Internal and International Political Decisions around War on Terror

On November 11, 2001, many lives changed forever; and not just for the US citizens, but for the rest of the world as well. The war on terrorism had begun and would not end anytime soon. The US and Britain invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, which initiated the war on terrorism in 2001. During their time in the Middle East, the two countries eliminated many terrorist threats and made the world a safer place.

After 9/11, the US, as well as the entire world, was in shock. Action was needed and President George W. Bush took that action. Iraq and Afghanistan were countries who had the biggest strongholds for the extremist who attacked the US, so that is where the Americans attacked. There was also evidence of the development of mass destruction weapons in the area. This would have meant many more 9/11’s, not just in the US, but around the world. Bush’s team was made up of people who supported him and were part of this foreign policy team. The members included: Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Richard Armitage, Condoleezza Rice and Paul Wolfowitz. Each wanted to show the world that no one gets away with hurting America, and they also wanted to make sure no one could hurt the US, or any of its allies, if they could do something to stop it.

Gen. Joseph P. Hoar warned that the operation was risky and most likely unnecessary. He was quoted as saying it was “too little too late” for the two countries that were being raided. He remarked, “the problem wasn’t military, it was political.” He said this because we didn’t understand the amount of change that was needed politically in order to accomplish a positive movement in the countries. If the US was going to go in with the military, it should have been done a long time before they actually came in. By the time the US stepped in, nothing would have changed, even if they had bombed every city there. The US needed to help implement a new government that would help the citizens, and build a new Middle East as the world once knew it was, but unfortunately, that is not what was done. Morton Halperin warned it would increase the terrorist threat, and she focused on the citizens of the countries and how they felt they had zero part to do with 9/11. Would they support the US after seeing their friends and family killed by bombs dropped by the US? Or would they turn to hate the US? The answer was hate. Halperin felt with military action it would only add to the number of radical extremists in the Middle East . The extremists groups could easily recruit people who had their family killed by US bombs. However, she also asked, “What was the next step after military action?” She pointed out there was no political plan for Iraq and Afghanistan, if the military action worked, and she wanted a plan to implement a government that would help citizens and allow the country to get back on its feet.

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Just as important was how the everyday American citizens thought about the war on terriorism. The immediate public support was almost 100%. People believed, as the most powerful country in the world, the US should make the ones who hurt us and our loved ones pay. However, as time passed, public support slowly dwindled. People believed that we were using too many resources and we already killed the ones responsible for the attacks. This resulted in an electoral shift, which was readily apparent when the Republicans lost the presidency to Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

Before the war started, the UN had a meeting about the threat of the Middle East. The meeting ended when the UN, “implemented economic sanctions against Iraq and Afghanistan in order to, among other things, hinder the progress of its most lethal arm’s programs, including those for the development of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.” Since this meeting was happening, there was not just a national issue in the US with the Middle East , there was an international issue with events going on in the Middle East . Other countries saw what happened to the US and they did not want that to happen to them. The main supporter of the US was Britain, which isn't surprising since Britain is our closest ally. However, other than them, other nations didn’t seem that eager to join in our fight. The countries in the UN put sanctions on Iraq, but offered very little help. The main reason is they did not want to make themselves targets for terrorist threats after what happened on September 11th to the United States. There was little opposition to the US and Britain using military force. “The leaders of France, Germany, Russia, and other countries objected to this buildup toward war.” They thought the war could be avoided and a democratic path was the way to go. However, no opposition was very serious where another country would place sanctions on us or declare war, so we didn't think twice about the opposition. On the Iraq side, once the US took down Saddam Hussein, we looked for a way to implement a new democratic government into Iraq. The US implemented an “interim government” which put Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer in charge for the time being. There were votes for parliament and other major government roles, however, Iraq was missing a leader. That changed on April 6, 2005, when Iraq elected Jalal Talabani to become its first elected leader since the fall of Saddam Hussein. He served for two terms, and just like in the US, it was time for a new president. Fuad Masum was then elected as the second president since the fall of Saddam Hussein. However, he made some decisions which were seen as illegal by many government officials in Iraq, which was a main reason he only served one term. Finally, Iraq elected Barham Salih, who is the sitting president right now. However, as a whole since the US implemented the democratic government, Iraq has had pretty good presidents for the most part. Which is the main reason Iraq has made a 180 turn about and is heading in the right direction for a country who was in war with the United States of America for the good part of three years. Next on the Afghanistan said the turnaround was much faster than Iraq. As quick as a few months after 9/11, afghanistan agreed to an interim government in Bonn, Germany, in December 2001, with Hamid Karza being sworn is as the interim president. Then in 2004, the Loya Jirga of Afghanistan, which is the grand council, adopted a new constitution which make way for a strong presidency. Shortly after, Hamid Karzai won the presidency in the first open vote in more than 30 years in 2004. After that Afghanistan held the first parliament vote in more than 30 years as well, which warlords and strongmen are elected to. A few years later in 2009, Karzai won the presidency again over his opponent Abdullah. Abdullah pulled out after the second round which started a bunch of conservancies in the country. Later in 2012, to counter corruption in the country Tokyo, US, Germany, and UK pledge 16 billion dollars to new condition and aid in the country. In 2010 Karzai cant serve against since the term limit is two the country has its first real presidential election with two leaders in the race Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah. In a very heated and stressful presidential election Ashraf Ghani won the presidency and holds his place in office today. However, between the two, Iraq had a longer time getting to its new government, but it was more successful quicker than Afghanistan. Afghanistan's government was set up faster however went through many different challenges than Iraq’s did. Asof now they both seem to be heading in the right direction in recreating the image of their once shameful nation.

In conclusion, the hard decisions the US made to stand up to the people whose plan killed 2,977 Americans, and hurt many more, changed the world. The decision to invade Iraq didn't just make the US safer, it made the world safer. The US destroyed the ability for any major terrorist threats coming out of Iraq, which saved thousands of lives around the world. However, we didn't leave Iraq out to dry after the war. We helped Iraq holds its first free election in 50 years, which has led to many great presidents for Iraq who have helped turn the country for the better. So the decision that was frowned upon by many people and countries, has saved thousands of lives, and has saved a country and its’ citizens.