The War On Terror: What Happens Next?
In this time and age, the people of America have a choice to make. Below are some thoughts to help you decide what America should do.
The present war that the United States of America is fighting is called “The War On Terror”. This is a war in which one side is clearly defined, while the opposing side is a gang of loosely allied guerrilla fighters that have only one common goal: the destruction of any one or thing that does not agree with their doctrines. This war had several causes, but some of the largest include: The bombing of the Twin Towers, the Pentagon bombing, and the failed attempt at the White House. Another reason for this war was the threat of nuclear and chemical warfare from Saddam Hussein in Iraq. This war has become unpopular among Americans, who are sick of the death tolls that come with it. They believe that the goals that were set are not being achieved. There are however, a great deal of reasons why the war has been succeeding thus far. Iraqis are now able to vote for their national leaders, and those who would end U.S. lives are kept far from American soil. The War on Terror has been a quest for the freedom of Middle Eastern people from those that would use or abuse them for any purpose. It is extremely critical for Americans to keep this in mind during the next couple of years in which we will be deciding our new president, and consequently the U.S. policy in this war.
This war is much different from most wars that have been fought by America because the enemy is not defined by a specific nation or even religion. It is being fought against anyone who would try to make this world a less peaceful place by causing as much destruction as they can. There is only one underlining similarity that is constant for all terrorists; they have a hatred burning within themselves that has enough influence that they are willing to end innocent lives. Men and women like this, who would do anything just to harm another person, must be stopped, at any cost. This is the single most important reason why the U.S. is fighting this war.
The largest reason that War On Terror began was an attack on American soil that killed over 3,000 Americans from the World Trade Centers, Pentagon, and Pennsylvania. The attack used a method that had never before been used, consisting of hijacking airplanes and crashing them into the buildings. The first plane hit the trade center at 8:45am on September 11th, 2001, reeking havoc across America. Then eighteen minutes later, at 9:03am, another plane smashed into the Trade Center’s twin tower causing both structures to crumble, and thousands of lives to end instantly. Then at 9:40am, another airplane flew itself into the Pentagon. Finally at 10:07, the last airplane containing terrorist hijackers crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania due to a passenger led revolt that killed the hijackers, and all passengers.
The majority of these casualties were civilian, and not strategic military targets; because of this the population of the U.S. was enraged. One person said “Because of the courage of the rescue workers, the gallantry of the passengers of Flight 93, and the strength of the Promethean trade towers, the toll was not higher. Because of our just anger, the toll of our enemies will be much higher”(findarticles.com). Often nowadays, people forget this feeling of loss that was created, and we as Americans need to begin to remember.
The war on terror began by hunting down Osama Bin Laden, the man who claimed responsibility for planning the attacks. At the time, he lived in Afghanistan where he led a group called the Taliban, a Muslim group of extremists with a vendetta of hatred against anyone who was not as they were; including fellow Muslims who were less adamant then themselves.
Upon the U.S. troop’s arrival in Afghanistan, Saddam Hussein, the leader of the Al-Qaida in Iraq began threatening the U.S. with chemical warfare. This caused the United Nations to send search parties into Iraq looking for these weapons. Eventually hostilities broke out between the two parties, and Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. troops, and put in prison until the Iraqi people could judge him for his crimes against them.
Despite the obvious reasons for going to war on terror, this war has become one of the most unpopular in America for centuries. Many of the people who feel this way, claim that the war is causing the death of too many people. There have however been extremely low casualties in this war compared to any other in American history.
In every war there are casualties. Some soldiers are wounded only slightly; while others are hurt so badly they become dysfunctional, while some are even killed. Because so many soldiers are hurt, people would claim that this war is not achieving its goal. If however America had given up in World War Two, then Hitler very likely would have ruled over all of Europe, killing at will. During that war, over 600,000 Americans lost their lives, but our loss prevented the deaths of other nations who already had incredible high losses. There were countless numbers of Jews, Russians, Englishmen, Frenchmen, Poles, and many more would have died along with those who had already died numbering near 100,000,000 people (Wikipedia).
During this war however, as of December 2006 only 2,973 American Soldiers have lost their lives defending the freedom of people half way across the world. The bible says “no greater love has someone than this, that he lay down his life for another”. This shows that these men and woman that have died are exhibiting the greatest possible attribute of a human being. Yet instead of honoring them for it, America is split down the middle for whether or not we should abandon this war completely or leave Iraq as soon as possible (BBC News).
An example of U.S. soldiers paying the ultimate price for their friends is fast becoming Marine Corps legend. A soldier, Corporal Jason Dunham, was standing near his platoon when a grenade was dropped in their midst by a terrorist. By throwing himself on the ground on top of the grenade, he not only shielded the explosion from his sixty fellow Marines, but also was awarded the post-humously Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest honor awarded to any one. This man gave up his life that his friends might live on to safeguard the people of Iraq (Sgt. Jon Koshuta USMC).
Critics of the war in Iraq say that it is getting nothing done, and goals are not being achieved. It is often a point in the news that more people have died due to the war than would have in these past years. They however do not see that a system of government has been set up, people can vote, and when this war is finally finished, the death toll will eventually be the same as every other nation due to its own crime syndicates.
Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts believes that the U.S. troops should be taken out of Iraq immediately, saying that Iraq would be a safer place without American presence to inflame the insurgent’s ranks. It is his belief that the U.S. pulled out now, they could save their own honor, and recover the public face that has been, according to Kennedy, desecrated (Senator Kennedy).
For the reason that there are so many critics of the war, George Bush, the President of the United States of America, is at present deciding whether or not to send more soldiers over to Iraq. Many in the Unites States are highly contest this idea, saying that if anything, America and her allies should bring their soldiers home. Contrary to this belief are men such as the Republican Senator from Arizona, John McCain, who believes that the increase of troops in the Middle East is necessary.
“But the Arizona Republican said Americans must realize that if U.S. troops leave Iraq in chaos, groups such as al-Qaida “will follow us home and that we will have a large conflict and greater challenges than those that we now face here in Iraq… The American people are confused, they’re frustrated, they’re disappointed by the Iraq war, but they also want us to succeed if there’s any way to do that,” McCain told reporters in Baghdad.
He said conditions in some areas of Iraq have improved since his last visit in March, but “I believe there is still a compelling reason to have an increase in troops here in Baghdad and in Anbar province in order to bring the sectarian violence under control” and to “allow the political process to proceed (ABC News).
It is people like this that are beginning to break through to the stubborn American mind, and prove that it is necessary to not only keep the U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq, but also increase them in number to continue to bring safety and healing to the Middle East.
With the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, a new man named Robert Gates has taken his place. Gates believes in a shift of policy, because be believes that at present, the U.S. is not winning this war. A possible piece of this new policy would include sending greater numbers of soldiers to Kuwait and other countries surrounding Iraq, so that if necessary, these troops could be swarmed into Iraq at a moments notice (Calcutta News).
Sgt Bethany Koshuta of the U.S.M.C, who has served two tours of duty in Iraq, has said that American presence in the Middle East has been constructive for the Iraqi people. The voting booths in Iraq had almost perfect attendance during their first elections as a free nation in 2005. Whereas in America, she said, if the majority of Americans voted it would be a miracle. America is a place known for its freedom, and its safety, yet we don’t vote because we don’t feel like it. In Iraq the people faced crime lords with guns just to get their ballot it. They risked their lives just for the opportunity to say who they wanted leading their country, and their turn out was better than the turnouts in the land of the free where everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion (Sgt Bethany Koshuta USMC).
The media in the United States is extremely one sided. They report the story that sells their agenda, but leaves out the anything that apposes their argument. In the news you will find stories of soldiers raping Iraq women, beating prisoners, and murdering innocent people. You will not however hear about the soldier who gives out candy to children, or gives medical attention to a wounded civilian. This however is the case. For every Marine is found on the news for committing one crime, there are a hundred who daily commit acts of goodness.
If we were to pull out of Iraq, terror would run rampant across the globe. This is similar to when a person attacks a bee’s nest. If a child bearing homeowner sees a bee nest on their child’s playground, they will feel threatened and take it out. While they are attacking the nest, the bees will be furious, and will likely strike out at the attacker, but the children would be safe because the bees are focused on defending themselves as opposed to random acts of violence. So when the terrorists struck New York, London, Washington, and all the major bombings that are attributed to terrorists, it caused the nations to attack them. If we were to give up now, just like the bees, the terrorists would go on a rampage leaving destruction as their wake.
The war on Terror must continue, and it must be brought to its ultimate conclusion in the freedom of the citizens of every nation from the fear of terror. In order to do this, America must keep her role as the tip of the spearhead that is advancing on those who would prey on the lives of innocent men and women. More troops must be sent to the Middle East, or where ever the enemies of liberty may lie, in order to safeguard the symbol of independence, America, but also anyone who would follow in her footsteps on the trail to freedom.
With the presidential elections coming, it is important to keep this issue in mind. The American people will choose the new president; the new president will in turn choose the course of history. Will we be remembered in the ages to come as the protectors of the weak? Or will we allow ourselves to abandon them, and be remembered as the nation that gave up, and allowed tyrants to rule the world with terror. People of America, people of the world, it is time to choose.
Work Cited Page
Find Articles page: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_24_53/ai_80454774
BBC News page: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5333646.stm
Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties
ABC News page: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2725260
Calcutta News page: http://www.calcuttanews.net/story/221220
Senator Kennedy page: http://kennedy.senate.gov/issues_and_agenda/issue.cfm?id=70CB2D64-597E-473D-9F6B-04AF3600AE20