Essay Sample: The United States and the War on Terrorism

The 9/11 terrorist attack augmented the search of Osama bin Laden. From this time, many Americans heard and read a vast amount about him, his al-Qaeda organization and their Islamist cronies. Of all the authors on Osama bin Laden, the CNN reporter Peter Bergen became famous after writing the book Holy War Inc.: Inside the secret world of Osama bin Laden which provides a chronology scholarly account of Osama bin Laden. Bergen was the only reporter to have met and interviewed Osama in Afghanistan in the year 1997 (Bergen, 2014). This was the time when Osama had declared war with the United States. The books writes on how Osama travels, lives, and communicates. It also discusses how Osama's role in the devastating conquest of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan which prepared him a hero to Muslims all over the world. Ti also discusses on how the terror attacks at the American embassies in Africa and the USS Cole in Yemen were planned and executed and what we can expect from Islamic extremists in the future.

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What makes Bergen book standout, is the account in its depth tracked in the Islamic world. He is convincing to some of the outstanding questions and arguments among other subjects. For instance, he argues that Iraq were unlikely to be involved in the September 11 attack and that CIA must have been involved in funding and training Osama bin Laden during the war in Afghanistan in the 1980s. During this time, the CIA gave money to the Pakistan government allowing its country intelligence to make a choice on which strong Muslim groups should get this funds to help fight the Soviet Union (Bergen, 2014). The book further expounds bin Laden's evolution in his participation to fight against the Soviets through his time in Sudan, and his participation in bombing the American embassy in East Africa and the USS Cole in Yemen. Since the writer spend a lot of time investigating the Islamic word, he has presented credible information that has not been revealed before on the terror group al-Qaeda headed by bin Laden.

The book discusses a mature background of the organization al-Qaeda terrorist network and the way it has spread all over the Middle East, Europe and America. What bin Laden did is to recruit people from many countries that they can be noticed and can help in carrying out the attacks. Where the enmity between bin Laden and America came as a result of the military involvement in Saudi Arabia where he viewed it as a religious opposition and also the change of behavior of Islamic states like Egypt and Israel that were supported by the United States. Bergen generates his story from his meeting with Osama bin Laden and also an interview with some of his close allies (Bergen, 2014). From this, he was able to come up it credible information which he presented with perception without limiting himself to certain constraints or favors. Equivalent amounts of frightening travelogue and social history, this is probably going to be the best book on Islamist terror for quite a while to come. Despite the fact that it might be difficult to completely comprehend receptacle Laden, Bergen makes a splendid showing with regards to of depicting him as a man, not only the substance of terrorism (Lachkar, 2012). Readers will leave far from this book understanding why receptacle Laden has been fruitful and how difficult it will be to destroy his association of terror.

After the Soviet Union broke up and nations separated, the nation of Russia re-emerged where the alliance between the United States and Soviet broke down. Since this had happened, there were a number of challenges that arose for instance the threat on nuclear terrorism. At this time, the American leaders together with the public had mixed opinions and approach to international affairs (Bennis, 2003). There was no dominance in a specific issue, so it was not likely that they will settle at one objective. At this time, the spread of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism were listed as the most top threats n America. At the same time, the public also expressed concern threats ranging from international financial instability and infectious diseases. This was the American policy. In this case, China was viewed as the greatest enemy to the United States although this problem was not to be defeated but rather to be managed (Bennis, 2003). Even though this was the case, most elite groups argues that the spread of the radical Islam was the biggest threat but that was not taken into consideration. In 1990, the opinion of the leaders and the public insisted that peace and prosperity was being achieved in relation to the previous years. Most of the elite groups differed in opinion which was because President Bush was handling the foreign policy but never took keen interest in the traditional allies.

After the 9/11 attack, the common knowledge is that, the American Foreign Policy changed I the aftermaths of the attacks. The reason for the change was for the reason of representing either a necessary reorientation toward a new threat environment or an overreaching and self-defeating policy shift. Under the leadership of President Bush, the America policy shifted from the view of great powers such as Russia and China to a scrutiny of non-state terrorist groups for instance al-Qaida and rogue states like Iraq, Iran and North Korea (Bennis, 2003). The Bush administration under the American policy moved from containment and deterrence embracing the need for more transformational policies of anticipatory action and administration change under definite conditions. Bush additionally discarded his pre-9/11 repugnance for nation building and came to see failed states as a philanthropic issue as well as a security risk of the most noteworthy request. At long last, Bush broadly verbalized a flexibility motivation that fixated on majority rules system advancement, especially in the Arab and Muslim world, as a counteractant to fanaticism. Even though this attack inflicted a lot of pain and disappointment on the Americans, it never changed the world or either influence the long-term trajectory of United States grand strategy negatively (Bennis, 2003). The United States still has the desire to a flexible free market, lead the word, and dominate in military supremacy, its status to act singularly when regarded vital and its mixed merger of interests and values, its feeling of essentialness

The fight on terrorism is not over yet, it still stands to be the main argument in the American policy. Even though bin Laden was killed, the world is also experiencing a rising Islamic terrorist group that claim to defend Jihad which bin Laden was also defending. Jihad has become the main chronology of terrorist attacks, and that is why in the first days in office, President Donald Trump had to sign a policy that does not allow citizens of certain Islamic states tour the United States. In his first speech of presidency, President Trump rubbished the foreign policy and I quote "Foreign policy is a complete and total disaster, No vision, no purpose no strategy no direction." He advised that his foreign policy will put the interest of the American people and American security above all. This will be the foundation of every decision that will be made by the presidency.

In conclusion, we can see that bin Laden had the intention of dividing the modern secularism and cosmopolitanism of the west and the culture of Islam. In the book Holy War Inc, Bergen has pulled together a significant measure of solid data, which he gives observation and without grand swings of enthusiasm. This is a vital starting look at receptacle Laden, al-Qaeda, and the related Taliban of Afghanistan and is firmly suggested for all libraries. Religious and political factors were more instrumental to his life. The presence of real potential partners against radical Islamism inside the Islamic world is, of course, a reality critical in the on-going war against fear. Unless the United States directs the war idiotically, there is no motivation to battle billion Muslims all over the world.

References

Bennis, P. (2003). Before & after: US foreign policy and the war on terrorism. Moreton-in-Marsh: Arris.

Bergen, P. L. (2014). Holy war, inc: Inside the secret world of Osama bin Laden. Place of Publication not identified: Free Press.

Lachkar, J. (January 01, 2012). The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict between America and Al-Qaeda. Journal of Psychohistory, 40, 2, 137-141.