21 st Century and the War on Terror 9/11 Attack
Introduction
The bombing of the World Trade Center on 11 th September 2001 changed the opinion and mindset of almost all Americans regarding one of the most sensitive issues in the 21 st century: terrorism. Understanding the events of the 11 th September 2001 is important in appreciating the growing efforts related to the war on terrorism and the bid to end religious radicalism.
21 st Century Terrorism and the 9/11 Attack
Terrorism is not a new problem; it started way back in the 1960s (Kellner, 2003). As a war tactic, terrorism emerged in the 60s when the then Palestinian extremists and Latin American leftists hijacked planes and seized hostages to squeeze concessions from local governments. Since then, terrorist activities have advanced and even become more lethal. The goals of terror gangs have advanced to an international scope, making terrorism the leading threat to the country’s national security.
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This new kind of terrorism resembles the new face of war in the 21 st century. Interestingly, the success of counter-terrorism efforts by the US has forced terror groups to become more ingenious. It seems what happened in Washington and New York reflects the progress the country has made with regards to fighting terrorism (Exoo, 2010).
Over the last decades, most of the turning points in terrorism are marked by attacks on the US facilities and employees, triggering damage that continues to influence the country’s foreign policy. The first mass hijacking happened in the 70s when one Swiss airliner and two American planes were seized by a group of Palestinian extremists (Bali, 2012). The planes were bound from Europe and were headed to the US. The extremists sought to punish the US for supporting the Israeli government. They then blew up these planes on the ground in Egypt and Jordan (Bali, 2012).
In 1983, terrorists bombed a Beirut-based US Marine compound. The blast that Muslim militias orchestrated killed roughly 250 military personnel and before US warships intervened. In the 80s, Islamic extremists in Lebanon planned and bombed US embassies in Kuwait and Lebanon (Holloway & Dawsonera, 2008). The attacks killed dozens of people thus prompting the US to fortify US diplomatic missions.
This was not the end; in the 90s, terror gangs associated with Osama bin Laden attacked US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya leading to the death of over 200 people and others wounded (Forest, 2007). Terrorism landed on the US soil for the first time in 1993, by the bombing of the World Trade Center. Pakistan militia groups masterminded this attack. For the first time in history, terrorists used chemical weapons in 1995 to attack the Tokyo subway trains (Bali, 2012). This attack left thousands injured and twelve people dead. The most recent attack is the suicide attack on a navy vessel that was docked in Yemen. This attack killed 17 sailors and left 40 others wounded. Regardless of the bloody and long history of terrorism against the US, the country remains vulnerable today more than ever.
War on Terror
Major terrorist activities in the 21st century, notably 11 Sept 2001 attack on the World Trade Center coupled with the subsequent activities of the Al Qaeda have threatened the country’s security. The 9/11 experience demonstrates that the impact of terrorist activities is highly intense when it is conducted in a surprising manner (Kellner, 2003). In the current era of technological development, governments have discovered the importance of technology to pre-empt terrorist activities that often lead to the destruction of properties and lives (Exoo, 2010).
The government has capitalized on the development of new technologies to fight terror acts. After the 9/11, the US Congress passed the support anti-terrorism by fostering effective technologies (SAFETY) Act (Holloway & Dawsonera, 2008). This Act seeks to foster the creation of anti-terrorism technology. Further, it offers protection to manufacturers, sellers, providers, and distributors of high-tech anti-terrorism instruments and devices. Consequently, nearly 200 firms were given the SAFETY Act certification.
Confronted by constant terror threats, the US has constructed a massive surveillance apparatus both at home and abroad, in the post 9/11 regime. Moreover, since 2001, the government has doubled the budget for National Security Agency, FBI, and CIA (Jenkins, Godges & Dobbins, 2011). After the 9/11, the federal government passed the Patriot Act, which asks American citizens to give up some of their freedoms. Americans are always living in fear of another major attack. In fact, a recent survey by the Pew Research Center concludes that half of the US citizens report that the US is at a greater risk of experiencing another major terror attack than it was in pre-9/11 (Forest, 2007).
Conclusively, we can say that there are many perspectives to the 21st century and the war on terror 9/11 attack. Although Americans associate terrorism with the so-called Islamic extremism, this perspective of terrorism is only composed of a section of terrorist gangs and terrorism across the world. Therefore, those responsible for the war on terrorism in the 21 st century must understand that terrorism extends past the widely held American worldview and beyond the religious-based extremist. Therefore, they must look at the issues as affecting the world as a whole, not only America.
References
Bali, S. (2012). Afghanistan and the War on Terror. In Dutt, S. & Bansal A. “ South Asian Security: 21st Century Discourses,” Routledge 29-46.
Exoo, C. F. (2010). The pen and the sword: Press, war, and terror in the 21st century . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Forest, J. J. F. (2007). Countering terrorism and insurgency in the 21st century: International perspectives . Westport, CT: Praeger Security International.
Holloway, D., & Dawsonera. (2008). 9/11 and the War on Terror . Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Jenkins, B. M., Godges, J., & Dobbins, J. (2011). The long shadow of 9/11: America's response to terrorism . Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
Kellner, D. (2003). From 9/11 to terror war: The dangers of the Bush legacy . Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
