The international war on terror from 9/11 to the death of bin laden - Dissertation Example

Global war on terrorism in actual was a war, as described by US, against anyone working against the national security and interests of US. The focus of this war was actually to hit Al-Qaeda and Islamic militants in specific terms. Global or International war on terrorism was the term that was officially introduced by the Bush administration but later on, the Obama administration changed the official name of the war as Overseas Contingency Operation. But the GWOT is today being used more extensively by political, media and military personnel against terrorists all over the world.

After the realization of the fact that the attack on US soil is actually an attack against the west by Muslim militants, United Kingdom, European, NATO and non-NATO states decided to collaborate in this global war to wage extensive operations worldwide against the terrorist organizations. The history of the war on terrorism dates back to the Soviet war in Afghanistan where Osama bin Laden had trained operatives and strong network that inspired the world wide Islamic terrorist organizations to wage attacks against Jews and crusaders in 1996.

It was the same year when Osama Bin Laden formed an alliance naming Al-Qaeda against United States and signed a fatwa to declare war against west and Israel. Side by side Islamic extremists formed an organization Taliban to gain political power in Afghanistan at local level. They collectively hit America and ultimately Al-Qaeda took a chance to attack US on September 11, 2001. After considering the whole situation, US administration decided to tarnish the terrorists’ havens in Afghanistan, Iraq and all over the world to combat terrorism for good1.

It is a fact that when US decided to start off war just after the attack, the nature and parameters of the GWOT were unclear as the US administration postulated multiplicity of enemies e.g. terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, rogue states, nuclear proliferators and terrorists organizations. In order to avoid complete threats to national security, US came across in conflict with the countries who pose no direct and immediate threat. This initiative led US to deal with multiple enemies that involved a lot of military and financial expenditure on the nation’s treasure2.

When we talk about the global war on terror and the policies employed by United States, it is important to mention the most important “Bush Doctrine” that became apparent in September 2002 as the document named "The National Security Strategy of the United States" published . The doctrine is used to refer to the changes in foreign policies that President Bush directed to implement just after the attacks of September 11. The doctrine was basically concerned with the controversial policy of preventive war where United States had uncontested right to dethrone the governments who can be potential threat to the security of the country or had any of the connection with the terrorists groups.

Other included elements were policies regarding spread of democracy around the world and willingness to pursue US military interests. Dick Cheney states about the doctrine in 2003 that "If there is anyone in the world today who doubts the seriousness of the Bush Doctrine, I would urge that person to consider the fate of the Taliban in Afghanistan and of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq3.