The War on Terror U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan - Essay Example

Thesis statement: The U.S. initiated War on Terror and invasion of Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) is helpful to obstruct the rapid spread of terrorism, restoration of democracy in Afghanistan, and peace in the Middle East. The War on Terror The War on Terror, a military campaign initiated by the U.S. and its allied nations, primarily aims to resist rapid spread of terrorism, especially the terrorist plots like 9/11. Duffy (2005), an eminent human rights activist, writer, and the director of the International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights points out that, “In the immediate wake of the attacks of 11 September 2001, the United States committed itself to a sustained ‘war on terror’, a significant component of which has involved the use of military force by the United States and its allies in several countries, notably Afghanistan and Iraq” (p.186). One can see that the origin of terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda and Taliban is interconnected with the growth of militant nationalism in the Middle East.

On the other side, the War on Terror never hindered counter-terrorism measures adopted by the world nations. To be specific, the War on Terror aims to reduce the influence of terrorism among the world nations. . The origin of the War on Terror is interconnected with the growth of al-Qaeda and Taliban in the Middle East. The end result of the creation of al-Qaeda by Osama bin Laden in 1980s was the rapid spread of terrorism and the origin of Taliban in Afghanistan. Gradually, Bin Laden began to control Afghani Taliban.

This eventually led to the origin of terrorist networks in the Middle East and in the African continent. On the other side, the U.S. interest and influence among the oil rich Middle Eastern nations was an imminent threat to the terrorist networks. So, Bin Laden decided to intimidate the U.S. and other Western nations by attacking the officials and civilians. Soros (2007), who is the chief of the Soros Fund Management, supporter of open societies and an important critic on the War on Terror, opines that, “Bin Laden correctly identified the one aspect in which military Islam is superior to Western civilization: the fear of death” (p.108). The millennium attack in the year 2000 proves that Bin Laden was ready to challenge the U.S. and its allied nations.

The immediate cause behind the War on Terrorism and the attack on al-Qaeda and Taliban is the 9/11 attack, formulated by Bin Laden. This attack infuriated the U.S. and it eventually led to the extension of the War on Terrorism to new levels. The War on Terrorism aimed to destroy the mastermind behind the rapid spread of terrorism. Soros (2007), opines that, “My emphasis on the role of the United States as the source of stability in the world and the protector of our civilization is somewhat exaggerated on account of personal considerations” (p.xviii). But, Bin Laden and other leaders of Al-Qaeda and Taliban like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were in Afghanistan.

So, the warfront gradually shifted to