The Threat of Terrorism for the Global Society - Research Proposal Example

War in Iraq and Afghanistan (Fight against Terrorism or Hegemony of Superpowers) Introduction This study is undertaken as part of the study for Postgraduate Programme in International Relations. Through the study we’ll try to analyse the subject in view of the threat that terrorism has posed for the global society, the fight undertaken against terrorism and the ongoing discussions. This was has indeed brought the issue of terrorism to the forefront. But taking a look at the events that have unfolded during the last 3-4 years, this entire issue requires a fresh look. Background War in Iraq and Afghanistan brought the issue of terrorism in the forefront of world politics. Till 9/11 happened, apparently US didn’t really catch up with the seriousness of the issue. There have been instances like the US embassy bombings in different parts of the world. But such instances were considered mainly as failure of those nations in safeguarding the interests of USA, and nobody actually thought that one day, two US commercial flights full of passengers will collide with its own twin towers and result in killing around 3000 citizens of the world. They were office workers, waiters, police, firemen, moms, dads, friends and neighbors. Thereafter began an era of hunting for the terrorists and their links. It involved gathering info from everywhere with techniques like cyber-snooping. Attention was diverted towards Afghanistan because there was no regime as such. The ruling combine called Taliban did not believe in human rights and controlled the country with terror at gun point. Women were treated like third class citizens, not allowed to attend public functions and schools. One prosperous sheikh from Saudi Arab called Osama Bin Laden was there to help the regime with finances and arms. He had his own set of people ranging from nuclear scientists, engineers, villagers and other trusted lieutenants around him. They had their own ideology of calling the countries like US, UK, India, Israel etc. as the enemies of Muslims. For this very reason they gave calls for Jihad against these countries in particular. Afghanistan has the misfortune of being in news for all the wrong reasons since the late 1970s. It was in 1979 that Soviet troupes from the then USSR invaded Afghanistan and engineered a regime change. These forces remained in Afghanistan for the next 10 years, but not before resistance forces were armed with lethal weapons and trained manpower. Thereafter began a bloody era of revenge when the erstwhile President was hanged in broad daylight in the middle of the road. This bloody has not stopped since then. The areas bordering Pakistan are still full of sympathizers for the terror machine led by the likes of Osama Bin Laden. Prior to 9/11, the world paid little attention towards these terror machines owing to a range of geopolitical issues and diplomatic concerns. But thereafter all eyes were focused towards the regimes which were considered to be unfriendly towards the European nations. Information was being compiled and analyzed from nations like Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Libya. This analysis led to the belief that Afghanistan is the hub of activities for producing the terror suspects while the regime led by President Saddam Hussain was considered having a friendly approach towards the terror suspects. All these factors resulted into formation of a coalition led by US in war against terrorism and the hunting down of the remnants of al Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Though US led forces had earlier bombed some selected targets in Afghanistan, but these bombs failed to find the intended target. This time US did not want to take chances and launched a full-fledged war against terror in Afghanistan. It began on October 7, 2001 when the coalition forces launched the aerial attacks, followed by ground forces advancements. The last word is yet to be said on the war. Aims and Objectives of the Research Research approaches and methods radically influence research content and, consequently, the policies designed in response to that content. It would be stating the obvious that research benefits society in general. Many of us embark on research, whether in medicine, political science or pure science. Nevertheless, it is worth reiterating that research, whether basic or applied, is the most important means of adding to our knowledge about the society, its concerns and possible remedies. Doing research can be intensely satisfying. It provides the opportunity to become an expert in the subject area and generates further interest in the subject. Knowing that you have made a contribution to your area is tremendously fulfilling, and many researchers find that publishing in journals read by their peers worldwide is a great pleasure. This study is undertaken basically to; Analyse the circumstances, under which the ‘war’ was taken up against some countries. Analyse why the war, stated to weed out the bad elements, has resulted in dividing the world community in two camps. In fact there are strong lobbies against the way the war is being fought, within the nations who are assisting and supporting the war. Why did this campaign not get the kind of support that should have been there for such a noble cause? Study the dynamic political scenario within the domestic environment in US and UK and how the ‘war’ has affected other issues. Come out with some suggestions for bringing about a consensual action-plan, so that the widening gap within the societies and nations could be filled up with more understanding. Methodology During the study we’ll try to trace the growth of terrorism and it got wings of fire during late 1980s and early 1990s. US, UK, India, Israel are not the only one’s which are affected by terrorism. In fact many countries have been tackling this menace of terrorism for many years. This way there has been an ongoing war against terrorism. But the term ‘The War on Terrorism’ is the name given to the military and diplomatic campaign launched by the United States, with support from NATO and other allies. Stated goal of this campaign is to end international terrorism by preventing ‘terrorist’ groups from carrying out further attacks. Majority of these groups are Islamists like al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas. Afghanistan is now free of Taliban government and at present led by President Hamid Karzai with active support from the coalition forces. But the cause of concern is that the main suspect in this entire episode, Osama Bin Laden is still large. We will carry forward the study with in-depth analysis on the subject by some of leading Journals and Newspapers in recent times. Analyzing the circumstances leading to strikes on Iraq having a government led by President Saddam Hussain, it was suspected that this government is supporting the terror machine. Moreover President Saddam Hussain had been in thick of the storm since he launched an attack on Kuwait and occupied it for several days, before being driven out by the coalition forces. After accomplishing the regime change in Afghanistan, the coalition forces directed their attention towards Iraq and in early 2002 started redirecting troupes and equipment toward Iraq. After enough consultations and stock taking began the attack on Iraq on March 19, 2003 when US and Partners Invade Iraq from all sides sea, air and ground. The coalition faced good resistance for many days, before actually entering deep inside the Iraqi cities. Shias, the other sect of Muslims in the country was equally unhappy with President Saddam Hussain, himself from ‘Sunny’ sect. Thereafter the coalition forces helped in effecting a regime change in Iraq as well. War against terror in Iraq has so far proved costly for the coalition forces for it has resulted in more than required retention of coalition forces in an alien land. The casualties too have been on the higher side. The domestic politics in US and UK, the two leading nations launching the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been hotly debating and discussing the issue. During the study we’ll analyse the issue as taken up by some senior political leaders or larger political parties in both these countries. It is worthwhile here to mention that the US polity in particular has had a sort of referendum in the elections sometime back when the democrats, opposing the Iraq and Afghanistan policies have got an upper hand. Citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan are active participants in this campaign against terrorism. They are the one’s who have been dealing with the bombs hurled by the anti-social elements and they happen to be at the receiving end of the bullets fired by the security forces. Their land is under occupation, but they can’t throw the occupational forces out, as the forces are here with the stated objectives of saving the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan. Though it is next to impossible to reach out to the citizens of these nations, still we’ll try to analyse their views available in the public domain on the print and electronic media. Citizens of the nations at war have felt rather confused, during all these years with the way things are unfolding on daily basis. During the study we’ll try to solicit views of some of the citizens as to why this war should not be continued till the stated goals are achieved or why should it be stopped right away to stop the situation from further deterioration. Citizens might be having some ideas for making the campaign a success. The study will also take into account some of the recent surveys undertaken by some international bodies like, human right groups, amnesty international, department on defence etc. Source of Data Collection Primary Data: To collect primary data, we’ll prepare questionnaires for the people on the streets, and then selecting a random sample size we’ll request them to respond to the questions. This data will then be tabulated and analysed to come out at any conclusion. Data will also be collected by observing some events taking place in the concerned countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, US, UK etc. and how the war has affected these nations, their economies, people’s attitudes etc. Secondary Data: The issue has got major attention from all over the world. Media has been discussing the issue for quite some time now. There have been reports from within Iraq and Afghanistan that at times, the war has been taking worsening turns, resulting in increasing the miseries of the people. There are bouts of peace as well, but media reports suggest that the situation in Iraq appears to be very unpredictable after the execution of its former President Saddam Hussain. There are research reports available in the public domain having carried out studies on war and its impacts in the concerned countries. For arriving at the conclusion, we’ll study these reports as well. Studying and analyzing Pakistan brand of politics, its compulsions and the aftereffects too will prove to be a good source of information for this study. Limitations The research will be carried out with certain limitations like. Some strategic information which led to the war will not be available in the public domain. The armed forces, their political bosses, bureaucrats and other people involved with such decisions will of course be bound by the laws of the land the inside information will not be available for public consumption. In addition, collecting data through primary research in more than one country will not be easy for a research of this nature, as it requires not only good contacts but extensive infrastructure to carry out the research. In fact, collecting data through primary sources, through questionnaire etc. won’t be easy to carry out in more than once city. But there are plenty of secondary sources of data for this purpose. Interviewing the people of Iraq, putting questionnaires to them and taking their views will prove to be an arduous task for this study. There may not be many secondary sources of data, available for this data. We’ll have to rely mainly on the media reports and some news analysts views. It will be worthwhile to study some of the organisations which are supposed to have their hands behind the terror network. Some of these networks have since gone underground. While some other organizations have started gaining more sympathizers in many countries. Earlier also these organisation used to get finances and committed supporters to carry out the tasks from many countries. In the name of Jihad, they were brainwashing young minds and quite successfully too with all sorts of attractive and compulsive resources at their command. Since these organizations did not face any direct opposition, this was resulting in sort of morale boosting for them. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have at least put a stop to the trend of openly flouting the rule of law and joining hands with such organisations. But gaining access to them and putting up questions is both dangerous and risky. Therefore we’ll have to rely on media reports for such studies. References: 1. U.S. Department of Defense Official Website, www.defenselink.mil/ (March 17, 2007) 2. Campaign Against Terrorism A Coalition Update. Available online at http://www.whitehouse.gov/march11/campaignagainstterrorism.pdf (March 14, 2007) 3. Cook, Robin (2005), The struggle against terrorism cannot be won by military means, The Guardian. Friday July 8, 2005 http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,12780,1523838,00.html (March 17, 2007) 4. House of Commons (2001), The Campaign against International Terrorism: prospects after the fall of the Taliban. Available online at http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2001/rp01-112.pdf (March 14, 2007) 5. Leon T. Hadar (2002). Pakistan in America’s War against Terrorism: Strategic Ally or Unreliable Client? CATO Institute. Available online at http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-436es.html (March 17, 2007) Read More