Preview

The History of Terrorism

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
954 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The History of Terrorism
Although the United States foreign policy concerning terrorism has changed and results can be seen, it is often agreed upon by politicians and citizens alike that terrorism, especially Islamic terrorism, is still a major threat to the United States. However, after the most successful terrorist attack on American soil was carried out on September 11th, 2001 the United States strayed away from the ideals of our founding fathers and has become much more of an aggressor. I believe that many of the flaws with our current policy to fight and win the war on terror lies with moving away from the United States of America’s traditionally isolationist policies. Our current policy is in stark contrast to President George Washington’s belief which he stated in his farewell address in 1796: “The great rule of conduct for [The United States of America] in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible” (Avalon Project). To defeat terrorism, the United States must move back to ideals that kept us safe and free for so long by reestablishing moral authority and the ideological appeal of the American way rather than by force with our military. The attacks against innocent civilians on September 11th, 2001 were a clear act of terror and those responsible needed to be brought to justice. I believe that the use of Military force to destroy al Qaeda was just and tracking them to Afghanistan was necessary. Al Qaeda’s Osama Bin Laden orchestrated slaughter of innocent men as well as women, children, the elderly, and the ill was even condemned by fellow jihadist’s including the co-founder of al Qaeda, Dr Fadl. Dr Fadl claims the attacks on September 11th were immoral and goes on to blame Osama Bin Laden for “every drop of blood” spilled in Afghanistan and Iraq (Islamopediaonline.org). Although it is necessary to bring justice to terrorists and terrorist organizations such as Osama Bin Laden and al


Cited: "Al-Qaeda Founder Condemns Bin Laden." Islamopedia Online. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. . Kaufman, Leon, and Joseph W. Carlson. "An Evaluation of Airport X-ray Backscatter Units Based on Image Characteristics." Www.springerlink.com. Springer Science+Business Media, 26 Nov. 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. . "Thomas Jefferson: First Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. . United States of America. Department of Defense. Defense Science Board. Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Strategic Communication. By William Schneider and Vincent Vitto. Print. "Washington 's Farewell Address 1796." Avalon Project. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. .

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    9/11 Summary

    • 2006 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Two planes were slammed in the twin towers killing 3,000 people and injuring 6,000. Another plane plunged in the Pentagon killing 186 people, the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after the passengers on the plane charged the hijackers which caused them to lose control of the plane, in result everyone on board died. Iraq felt the United States got what they deserved because of past and present U.S. policies in the Middle East. Palestinians praised the terrorist attacks against Americans because U.S. continuing support for Israel and its military presence in Saudi Arabia. However the policies towards the Middle East do not justify the 9/11 attacks by the Al Qaeda network. The attack was acted out of frustration by people who failed to confront the oppressive governments internally in their dual struggle. President George W. Bush confronted Al Qaeda and demanded that Afghanistan turn Bin Laden over to the U.S. After Taliban failed to meet the demand, the U.S. provided military assistance to the Northern Alliance. In March troops were deployed in the land and the act was called “war against global terrorism. The expenses of these attacks were out of control. The international community pledged 1.8 billion in 2002 to help rebuild Afghanistan and another 2.7 billion to come in subsequent years. The U.S. continued to escalate the war even after Taliban power had been removed and the money to rebuild their country was not handed over. The Taliban has shown that they are going to fight until the end and for America, this is Vietnam being…

    • 2006 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    9/11 Foreign Policy

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages

    It is common today that the United States foreign policy has been inspiring to a lot of nations worldwide. It is argued by a lot of political scholars that the 9/11 terrorist attack actually shaped the United States foreign policy. Even though it is debatable to if the 9/11 attack did shape the United States foreign policy and how it did that can be discovered at the end of this essay. This will be proven by analysing a theoretical view of terrorism and a little background of what happened in September 11, 2001 and the United States foreign policy before the 9/11 attack followed by policies like the Bush doctrine, Obama doctrine and also looking at their criticisms.…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chapter three in aproches to peace helps us better understand terrorism. Many of us have a skewed perception on what we believe terrorism is. This chapter is trying to get us out of the mind set of thinking that only terrious are Muslims from the middle east. The chapter focus on why people from the middle east do the unthink able. How we may see them as terrioris. But other see them as there freedom fighters. That we cant count the United State out of the equation of being terrious, because the United States government is very much so part of the problem. We may try to justify are wrong doing but it still doesn't help. United has inflicted just as much pain to people around the world. Chapter three focuses on terrorism between the United States…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    September 11th, 2001 has changed and defined American foreign policy for the past two decades. Enemies of the United States are no longer only other nations, but also terrorist groups, which operate transnationally and even between continents. On the night of September 11th, in the aftermath of the deadliest terror attack the world has seen, former President George W. Bush and his War Cabinet officially declared the start of the “War on Terror”. Bush would say on September 19th, 2001,…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    4. "Abraham Lincoln: First Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and hundreds more. 02 Feb. 2013 <http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres31.html>.…

    • 1398 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    9/11 Justification

    • 1434 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The terrorist attacks of 11th September 2001 and the interventional events of the ‘War on Terror’ that followed are among the most controversial in U.S. political and moral history. An abyss of opinions involving the U.S. government, American public, responsible terrorists, historians, human rights activists and notable heads of intelligence agencies and the criminal justice system amalgamate to create a labyrinth of varied perspectives towards both the presumed causes of 9/11 and whether the U.S. government’s War on Terror intervention was justified.…

    • 1434 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Starting on September 11, 2001, the War on Terror has been waged for many years and has included many groups of people. On September 11, 2001, hijacked planes crashed in to the World Trade Center in New York City. Known as the Twin Towers, the World Trade Center is symbolic of the United State’s “economic power and military might” (Rahman). Immediately following the attacks, President Bush named Osama Bin Laden at fault and declared the War Against Terrorism. United States Congress had allocated billions of dollars and authorized President Bush to take any measures necessary (Moore). This war, however, is different from a typical war. President Bush told people to “go about their daily lives” unlike during World War II where 90% of Americans helped the war effort in some way. The war on terror is a war “without boundaries…directed against multiple enemies, not just one adversary” (Raz). The United States government has defined the war on terrorism against those who are declared “terrorists” or anyone accused of “harboring terrorists” (Rahman).…

    • 2016 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    War, Just or Not?

    • 2986 Words
    • 12 Pages

    I believe two moral judgments can be made about the present "war": The September 11 attack constitutes a crime against humanity and cannot be justified, and the bombing of Afghanistan is also a crime, which cannot be justified.…

    • 2986 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Torturing Prisons

    • 1727 Words
    • 7 Pages

    "Torturing Prisoners in the War on Terror Is Never Justified."At Issue: How Should the United States Treat Prisoners in the War on Terror?. Lauri S. Friedman. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale.…

    • 1727 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since September 11, 2001, homegrown terrorism has evolved into a major issue in cotemporary debates about the terrorist…

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Terrorism and counterterrorism are reasonably accredited areas to study because of all of the terrorism in the world (Roberts 2014). Terrorism can be examined from many different perspectives. To build on that point terrorism can be studied from a sociological perspective. Turk (2004) argues that sociology is a social construction. When society labels certain events as terrorism the government will begin to apply these labels (Turk 2004). If a powerful government, like the United States of America, starts to use labels like ‘terrorism’ or ‘terrorist,’ the it will have more influence on society to use these words; however, as a juxtaposition, if a less powerful government, like Luxembourg, labels people as terrorists then it will not have as…

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    It has only been a little more than a decade since the grave events of September 11, 2001, a tragic day forever marked in America’s history. The attack on the World Trade Center was a pivotal occasion that began the crisis that is the United State’s moral and political ambiguity of the 21st century. This has been a decade of vague and changing policy when looking at international affairs. From the power change in the Pentagon to the transition of circumstances across the globe, the years following the 9/11 attacks have emphasized the point of stance that Jack Snyder has taken in his “One World, Rival Theories.” Black and white cease to exist when foreign policy ideologies are put to practice; the theories are bent and blended to suit the present…

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    We are socialized right from the beginning. Socialization is the modification of an individual’s behavior to conform with the demands of social life. Once we are born, our society and culture already helps define certain aspects of ourselves. As we grow older, we assimilate more of the culture into our own identity. During this process, we also learn of moral values, what is right and wrong or how an action could only be appropriate in a certain setting. If we all learn from the start what is right or wrong as well-socialized people in society, how is it that there are still people who commit acts of terror? When we interact with people in society, we are constantly adding new layers to our own personality and thought to conform with society and their norms. Since we are used to trying to fit in to our society and culture through interaction, it is easy to adapt to new situations where we may have to commit horrific acts as we conform to…

    • 2008 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Origin of Terrorism

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Terrorism involves activities such as assassinations, bombings, random killings, hijackings, and skyjackings. It is used for political, not military, purposes, and by groups too weak to mount open assaults. Terrorism reaches back to ancient Greece and has occurred throughout history. In the 20th cent. acts of terrorism have been associated with the Italian Red Brigades, the Irish Republican Army, the Palestine Liberation Organization, Peru 's Shining Path, and the Weathermen among many groups. It is a modern tool of the alienated and its psychological impact on the public has increased because of extensive coverage by the media. Governments find terrorism difficult to prevent; international agreements to tighten borders or return terrorists for trial may offer some deterrence. In 1999 the UN Security Council unanimously called for better international cooperation in fighting terrorism and asked governments not to aid terrorists.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A fundamental issue established at the outset of this course is the fact that becoming involved in terrorist activities is a process, where numerous factors can affect the mindset and actions of an individual. We have covered many of these issues and influences, so concerning this matter, relay what you feel are those psychological and behavioral factors that have the greatest impact on the radicalization of an individual. Conversely, what efforts do you feel might be effective in countering them in a proactive manner?…

    • 1521 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays