War Against Terrorism - Essay Example

It was an act that shocked not only American but also the whole world alike. This is because the effect of the terrorist act was felt all over the world. The growing wave of globalisation has led to more interdependence between nations in the world and there is no one nation that can presume to be living in isolation. Therefore insecurity in one state has translated to insecurity in the whole word. The September 11 attack dealt a major blow to the deteriorating security situation of the world.

This paper will look at the war on terror that began immediately after the September 11 attack. It will look at various discourses of the war and the progress that has been made on the war. It will try to assess whether the war has been won or it has been lost. The war on terrorism which is also called war on terror is a common term that is use to refer various religious military, political, legal and economical actions that were initiated by the US government in responding to the September 11 attack.

The war was started with an aim of preventing further events of terror and curbing the growing wave of terrorism groups in the world. It was also started with an aim of scattering terrorism groups like al-Qaeda which had carried out the September 11 attack. (Horn Berger, 2004) The terror was crafted in polices and military actions that were aimed at chaining or eliminating the radical Islam movement which also started carrying out terrorism activities in other parts of the world. It necessitated the use of military action in order to drive out terrorism groups from their stronghold in Afghanistan and in other areas like Iraq.

However the war on terror has remained a controversial issue even up to date and the pessimist argue that it has achieved nothing rather than making the terror groups more radical and more prepared to carry out further acts of terror. While there are those who believe that the war has help to curb terrorist activities in the world, there are others who think that the war on terror may take a long time to be won. This is because there are still various concerns about the war that continue to show the ineffectiveness in attaining its initial target of eliminating terror groups from the world.

The US which has been the main crusader of the war has been accused for waging a unilateral primitive war which is not justified. It has also been accused of violation of human rights on the course of the war. For example the opening up of Guatanamo Bay has been one of the thorny issues in the world as far as the war on terror is concerned. Guatanamo Bay though opened as an interrogation centre has been turned out to be a torture den where some suspects have been held for more than five years without facing any justice.

The war on terror has also been shown to be a violation of international law. As a citizen of the international community, the US and its allies have been accused of undermining the rule of law in the international community and waging the war on sovereign countries which have not been justified by the international community. In the presence of internal community and the UN which is supposed to have played a major role in arbitration of the conflict and the terror groups, the US and its allies were accused of ignoring the mandate that has been given to the international