Politics, War and Terrorism

The events that occurred in the US on September 11, 2009 left the whole world in shock. The attacks in Washington, DC and New York were possibly the worst that the US had ever experience in a long time. These terrorists have succeeded in threatening the world security and also affected the relations between the countries they come from and the world. It is without a doubt that we are at a very pivotal point in history regarding terrorism. The reaction of the then president of the US George Bush was to use military force against the terrorists. Hardly twelve hours after the attack, had the president declared war on Afghanistan which is the country of origin of the terrorists. The president assured the citizens the US government will not rest until they find those responsible for the attack (Jackson, 2005).

Many other citizens as well as other countries supported the use of military force in fighting this war against terror. According to Arnove & Zinn (2002) and Gale, Radu & Sicherman (2009), the reason why these people use military force is because of the pain and anguish they feel and that is why they would support any means of capturing and punishment of these terrorists. However it is important not to let the immediate emotion that makes us seek revenge. The government should stop and answer a number of questions before deciding the right way to deal with this problem. If the war against terror is to be won, then the United States should go back to the drawing board to establish the facts relating to the terrorist attacks. The questions asked should be; who is responsible for this attacks? What are the motives for the attack? And most significantly, what is the best approach in dealing with this issue? Once these questions are answered then, this would be the first step towards fighting the war on terror.

The constant expenditure of millions of dollars on the military in a year has not provided security for the people of the United States against terrorism. As explored by Arnove & Zinn (2002), if the US wants to win the war against terror, then they should improve security checks to provide maximum security for their citizens. At the same time they should stop dominating the economy of other countries, an overruling military power and completely change its posture in the world. Historical data has shown that the continuous involvement of the US in international situations could be a reason why terrorists specifically target them. According to Gardner (2005) the expansion of military bases in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan is bound to cause conflict. What the government has continued to offer as solution to this problem has not yielded any results. It is going to be very hard for the US to win the war against terror if other strategies are not employed.

Arnove & Zinn (2002) support the idea that something has to be done though this does not involve the use of force. Using the same tactics of bombing used by the terrorist is not the most intelligent way to combat this problem. The reason that people result to war is because they can not resolve conflict any other way. However, it is vital to note that the use of dialogue is not going to be a reasonable solution; it might as well be compared to prayer or wishful thinking.

The bombing of Afghanistan as a way for the United Sates to stamp their authority is doing a great harm to the innocent citizens. The US government claims that not that many people are killed, but this is not true because the government does not care about the number of people that die as long as they achieve their ultimate goal. The government also works hand in hand with the press to make sure that the number of civilians reported dead is filtered to the minimum (Hess, Kalb & Shoreinstein, 2003). Most civilians in Afghanistan have escaped their country to live as refugees in other neighbouring countries where they are under constant attack and dying of starvation.

Reacting to terrorism by attacking other people is not ethical and furthermore, it is not going to be a solution. The US government is defending their approach saying that the bombing of Afghanistan is a way of destroying the training camps for terrorists. What the government has not realized is that the setting up of a training camp is a very easy thing. The terrorists can easily relocate to different places. The young men and women who join these training camps do so voluntarily and are given maximum protection by the governments where they are located. Finding them and destroying their training camp is a definitely a challenge for the United States military (Arnove & Zinn, 2002).

After the September 11 bombing of the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre, the then president of the United States claimed that the reason why these terrorists are out to get them was because they were against the democracy and the freedoms prevailing in the United States. This statement was only meant to get other countries to support the decision made by the president and the US government to forcefully attack Afghanistan. However, most people in the Middle East claim that the attack of the United States is not because of what happens internally, but what the country does externally. What angers the terrorists is the military bases that are continuously being expanded in these countries, the enormous military and economic support the US gives to countries that are at war with Iraq and the sanctions that have been given to most countries in the Middle East. According to Arnove & Zinn (2002), these are among the troubles that have caused pain and anguish to most people and they are the reasons that they are seeking revenge through terrorist acts and not because they are against the democracy and freedoms in the United States.

According to Arnove & Zinn (2002) and Jackson (2005) many have questioned the motives of the United States in their massive invasion of Iraq and other countries in the Middle East. Reflecting back on the era of the Second World War, the United States government decided that it was going to be the major superpower controlling oil resources in the Middle East. This was because it emerged as a winner in the war defeating France and England who initially had control over the Middle East. All the military invasions made by US government can be traced back to the business of oil in the Middle East. The government does not send troops in Saudi Arabia to protect the civilians by preserving democratic policies. The invasion is about money, the protection of countries that are allied to the US as well as fighting those who are not and the fight to be the controllers of oil prices in the world. Oil is the most important commodity that drives an industrial country to achieve economic growth not only in the US, but in other industrialized countries such as Japan and the whole world. For this reason, the United States has kept a close relationship with Israel and other oil producing countries and at the same time playing them against each other so that they could be the dominating force in the Middle East.

When thinking about what happened on September 11, we feel awful about what happened to those families where people were injured and even lost their lives (Jackson, 2005). However, the most important thing is that we should go beyond the pain and grief we feel and learn from this experience. The starting point should be to broaden the definition of terrorism or else some acts may be denounced while others accepted as terrorism acts. Conditions all over the world should be created where terrorism is opposed by all. Terrorism is an international phenomenon meaning that other people in the world are also victims of terrorism. In a way to get back at the US government, countries like Kenya and Tanzania which are strong allies of the United States government were attacked by terrorists. The people in these countries have been living in anguish and misery in constant fear that they might be attacked again. Politicians often talk about global markets but never do they emphasize on the issue of international solidarity which will strengthen global economy.

According to Arnove & Zinn (2002) and Cloke (2005) trying to understand terrorism is in no way a means to justify it. It is important to understand what terrorism is in order to figure out the root cause of this horrific act. The fact that those responsible for the September 11 attack were driven by a feeling of that they would earn a straight ticket to paradise; they are not mad people who would go around killing innocent people for no reason. These terrorists believe in something that acts as their driving force which could also be the belief of many other people who are not terrorists especially from the Middle East. All these people have a potential to become terrorists if the US government continues to implement its foreign policies to oppress them.

Changing of the US policies in the Middle East and other parts of the world will definitely change the image of the United States (Bardes & Shelley, 2009). The deploying of troops everywhere in the world gives a notion that the United States is not a peaceful country. The changing of image should also be accompanied by change of the reality which involves the change of the United States policies. The starting point will be the withdrawal of troops in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iraq, removal of sanctions in Iraq that are a source of suffering and anguish to the civilians and easing its dominance in the oil resources in the Middle East. The revolution has to be radical and immediate which should remove the urge of the United States always wanting to be the superpower. The United States should emulate countries like Sweden and Holland which are economically stable yet they do not worry about being attacked by terrorists. These countries do not intervene in international situations, they do not have a military base anywhere in the world; they are not bothering people and that is why they are not worried about being attacked by terrorists (Gale, Radu & Sicherman, 2009).

Conclusively, there is need to improve understanding for conflicts in politics as well as politics in conflicts (Cloke, 2005). In order for the world become secure for us and for the future generations, it is important to examine and eliminate the root cause of terrorism. As the world turns to be a global village, the problems affecting one country end up affecting many people in other countries. The way that this problems are solved, will definitely affect the way countries relate to one another.

The best way for the United States to deal with the problem of terrorism is to make sure that the citizens are well protected. Hardly twelve hours after the bombing of the twin towers on September 11th, had the president Gorge Bush declared war against the terrorists by deploying military agents in Afghanistan in the search for the terrorist. The most significant thing would have been to improve the security checks in order to ensure that the citizens are well protected. People in the US are living in constant fear of an attack to the extent that any criminal activity is termed as an act of terrorism.

References

Arnove, A. & Zinn, H. (2002). Terrorism and War. USA: Seven Stories Press. Print.

Bardes, A. & Shelley, M. (2009). American Government and Politics Today: The Essentials. New York: Cengage Learning. Print.

Cloke, K. (2005). “Mediating Evil, War, and Terrorism: The Politics of Conflict.” Beyond Intractability.

Gale, S., Radu, M. & Sicherman, H. (2009). The War on Terrorism: 21st Century Perspectives. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. Print.

Gardner, H. (2005). American Global Strategy and the War on Terrorism. USA: Ashgate Publishing Company. Print.

Hess, S., Kalb, M. & Shoreinstein, J. (2003). The Media and the War on Terrorism. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. Print.

Jackson, R. (2005). Writing the War on Terrorism: Language, Politics and Counter-terrorism. New York: Manchester University Press. Print.