Is the United States winning the war on terror? That, as always is a tough question to answer outright. The answer is yes and no. Yes, the government has done a tremendous job of handling all new events since the 9/11 attack, and thus a major offensive on terrorism has been successful. Yet, at the same time, the country has a very long way to go if ever it wants to get as close as possible to ending this war on terrorism.
Our recent withdrawal of most American troops out of Afghanistan has marked a major shift in the terrorist activities within the country. At the height of the war in 2007, there were over 505 bases and 170,000 troops in Afghanistan. Now there are one 2 bases and about 505 troops in the country. (Thom , Michael & Robert, 2011) This withdrawal marks a trust for the Iraqi people. The US government feels that the country is capable of running a fair and non-extremist government, and so, “Iraq will be tested in the days ahead — by terrorism, and by those who would seek to divide.” (Thom , Michael & Robert, 2011)
The Iraqis will be closely watched by all governments, especially the U.S to see ifs they can be let to live alone of their own volition, and if so, they will be a predominantly free state. The hope is that they will be able to manage themselves and protect agains future terror takeovers. The removal of these American troops has given the jihadis less of a reason to attack, the country must be watched to ensure that the terror leaders do not take over the weakened government and try to resume a path to destruction. (Thom , Michael & Robert, 2011)
“Nearly 80 percent of al Qaeda’s members in Afghanistan were killed in the final months of 2001.” In addition, top leaders of these movements like Osama bin L...
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Robert, G. FBI, (2013). Annex of statistical information. Retrieved from Country Reports on Terrorism 2012 website: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/210288.pdf
Rod, L. (2007). America's struggle in the global war on terror. World Security Network , Retrieved from http://www.worldsecuritynetwork.com/Terrorism-United-States/rod-latham/Americas-Struggle-in-the-Global-War-on-Terror
Max, B. (2008). Are we winning the war on terror?. Commentary , Retrieved from http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/are-we-winning-the-war-on-terror/
Thom , S., Michael , S., & Robert, W. (2011). In baghdad, panetta leads uneasy moment of closure. New York Times, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/world/middleeast/panetta-in-baghdad-for-iraq-military-handover-ceremony.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&adxnnlx=1394431304-DFMchDpH/nigQuLFLh8j7A
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States was incredibly eager to strike back at the nations thought to be responsible for this horrific tragedy. These attacks were quickly attributed to the terrorist group al-Qa’ida, led by Osama bin Laden, and to the Taliban-run government of Afghanistan, which had provided sanctuary to al-Qa’ida. In response, Washington approved a covert plan led by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to directly attack those responsible in their Middle East safe haven. Initiated on 26 September 2001 with the approval of the warlords of the Afghan Northern Alliance, with whom the CIA had formed an intelligence liaison relationship, Operation Jawbreaker resulted in the fall of the Taliban regime, the killing and capture of a significant amount of al-Qa’ida leadership, and elimination of a terrorist safe haven by early December 2001. Moreover, the Taliban’s collapse denied al-Qa’ida a pseudo-nation-state partner, serving to reduce the organization’s sanctuary to areas residing along the Pakistani border. Operation Jawbreaker, one of the first post-9/11 covert operations carried out by the United States in support of its national security interests, had proved successful. Word of the operation’s swift success astounded those back in Washington; dubbed the CIA’s “finest hour,” it signified the first of many victories by deposing the Taliban’s control of Northern Afghanistan.
September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden decided to “wake the sleeping giant.” The US immediately sent SOF units and CIA officers to recon the area and meet with the Northern Alliance. The primary battle leading up to this operation was Tora Bora, which was absent of conventional forces. Up until this point, the war on terror was predominantly a Special Operations fight along with Air Force for overhead support.3 SOF and the Northern Alliance had already displaced Taliban forces out of many towns and villages in northern Afghanistan to gain control of key terrain. Key towns in northern Afghanistan including Taloqan, Konduz, Herat, and Mazar-e Sharif took only three weeks to clear.4 The SOF units were making huge impacts across the country calling in air strikes. At the same time the SOF units were diligently...
Jeffrey David Simon, The Terrorist Trap: America's Experience with Terrorism, 2nd ed. (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2001), 188-89.
Host: On September the 11th 2001, the notorious terror organisation known as Al-Qaeda struck at the very heart of the United States. The death count was approximately 3,000; a nation was left in panic. To this day, counterterrorism experts and historians alike regard the event surrounding 9/11 as a turning point in US foreign relations. Outraged and fearful of radical terrorism from the middle-east, President Bush declared that in 2001 that it was a matter of freedoms; that “our very freedom has come under attack”. In his eyes, America was simply targeted because of its democratic and western values (CNN News, 2001). In the 14 years following this pivotal declaration, an aggressive, pre-emptive approach to terrorism replaced the traditional
Retrieved from http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/article/view/268/540 White, J. R. (2014). Terrorism and homeland security (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
For approximately the past three decades, a terrorist group has come to plague the world with its activities (Gunaratna, 2002). This group is known as Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda, when translated means “The Base”. It is a terrorist organization that seeks to remove western influence from the Middle East and spread its radical Islamic views. Al Qaeda’s most prominent leader was Osama bin Laden, until his death during a raid upon his compound in Pakistan. The Al Qaeda’s motivation stems primarily from extreme and deeply rooted religious beliefs. Their most used method of attack is through suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices. This organization has also used chemical warfare and at this time is believed to still actively seek to utilize chemical and biological agents as means to battle.
Jackson, Richard. "War on Terrorism (United States History)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
Historical Significance: The September 11th, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, orchestrated by Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden, were the events that launched the U.S. War on Terrorism. Al-Qaeda’s attack on the United States was carried out by members of radicalized Islamic groups, whose objective was to spread jihad against the secular influence of the West. This tragic event provided the historical b...
Retrieved from Tures, J. (2009). The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Do Terrorists Win Elections? The Journal of the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Retrieved from http://www.hsaj.org/?fullarticle=5.3.5 White, J. a.
Sageman, Marc. "The Journal of International Security Affairs The Normality of Global Jihadi Terrorism 2005th ser. Spring.9 (2005). .
The war on terrorism in Afghanistan has been the longest war in the history of the United States of America, the war that nobody wanted is finally coming to an end. Ever since the September 11th attack on the twin tower in the heart of New York, the United States has led a 13 year long war on terrorism in the war-torn country, Afghanistan. The ending of the war is a major turning point in the history of America and Afghanistan. The ending of the war will be the greatest test on the people of Afghanistan to see how they will take their country into their own hand and decide its fate. The future of Afghanistan is that it will not be stable enough to run on its own due to the high level of poverty, high levels of corruption and limited influence from foreign countries after the departure of foreign troops and the presidential elections taking place in Afghanistan.
a comprehensive research service. Retrieved May 2, 2004, from Terrorist Attack by Al Qaeda: http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/033104.pdf. Gunaratna, R. (2005, September). Retrieved September 2005, from http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/parameters/articles/05spring/henzel.pdf. Gunaratna, R. (n.d.).
The abrupt end of decade long dominating regime in three weeks had created a political vacuum, that is evident in shifting coalitions and divisions among religious groups, ethnic groups, regional groups and even classes (Barnett et al. 2003, 25). US did not realize, moreover, the depth of the hostility between Kurds and Arabs, Sunnis and Shiites, and the members of different tribes and local religious groups. Furthermore, to deal with destruction in Iraq new plan was decided by the US. The plan was to pull out all troops and hand over the responsi...
8) ?After the Attack?The War on Terrorism? (2001). Online at: <http://www.monthlyreview.org/1101edit.htm>, consulted on March 29th, 2004.
Hutchinson, Steven, and Pat O’Malley. "A Crime–Terror Nexus? Thinking on Some of the Links between Terrorism and Criminality." Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 30.12 (2007): 1095-107.