Blankenship 1
Shelbie Blankenship
Professor Goral
Federal Government 2305A52
24 April 2019
Federal Government Essay
On October 7, 2001, the United States entered its longest lasting war, which continues to
this day, just a month after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The attacks of 9/11
triggered major United States initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of
George W. Bush. For the duration of the attack, 19 militants associated with the Islamic
extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and bombed targets in the United States. Two
of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a
third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field
in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The War on Terror has seen conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq fighting terrorist
organizations such as Al Qaeda and ISIS. During the course of this war, The United States
invaded and began an occupation in Iraq on March 20, 2003. This occupation lasted for slightly
more than eight years and ended on December 18, 2011, when all United States troops were
withdrawn from Iraq. With support for the War on Terror in the beginning, things changed as the
United States clearly got more than they bargained for. The operation was an overall success in
terms of US foreign policy, however, it was simply, not worth the repercussions in the eyes of
the American public. (1)
Blankenship 2
Americans all over the world closed their eyes Monday night expecting to wake up
Tuesday morning like any other day. Instead, every person no matter in school, home or
workplace feared for their lives as the attacks on the World Trade Center had now been viewed
across every television company both cable and broadcast. President Bush quickly assured the
American public that this shall be a war against the terrorists not Afghanistan or Islam. "The
United States of America is a friend to the Afghan people, and we are the friends of almost a
billion worldwide who practice the Islamic faith. The United States of America is an enemy of
those who aid terrorists and of the barbaric criminals who profane a great religion by committing
murder in its name." (2) Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, also supported military
intervention for the War on Terror. Rumsfeld has led the Defense Department in a way that
responds to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 by liberating over fifty million Afghans
and Iraqis combined furthermore killing and or capturing two-thirds of known Al-Qaeda leaders.
(3)
Although positives came out of the War on Terror, multiple people opposed the war two
of which are Bernie Sanders and Barack Obama. Sanders believed that a great danger would
have been placed on the United States if a precipitous invasion were to be launched. Bernie
Sanders says, “The question is whether [Saddam Hussein] represents an imminent threat...
