks are symbolic of the significant fear the American public felt during this period. With the recent assassination of Osama Bin Laden, American policy in Afghanistan has reached a significant crossroads. Indeed, a recent report in the Los Angeles times indicated that, “President Obama plans to announce a troop reduction in Afghanistan that Pentagon and other administration officials say is expected to bring home about 10,000 personnel by the end of the year” (Cloud 2011). In these regards, it appears that with the death of Osama Bin Laden the current political climate has shifted away from the fierce mission that has allowed war hawks to continue their pursuit of American policy in Afghanistan. Current and future decisions will have to consider the nature of continuing pursuit of the establishment of an Afghan democracy or to re-shift this grand focus to goals that are more attainable. To some extent it’s argued that “the Obama administration has gotten away from earlier Bush approaches to Afghanistan, as the war on terror moniker has been disregarded for more realistic understandings of the conflict” (‘Obama and the Afghanistan Dilemma’). Indeed, it’s been indicated that we need to take a fundamental look at our efforts to prevent extremism...The idea of a "war on terror" gave the impression of a unified, transnational enemy, embodied in the figure of Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaida. The reality is that the motivations and identities of terrorist groups are disparate. Lashkar-e-Taiba has roots in Pakistan and says its cause is Kashmir. Hezbollah says it stands for resistance to occupation of the Golan Heights (Millband 2009). In these regards, current approaches to United States security have taken on new concerns and forms of action. Another future concern that the Obama administration will need to consider is the upcoming presidential election. The issue of American policy in Afghanistan has become a major issue considered by Republican opponents who have increasingly shown support for troop removal. Ultimately, the Obama administration will need to consider following the course of the previous few years, or capitulate to outside pressure and reshape American policy in Afghanistan. In conclusion, this essay has considered the fear the United States felt in response to the September 11th attacks. In these regards, background information has been considered as Americans found themselves after the attacks of September 11 deeply hurt and needing revenge against the ones that hurt their nation. This fear was further promoted through waves of Anthrax attacks that occurred after the plane hijackings. The essay considered a variety issues related to the policy in Afghanistan. Among these include arguments that the capture of the terrorists that planned the attacks on 9/11 was inefficient and so has the attempts been to democratize Afghanistan. In addition the current and potential future policy considerations are examined. Ultimately it’s a comprehensive portrait of the United States response to the 9/11 attacks is presented. References ‘Anthrax Investigation’ FBI. http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/anthrax- amerithrax/amerithrax-investigation Bennis, Phyllis. (2009) "Changing the Discourse: First Step Toward Changing the Policy". http://www.fpif.org/articles/changing_the_discourse_first_step_toward_changing _the_policy Cloud, David. (2011) Obama expected to announce major Afghan drawdown. LA Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-withdrawal- 20110621,0,6964197.story Ginsberg, Lowi, and Weir. (2008) We the People: An Introduction to American Politics. New York: Norton & Company. Jones, S. (2010). In the graveyard of empires: America's war in Afghanistan. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Kohat, T. (2002, July 22). ‘Al-qaeda's new hideouts’ . Time, 23. Mayer, Jane. (2008) The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals. Anchor Press. Millband, David (2009). ‘War on Terror’ Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/15/david-miliband-war-terror "Obama and the Afghanistan Dilemma", BBC World News, June 23, 2011 Rashid, Ahmed. (2009) Descent into Chaos: The U.S. and the Disaster in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. New York: Penguin. Read More