Effectiveness of U.S. Government Policy in Countering Terrorism

The general environment and civilization as a whole are negatively impacted by terrorism, which is a very harmful activity. It has long been known that terrorist attacks cause havoc, confusion, and economic upheaval in the areas where they occur. On September 11, a terrorist assault took place in the United States, which was tragic and resulted in the deaths of more than 2.5 million people. Since then, the US has consistently used a variety of strategies to prevent these assaults. And ensure the safety of the citizens of the country. United States has enforced and invested policies in overtime to ensure the attacks are reduced. The strategies have to some extent been effective. However, some of these policies have not been efficient since terror attacks have occurred in various areas. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of the policies implemented by the United States to reduce terrorism, the success and failures which have been achieved.

Problem Statement

The war on terror has, for long, been in the continuous state within the United States especially because of the country's endeavors to edge out terrorists and terror in various battlegrounds. This has led to the questioning of how effective the strategies and policies that are implemented in combating these terror groups have been, especially in meeting the objectives of the policies implemented. Therefore, there has been a gap in understanding how effective these policies have been. This is primarily the reason why the literature was reviewed.

Overview of the Articles

The selected items for review provide knowledge and information on terrorist activities that have affected the United States and the policies implemented to curb the same. The articles majorly argue on three aspects including how effective the counterterrorism policies have been, the failure of these policies and the specific approaches integrated into the same. The findings of these readings are coherent with each other since the conclusions concerning the reasons why the war on terror by the United States has been successful are similar. Moreover, the findings on the failure of the counterterrorism policy are akin since the information provided by the articles relates to each other. The approaches that the country in question has engaged in the development of policies in counterterrorism are also similar to each other, and the information is relative in each of the articles providing this information.

Effectiveness of the War on Terror

Goepner and Erik consider and scrutinize terrorist attacks that the United States has had to combat over time. According to him, the efforts that the United States has had in counterterrorism have been pivotal. Goepner and Eric claim that one of the measures showing that the United States has managed to implement the policies against terror is the execution of the notorious al-Qaeda leader, that is, Osama Bin laden.1 This is because the demise of the leader led to failure to implement most of the crucial operations of the al-Qaeda. Therefore, the policies can be said to be successful. Moreover, he claims that the author contends that the gross domestic product per capita and the levels of education within the United States have improved due to the policies made towards mitigation of terrorist attacks.1

When examining the works of Combs and Ray, the claims put forward by Goepner and Erik can as well be confirmed. First, the author declares that the effectiveness of the policies within the United States can be proved by examining various objectives that these policies have effectively implemented. According to Combs and Ray, under the leadership of President Bush, more than two-thirds of the top leaders of al-Qaeda leaders were captured and most of them killed, thereby affecting the operations of this terror group. This is one of the primary objectives that the policies against terror were aimed at actualizing. Moreover, the authors state that over $200 million, which was to be used in running terrorist attack operations and terrorist-harboring regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, was also seized. The bigger part that should be looked upon is how the two countries, Iraq and Afghanistan were otherwise developed by the United States to be in the war against terrorist attacks to show how effective the United States policies against terrorism have been.

Ashley also support the United States policies against terror claiming that the strategies have been potent over time. The author indicates that the al-Qaeda has had much impact on the various operations of the United States over time. Ashley, however, claims that the country had formed alliances and key partnerships with other key countries to collaborate in the aversion of the terror threats.3 Moreover, the state also engaged other parties to augment the liberal international economic order by improving the security standards and growing the national prosperity against terror activities. The author claims that through these activities, the United States has been able to annihilate the terrorist group sponsors, thereby ensuring that they lack support and are thus not a threat to the country. Moreover, United States has also subdued various terror organizations that reach the global nature in particular, through the murder of their powerful leaders and breaking up their control and financial support. The milestone shows how effective the policies against terrorism have been.

Based on the findings of Milena, United States use of drones in combatting with terror attacks after the September 11 event has led to success of the country in countering terrorism. With the leadership of both President Bush and President Obama, the use of drones has been useful especially in fighting terrorists on various battlegrounds such as Afghanistan. Moreover, Yemen and Pakistan are also different regions in which the drones have been employed in combat the terror wars. The author states that the drones are employed in areas where al-Qaeda and other terror groups have been wreaking havoc within the states. The policies implemented can be deemed to have been successful with the events that have occurred towards the al-Qaeda under the use of drones.

Why has the War on Terror not been Effective

First, various scholars have argued that the war on terror by the United States has not been effective, thereby claiming that the implemented policies as well have failed. Based on Thrall, Trevor and Goepner findings, the inflated assessment of the terror threats nature within the United States has led to the counterterrorism campaign in the state expanding, which did not otherwise safeguard the citizens of the United States from the various terror attacks. Moreover, the author claims that the aggressive strategy of the military in interventions against terror attacks has also failed the implemented policies against terrorism. The author as well postulates that the war on terror has actualized just a few objectives and failed on most, thereby claiming that these policies have collapsed.

Lum, Cynthia, Kennedy and Sherley, have undertaken a study to determine the effectiveness of the counter-terrorism policies based on various literature sources. The authors unraveled that the increased intolerant political parties to the terrorist activities and the diminishing of the Cold War has potential impacts on increasing the terrorist events rather than reducing the same. Moreover, the authors found out that the nondefense costs of the homeland security have not been active in counterterrorism measures. In addition, the authors suggest that the lack of apt scientific standards and involvement of scientist in developing the counterterrorism measures has rendered the endeavors inefficient and unwarranted.

Based on the argument by Valentina, the findings of Lum et al. are sufficient to claim that the policies within the United States to fight terrorism have failed. The author as well dictates that regardless of the war against the al-Qaeda being successful, the policies have not been effective to some extent. The authors argue that the United States has failed to work without joining with other countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan in combating the terrorist attacks. Moreover, the interventions of the United States against the terror attacks have not achieved the local commitment of the population yet, and the objectives that were otherwise meant to be met by the policies have not been fully realized. Therefore, these policies can be deemed ineffective.

Various approaches to Combatting Terror Attacks

Reed and Donald dictate that over time, terrorism has dealt a huge blow to the United States. The attack on September 11 led to a national effort in developing strategies to combat terror. The author claims that the United States has had its focus on dismantling the support systems of these terror groups and otherwise ensuring that they lack the finances, leadership and various material that they would otherwise utilize in these terror attacks. Moreover, the United States has embarked on the use of metal detectors and other technological equipment in the airports and terminus stations in ensuring that the terrorists and hijackers are nabbed and seized beforehand. Also, the author has stated that the use of drones in fighting the terrorists is among the approaches that the United States has utilized. This method entails the remote control of drones to provide air support to military combat especially in identifying the underlying hideouts of the terrorists. In this regard, therefore, the use of drones has been helpful in ensuring that the actives of the terrorists are monitored, and in the event of war, the United States has air support.

Further Research Questions

After a critical review of the literature, it was found that the various articles depict high points and information regarding how the United States has utilized more advanced technologies in ensuring the terrorist activities are countered. Moreover, the United States use of Nuclear energy can be utilized as a base point for attack by the terrorists. Information regarding the protection and policies in place to ensure that the nuclear power sources are not leaked to the terror groups is not sufficiently discussed. Therefore, for further research, the following research questions should be considered:

What is the impact of technology in the United States war on terror attacks and how has this technology led to the effectiveness of the policies put in place to combat terrorist activities?

Does the United States use of Nuclear Power pose an opportunity for the terrorists to use in their activities?

Does the working with terror-known countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan pose a threat for the United States to be penetrated by malicious attackers through the collaboration?

Discussion and Analysis

America is engaged in a battle with the transnational terrorist movement which is motivated by ideas on murder, hatred, and oppression. The first national strategy of fighting terrorism was established on February 2003 which stated that America was at war and had the duty of offering protection to the citizens and the homeland. The war on terrorism is recognized as a different type of war since it is a battle of both ideas and arms. America is involved in fighting the terrorists in the battlefield and promoting human dignity, and freedom since terrorism concentrates on factors such as totalitarian rule and oppression. To combat terrorism, national power and influence have to be used as it requires all the power, resources and influence required. Therefore, intelligence, diplomacy, law enforcement, and finance have to be used to protect the land of America, extend the defense forces, deprive the enemies and disrupt the operations of the terrorists. Through these methods, United States has been able to break the old orthodoxies which held the efforts on countering terrorism.

The national strategy established the plan which would be used in executing the efforts in fighting terrorism. The approach was constructed from the March 2006 National Security Strategy and the national strategy for fighting terrorism used in 2003, which included the increased understanding of the enemy thus determining the approach to use to fight them. Since the establishment of the fight against terrorism, America understood that it was a war which was more than just finding and bringing justice to the victims of the terrorist attacks such as those on 2001, September 11 terrorism. The strategy involved destroying the al-Qaida network which is the largest and as well confronting the radical ideology which inspired other groups and people to join the terrorist movement. After the September 11 attacks, the American government has been able to progress in degrading the terrorist network, capturing and killing the leaders, disrupting those who support the organization and eliminating their bases. The freedom agenda has been able to promote the most suitable solution to the al-Qaida agenda which states that "the freedom and dignity that comes when human liberty is protected by effective democratic institutions."

Due to the efforts that the united states have put in fighting terrorism, the terrorists have adjusted, and it is a requirement for the government to continue refining the strategy which will meet the threat approaches which are evolving. In the present, a global terrorist movement is being faced thus should confront the radical ideology which supports the application of violence thus hurting the innocent people using religion. The strategy follows various tactics that need to be fulfilled to fight terrorism effectively. It begins with advancing effective democracies using a long-term antidote to the terrorism idea. It requires preventing the attacks by the networking groups of terrorism and denying the support provided to the terrorists and sanctuary of the rogue states. The other approach is denying the terrorist groups the control they may have over any nation which would be used as the base for planning and launch the terror attacks. Lying of a foundation is necessary and building the institutions required the by the government in conducting the battle against terrorism as well as make sure that ultimate success will be achieved.

The war on terrorism has never stopped, and it is still in the process. After the September 11 attacks, it disrupted peace internationally and interfered with the rights of human dignity and liberty. The United States formed coalitions with interested nations to help fight terrorism, and there is hope of winning the war. The fight against terrorism is more than a war of armed conflicts but depends on any activities that can be carried out to stop terrorism not only in America but also in the United States. Since the war began, various successes have been achieved so far beginning with the deprivation of the safe haven that al-Qaida had established in Afghanistan and assisted in the establishment of a democratic government. Afghanistan is even now participating in the war against terrorism movements. Iraq members joined a multinational coalition journey which assisted in prosecuting the war against terrorism in the nation. Through the interactions, America, Iraq and other nations have been able to establish a united, secure and stable nation. The Middle East nations were the most affected by terrorism, but through the fight, they have been liberated and are even working in collaboration with the United States to finish the terror acts. The al-Qaida networks have been degraded significantly through capturing and killing of the leaders such as Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, who was the mastermind of the September 11 attacks. Other key members have also been captured and killed thus weakening the organization. America has been involved in conducting campaigns against terrorism which has helped in curbing terrorist finances. A global consensus is being held which is aimed at helping educate people on respecting human dignity and liberty and no religion can justify human killing. The cooperation of different nations has strengthened the fight against terrorism considering that the efforts have been improved in the sense of law enforcement, diplomatic activities, intelligence, and military. The nations have been strengthened, thus increasing the ability to disrupt any attacks that are being planned through counterterrorism architecture. It has been done by creating the Homeland Security Department, National Intelligence, and the National Counterterrorism Center. One of the plots that have been stopped successfully is the attacks that had been planned inside the United States. The nations which participated in the September 11 attack are now part of the solution to any attacks that are being planned. The administration and the Congress are working together in adopting, implementing and renewing the key reforms such as the USA PATRIOT Act which is used in security promotion and defending the liberty of the citizens. With all these successes, American can be considered safe but not completely safe as there are still serious challenges being faced nationally and internationally .

The challenges pose a threat to national security, and some of the challenges are as described below. The networking teams of the terrorists are no longer centralized which makes it hard to destroy them since they are more dispersed. The networks rely on smaller cells, those with a common ideology and do not rely on central command structure. It is hard to learn from all enemies and destroy them due to the vast region which they operate. The government of America has been able to stop various terrorist attacks but not all of them which means that lots of innocent lives have been lost and destruction of property through terrorist activities. The terrorists have been able to strike different places throughout the world such as in Bail and Baghdad. Though the fight has been established in the land, sea, air and border security, the homeland is still not immune to attack. The terrorist groups may be established inside the nation and remain unsuspected till they conduct their terror attacks. The terrorist does not remain quiet while they are being attacked by the United States government but has declared their intention to get and use the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) which would result in more catastrophic attacks against any nation which is fighting terrorism. There are some states which continue to hold and support the terrorist groups such as Syria and Iran thus sponsoring terror acts internationally. In Iraq, there has been an ongoing fight for freedom which has been twisted through propaganda as a rallying cry. The internet has made it difficult to fight terrorism. As the terrorist groups are able to communicate with each other, recruit new members, train them, and ask for support from willing people and individuals and spreading their ideology without the risk of personal contact. Through such acts, the government finds it hard to learn from their enemies and whatever they may be planning. It is thus hard to fight terrorism. Though the American government is dedicated to fighting terrorism, they still get it hard as the terrorist movements are led by smart people, who are able to plan and strategize how terrorist operations will be conducted. They have gone to the extent of having some of their people working for the government to learn their plans on fighting terror attacks.

Through the al-Qaida network is degraded, it is still dangerous. The enemy that the United States government is facing in the present is different from the one which was faced back on September 11. The counterterrorism efforts have made the terrorist movements evolve thus modifying the way they conduct their business. The understanding of the enemy has also changed as in the present; America is facing a transnational movement of people, organizations, and networks which are extremists, state and non-state supporters, thus exploiting the Muslims as an ideology to conduct terror attacks. The transnational movement is not monolithic as the al-Qaida is now controlled by various states and organizations. The movement is united by a shared vision, common ideas concerning the nature and destiny of the globe and the objective of introducing the totalitarian rule. The movement is united by the ideology of causing oppression, hate, and violence.

The terrorist groups are currently exploiting the Islam to usher their violent political vision. The vision is fueled by the false belief that America is responsible for most of the issues which have affected the lives of the Muslims in the present. The terrorist groups thus hope to do away with the western power and introduce the Islamic notion of influence and intolerant distortion. A good example of such a rule was in Afghanistan when Taliban was in power, and it resulted in denial of political and religious freedom. The terrorist groups such as al-Qaida are known to have greater geographical and territorial ambitions, and their main aim is the establishment of a single totalitarian rule which is pan-Islamic spreading from Spain to Southeast Asia. The enemy movement hopes to exploit the separation which exists between the Muslims and the non-Muslims. The idea of jihad is exploited by calling for violence and massive killing against the non-Muslims and those who do not follow the teachings of the Islamic religion. Since the September 11, most terror attacks are witnessed in the Islamic states, and the victims have been Muslims.

The terrorists can be considered as enemies of humanity since their aim is replacing freedom with conflicts and violence. Through these groups are not looking at the larger scope, they still concentrate on narrow terror acts which still interfere with peace. According to the terrorist groups, violence is necessary and glorified, due to the consideration of being necessary to punish those who go against the religious beliefs. The approaches used in conducting the terror attacks are bombing and beheading which causes massive pain to the victims. When the United States declared the interest to fight the terror attacks, it gained enmity with the groups and nations supporting the terrorists, and they desired to cause more pain to America. The people who do not obey the terrorists' needs should face violence as peace cannot prevail among them. America, despite being attacks still believes that fighting the war on terrorism can be achieved as they interfere with any development plans, interfere with global peace, democracy and the rights of people, through inflicting fear and violence among the people.

The government of America has been adjusting their strategic vision on the fight against terrorists due to the changes in ideology, structure, and operations of the terrorists. The war has been involving both arms and ideas for a long time. Thus, there has been an involvement of the influence and national power instruments which help do away with the terror bases and ensuring that the terrorists do not gain the weapons of mass destruction. The aim of the United Nations, which are fighting terrorism is changing the ideas of the disillusioned killers and ensuring that the freedom of the people is maintained thus promoting a harmonious and diverse society. The battle of ideas and arms will be made up of two long-term visions which are defeating violence since it threatens the way of life which is freedom and open society and creating a hospitable global environment which does not tolerate violence extremists and does away with all those who support them. The strategy for winning the fight against terrorism can both be long-term and short-term.

On the long-term approach, the government is required to recognize the factors which give rise to terrorism and those which do not. Factors such as poverty, simple hostility, or east and western nation's religious differences do not cause terrorism. However, there are factors such as the ideology which justifies the killing of innocent people, political separation, playing the blame game and forming of subcultures which conspire against or misinforms others. On the short-term factors, there are various actions which can be conducted such as preventing the networking sites, denying access to the weapons of mass destruction to the rogue states and ensuring that nations do not support the terrorists. When the United States uses these approaches, they will be able combat terror attacks and promote peace internationally.

Conclusion

Terrorism is a significant negative activity that results in various impacts on the general environment and the society itself. One of the measures that may show that the United States has managed to implement the policies against terror is through the killing of the al-Qaeda leader. Gross domestic product per capita and the levels of education within the United States have improved due to the policies made to reduce terrorist attacks. Over $200 million, which was to be used in operating terrorist attacks and terrorist-harboring regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, were also seized. However, various scholars have argued that the war on terror by the United States has not been effective, thereby claiming that the implemented policies as well have failed. The nondefense costs of the homeland security have not been effective in counterterrorism measures. Also, lack of proper scientific standards and involvement of scientist in developing the counterterrorism measures has made these actions inefficient and unwarranted. Summarily, regardless of this, and with the consideration of the weight of the impacts, the policies can be deemed to have been effective in fighting terror attacks.

Bibliography

Alexander, Yonah, and Michael Kraft. Evolution of U.S. Counterterrorism Policy. Westport, Conn: Praeger Security International, 2007.

Ashley. Assessing America's war on terror: Confronting insurgency, cementing primacy. Vol. 14. (National Bureau of Asian Research, 2004), 12.

Combs and Ray, Assessing Strategic Effectiveness in the War on Terrorism. Army War College (Carlisle Barracks Pennsylvania, 2006), 10.

Goepner and Erik, "Measuring the effectiveness of America's war on terror." Parameters 46.1 2016: 107. Available from http://ssi.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/Parameters/issues/Spring_2016/13_Goepner.pdf; Internet; accessed 1 September 2017.

Gomis, Benoit. Counterterrorism: Reassessing the Policy Response. 2015. .

Lum, Cynthia, Kennedy, and Alison Sherley. "Are counter-terrorism strategies effective? The results of the Campbell systematic review on counter-terrorism evaluation research." Journal of Experimental Criminology 2.4 2006: 489-516.. Available from https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/lbrr/archives/cnmcs-plcng/cn88836819-eng.pdf; accessed 31 August 2017.

Makarychev, Andrey, and Robert W. Orttung. National Counter-Terrorism Strategies Legal, Institutional, and Public Policy Dimensions in the US, UK, France, Turkey and Russia. Amsterdam: IOS Press, 2006.

Milena Sterio. "The United States' use of drones in the War on Terror: the (il) legality of targeted killings under international law." Case W. Res. J. Int'l L. 45 (2012): 197. Available from http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1805&context=fac_articles; Internet Accessed 29 August 2017.

Morgan, Matthew J. The Impact of 9/11 and the New Legal Landscape. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. .

Reed and Donald. "Why strategy matters in the war on terror." Homeland security affairs 2.3 2006. Available from http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=ADA484986; accessed 31 August 2017.

Thrall, A. Trevor, and Erik Goepner. "Step Back." Cato Institute. June 26, 2017, Available from https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa-814.pdf; internet; accessed 27 August 2017.

Valentina. "US response to terrorism: a strategic analysis of the Afghanistan campaign." Journal of Strategic Security 3.2 (2010): 27. Available from http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=jss; accessed 31 August 2017.