Essay on the US foreign policy : What are the objectives in the global war on terror and are they liable to be met?

Résumé du document

In 2001, on the 11th of September, Georges W. Bush had won a controversial presidential election and was officially president of the United States since January. As explained by Dean Baker, the former governor of Texas, elected with less popular votes than his opponent was still implementing his internal political agenda at the time. When a majority of the American population expected him to lead the country with a bipartisan consideration. In this context, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 has taken place, which surprised and shocked the Americans. As a matter of fact, a vast majority of people were preparing for attacks on the national territory. The dramatic images of the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, the huge number of deaths and the organization involved in the attacks suddenly undermined the collective sense of security.

Extraits

[...] To summarize the main issue emerging about the war on terror could be the followings: What are the objectives of the Bush administration when launching the war on terror? Are those various aims justified by the necessity to counter terrorism? Then, have those objectives any chance to be accomplished? To answer those question, one should first examine the set of goals established by the Bush administration since the beginning of the WOT. Later, one has to study the reasons that drove these objectives to the top of the agenda. [...]

[...] Resulting from what is said above, the successes of the WOT objectives are far from being secured. Although the Talibans and Saddam Hussein have been overthrown, the countries they used to rule are neither peaceful nor democratic and prosperous. Furthermore, the global counter terrorism policy failed as the Al Qaeda network still exists and operates worldwide and other organizations with terrorists' methods as well. Then, the background objective of redefining the political map of the Middle East have failed, America being stuck in an Irak which does not embody the typical path to democracy that the U.S seek to promote. [...]

[...] The domestic policy aims both at countering terrorism and reassuring people. To do so, a department of Homeland Security is soon created. Then, police and security authorities rounded up hundreds of Arabs and Moslems across the country” notices Dean Baker1. With the Patriot Act voted by the Congress, the Bush administration and the authorities were given easier detention possibilities in those procedures, such as longer custody without charge or any other common right. On the international side, the objective to capture Bin Laden and destroy its network of fundamentalists rapidly turned into an aim to attack Afghanistan and the Talibans. [...]

[...] Then, one will observe years after the beginning of it how advanced are those aims, what results have been secured and what perspective can be drawn for future achievements or failure. In the one hand, the primary objectives belonged to the of necessity” as Jeffrey Record calls it1. In the aftermaths of 9/11, the main aim was destroying Al Qaeda network, especially through the war in Afghanistan. This war permitted to weaken the organization by destroying its bases in the country and capturing several important chiefs. [...]

[...] p Ibid Global Terrorism , Paul Rogers and The Future of US Foreign Policy , Anatol Lieven 3 Ibid, p Ibid. citing “Transforming the Middle Washington Post, August Ibid. p Ibid Ibid. [...]