War on Terror Research Paper

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War and Peace: The War on Terror

The first time "war on terror" was used was in the aftermath of the infamous 9/11 al Qaeda attack. Even though this phrase has been used severally in passing to describe a wide variety of aims, policy guidelines and actions, the major moves made specifically under the direct explanation of the phrase is much more complex than just words. There are two major goals of the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, which was established in 2006. The short-term aim of this strategy is to bring about a quick end to the al Qaeda group while its long-term aim is to create a worldwide intolerance for any form of terrorist groups and their affiliates. The objective of this study is to determine if the aims of this strategy and other programs on the front line on the war on terror has been achieved. To do this, we have to answer a basic question first; what exactly does the War on Terror mean? Who are the opposition? Can we emerge victorious? The resources explored to answer these questions were all gotten by searching through the EBSCOhost archives as well as Google Scholar. The search keywords used were "War on terror" as well as "American war on terror". Some of the resources used are; official documents, reports, book reviews, research documents, articles and press releases. This study applies the format of the UK's Research Assessment Exercise. Right from time, the basic and crucial aim of the American government was the total safety of the people and the country. Concerning the war on terror, President Bush's government set its targets on destroying al-Qaeda and its brother terrorist associations as well as establishing democratic governments, which would reduce their operating freedom. Terrorism is not a gigantic foe and it is not entirely focused on bringing down America. It is simply a radical Islamic group, its supporters and sympathizers as well as countries in favour of its activities. In spite of the massive moves towards bringing an end to terror, research has clearly revealed that the major aims of this haven't been met and the situation has even exacerbated. This inability on the part of the US to meet its aims on this war could be linked to its actions and rules which has spurred more and more people to be sympathetic with the terror organizations and hence made them stronger. If the United States wants to put a quick end to this, it is crucial that it makes the citizens understand the workings of democracy, work together with current Middle Eastern leaders with the aim of educating their people on liberty and democracy and find a way of doing this in alignment with the regions' religious beliefs.

Part One: Introduction

1. Background- Give a historical information for the reader

On the 23rd August, 1996, Osama bin Laden publicly declared war against the United States via an Islamic degree (fatwa). The major difference between this war and the previous ones the US has been involved in is that the enemy in this case had solely religion as their motive. Almost two years later, precisely the 22nd February, 1998, Osama made another fatwa this time enjoining every Muslim to take up arms and murder every civilian and military American and their friends. In August, 1998, al-Qaeda fighters concurrently attacked the American embassies located in Kenya and Tanzania where they killed over 200 people and injured several others. These fighters believed that by their actions, they were starting off a jihad to protect their faith. They also has the notion that America were the initial aggressors in this war and had landed the first blow several years before the September 11 retaliation where hijacked planes were crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. America reacted to this attack by declaring war against al-Qaeda and terrorism generally. Early February, 2003, the American government led by President Bush released the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism. This strategy was modified in September 2006.

2. What is it?

The first time "war on terror" was used was in the aftermath of the infamous 9/11 al Qaeda attack. On September 20, 2001, while addressing the joint house of Congress, President Bush stated, "Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.

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"[footnoteRef:1] From that moment, the phrase "war on terror" was adopted by the public, the media and even the government itself and represented the counter-strategies that will be put in place by the Bush's administration as well as the new sector of military activities and intelligence gathering established via newly developed anti-terror laws in the country. [1: Richard Ashby Wilson, ed. Human rights in the 'war on terror'. 1]

Even though this phrase has been used severally in passing to describe a wide variety of aims, policy guidelines and actions, the major moves made specifically under the direct explanation of the phrase is much more complex than just words. Even though the basic aims of the war on terror has been pursued vigorously, several years later, the story of the war is filled with controversial accounts and unconfirmed immoral actions. With these accounts of torture and other illegal acts becoming commonplace these days, there has been a growing agitation for accountability which can no longer be ignored.

3. Describe the causes or events

The 9/11 attacks on America's Pentagon and World Trade Center didn't garner reactions from the United States alone. The attacks instead, caused a global awakening to the menace of terrorism and concerted "war on terror" was launched with the United States in the forefront. This war has involved several battles in Middle Eastern countries like Iraq and Afghanistan and thousands have lost their lives as a result of this[footnoteRef:2]. [2: Amy Belasco, Cost of Iraq..., 23]

The 2006 strategy called the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism focuses on the unique set of problems brought about by terrorism and aims to solve them via two strategic actions. The short-term action involves a total annihilation of al-Qaeda. On this, the United States and its allies in this war has been quite successful in executing and imprisoning al-Qaeda leaders and soldiers and have run the group underground. Sadly, this terrorist organization bears certain similarities to the mythical Hydra as a successful execution of a member of the network only leads to two others taking up his/her place. Therefore, the long-term aim of the U.S. strategy is to foster an intolerant global atmosphere for terrorism and its activities[footnoteRef:3]. The identified path to take in realising these goals is to encourage democracy in Islamic nations. This move will bring about true progressive leaders rising to power and supplying the basic needs to the millions of Muslims who have boldly stood up against the acts of these terrorists but still want improved standards of living for themselves and their households. [3: Erik W. Goepner, Measuring the effectiveness of America's war on terror. 107]

For over two years immediately after 9/11, al-Qaeda has been hit on all sides, leaders and followers and sympathizers alike. Apart from the overthrow of the Taliban and numerous killings and imprisonments globally, a number of al-Qaeda leaders were arrested, their finances frozen and several further attacks stopped[footnoteRef:4]. Despite these, al-Qaeda were still able to meet and strategize and sometimes successfully carry out a number of attacks which showed an higher level of sophistication at their mercy compared to what they had before 9/11. For this reason, it would be quite erroneous and misleading for the U.S. and its allies to claim the upper hand in the war against terror especially when considering the rise of the Islamic State and the other occurrences in the Middle East over sixteen years after 9/11. [4: Ibid]

Problem Statement and the Significance of the Research

President Bush and his officers made people understand that the war on terror was simply aimed at bringing those who coordinated and carried out the 9/11 attacks to justice. Despite this, this war has met with several setbacks over time. Some of these includes the recall of the joint anti-terror forces such as the British as well as the notion that the war, instead of reducing terrorist activity is instead serving as an incentive for more people to join their ranks. Therefore, this research, which analyses just how far the war on terror has come, gives further knowledge on the details of the matter and also provides advice on the best way to go about it so as to achieve its basic goals of reducing or outright eliminating terrorism.

1. Purpose of the Study

The major aim of the war on terror is to bring an end to all form of terror activities with emphasis on the.....

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