The War on Terrorism, Essay Example

When the terrorists plunged  the planes into the twin towers they initiated  a war on terrorism that would become an immediate priority for the US President. When the twin towers crashed to the ground it was a blow to American pride.  The Act of aggression placed  the United States in a state of disbelief. Why should people from another part of the world attack us in this way ?  I felt the terrorists  were trying to break us apart, however I  believe that as a nation  we have moved much closer together as a result  of these events.

I believe that the war we are conducting on terrorism is a very hard subject to easily correct.  Everyone considers that they know how to resolve the problem. You always hear people say that the president isn’t doing a good job on the war.  It is my belief that there is no clear alternative way to attack this problem of terrorism.  If we decide to remove our troops from Afghanistan then I firmly believe terrorist groups like Al Qaida would  soon mount another attack against the US.   I also  feel safe that our troops over their doing their duty to protect us.   At the same time though I feel a great deal of remorse  when I turn on the TV and see those people who have lost sons and fathers as a result of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  I do have a strong belief that we need to stay the course and keep our troops engaged over there.  Although we are making slow progress the international community recognises the enormity of the problem.  I feel that  if we were to take the troops out of  these locations we would live in fear for the rest of our lives. We would all be thinking when is the next terrorist attack going to occur?   Will I be in the middle of it?  Just like we were asking each other  right after the attacks on the twin towers.  Almost everyone was afraid of another attack and what the next target was likely to be.   Not everybody in the US agrees with the troops being over there and ideally would like to see them come home.   There is a strong sentiment that we are not making any progress and we are wasting  American lives.  If you believe this to be true then you have to acknowledge that  you’re no longer living your life in fear.

I remember an experience not that long after the attacks.  I was on a plane and shortly before I boarded the plane I was so scared to get on because I saw a man that looked like he could be a terrorist.  The experience made me so nervous that I almost took a taxi home and didn’t go on my trip. It is still in the back of my mind even to this day.  I believe in the possibility of a terrorist attack on a plane but I am no longer afraid of going on a plane.  It doesn’t stop me  from doing things or going on with my daily life. This is because I feel very safe and comfortable with the additional security at the airport.   Equally I feel less threatened by the possibility of attack in the US  with our troops being in Afghanistan. To those troops serving our  country and going to war for us every day I say thank you and believe you are the real heroes in America.

Terrorism has become a global war in which no country is immune.  The IRA has waged a campaign in Britain that lasted over 125 years, the Basque Separatist movement has carried out a terrorist campaign with Spain.  The Palestinian and Islamist Jihadist movements are the latest in a long line of terrorist activities.  The danger is that they now have a longer reach and threaten other countries with nuclear and biological weapons.  Only through a united international campaign will the treat ultimately be defeated.