Term Paper on "Does the War in Iraq Diminish the Threat of Terrorism Here in America?"

Term Paper 4 pages (1979 words) Sources: 10 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

war in Iraq diminish the threat of terrorism here in America?

Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the security policy of U.S. has changed greatly. One of the measures of response as part of the declared war on terrorism has been whether the invasion of Iraq was justified and whether the war in Iraq led to the diminishment of the threat of terrorism in America.

Some voices say that all that the American people need to know is that ever since the beginning of the war on terror, U.S. was not the target of other terrorist attacks. But the question that needs to be asked here is whether the war on Iraq had this influence or whether the answer is in the improvement of the internal security of U.S..

The opinions concerning the war in Iraq and whether it was justified or not are very much divided and this has a great influence on the way political analysts see the influence of the war in Iraq over the security of U.S..

According to a 2006 report of American intelligence agencies, the war in Iraq contributed more in fueling the terrorist hatred against U.S. rather than providing a more secure environment in America (Mazzetti, 2006). The terrorist threat seems to have grown since the invasion of Iraq due to the disapproval of it by terrorist groups. "The classified National Intelligence Estimate attributes a more direct role to the Iraq war in fueling radicalism" (Mazzetti, 2006) since not only that terrorist groups are not intimidated by American strategies, but they are developing even more since the beginning of the war in Iraq.

This is a conclusion that is easily to take - that the war in Iraq fuele

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d the hatred of terrorist groups against U.S. And its allies. But this answer does not necessarily imply that the security of U.S. has more to suffer due to the increasing hatred of terrorist groups. According to several intelligence agencies, the war in Iraq had a great impact on the evolution of terrorist groups and this can be linked to the situation of U.S. security within its borders. Although the invasion of Iraq and the war on terror is seen as justified by White House officials, they do not claim that the world is now safer due to the war in Iraq, or at least not yet. (Mazzetti, 2006) it is hard to believe that the war on terror will eventually come to an end or at least that that end is close, so the threat of terrorism against U.S. will not be diminished until the war against terrorism is over.

One of the reasons used in favor of the position that yes, the war in Iraq diminishes the threat of terrorism, is that during this war many members of terrorist groups were captured and parts of their cells and base, destroyed. But terrorist groups use the intervention of U.S. In Iraq for legitimizing their actions and perhaps there will come a time when they will regroup and gather their strength and really manage to plan another terrorist attack on U.S. territory.

Concerning the war in Iraq and its influence on U.S. internal security, perhaps the most important question that needs to be asked is whether the war destroyed many of America's enemies or are these terrorist groups just waiting for the right opportunity.

The optimist views concerning the influence of the war in Iraq seem to believe that the reason why there hasn't been any other terrorist attack in U.S. after 9/11 is that there are no more terrorists in America and that the war on terror conducted by U.S. In Iraq and Afghanistan has weakened the position of terrorist groups. These views sustain that U.S. managed to fight against terrorist cells located in Iraq and Afghanistan and so the groups that once managed to strike U.S. do no longer have the power to do so, as many of the members are prisoners of Guantanamo Bay and the Abu Ghraib prisons. As I said, this is the optimist view.

But what if the optimist views are really realistic? In fact, U.S. officials have announced for the past 5 years that there is going to be an imminent terrorist attack on Us territory, an attack that is already planned and that is going to be executed at any time, with any possible weapon (Mueller, 2006). But these attacks never took place and U.S. hasn't been a target of terrorist attacks since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan and later on, Iraq.

One of the explanations that can be offered for the relative peace in America is that the security system has improved greatly. In fact, no security system can really keep terrorists away from U.S. Or can prevent terrorists from operating on U.S. territory. The U.S. security is far from perfect - although greatly improved. So the explanation must be another than that the American government has reached perfection and that it is capable to investigate every single threat to U.S. security, since the government is having difficulty with illegal immigration or since it performed so poorly in the crisis of Hurricane Katrina (Mueller, 2006).

Another explanation that might answer the question of whether the war in Iraq diminishes the threat of terrorism in America might be provided by President Bush in an address dating from September 2006 in which he believes that Iraq has become the center battle field between terrorists and America. This can be the explanation why terrorists no longer hit American territory - they are conducting their fight in Iraq (Fletcher, 2006). Does this explanation stand?

My conclusion is that the war in Iraq is not the reason why terrorist attacks did not occur in the past years. I don't believe that terrorist cells operating in Afghanistan or Iraq were diminished as they can easily move from country to country and rebuild themselves anywhere in the world. Terrorist groups operating in Iraq prove that even thought the coalition's armies are stationed in Iraq, there are violent and frequent terrorist attacks sustaining the idea that the fight on terrorism is far from being over or far from being successful. It might be that Iraq has become the theatre of fighting between U.S. And terrorist groups, but this is not a sufficient reason to explain why terrorist attacks haven't occurred in U.S. In the past five years. And definitely U.S. security hasn't improved so much since the 9/11 attacks.

A conclude that the war in Iraq has little to do with the safety of America. According to U.S. intelligence agencies, terrorist attacks can occur at any moment since the hatred against U.S. is fueled by the war in Iraq. So, in fact, the war in Iraq might be the reason for another terrorist attack in America. Al Qaeda benefits greatly from the war in Iraq, as many Muslim opponents of the war might fall for the terrorist group's propaganda and support al Qaeda only because it fights against the "oppressive" United States (Benjamin, 2003). As I now see it, the war in Iraq might be a reason for the safety of U.S. At home only due to the fact that it represents a battle field between terrorists and U.S. - a preferred battle field for America.

Research log

Research question: Does the war in Iraq diminish the threat of terrorism in America?

Source #1 from Google: Bennis, Phyllis, Understanding the U.S.-Iraq crisis, January 2003, available at http://www.ips-dc.org/iraq/primer1.htm.

Source evaluation: The article provides useful knowledge on the war in Iraq and gives answers about the reason of the war.

Source #2 from: McKenna, George, and Feingold Stanley, editors, Taking Sides, McGraw -Hill/Dushkin, Iowa, 2005.

Source evaluation: The book provides valuable opinions on issues of internal ans external politics. The articles on the issue Was the invasion of Iraq justified? cover the reasons for the invasion of Iraq.

Source #3 from Google: Mazzetti, Mark, Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terrorism Threat, published on September 24, 2006, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/world/middleeast/24terror.html?ex=1316750400&en=da252be85d1b39fa&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss.

Source evaluation: The article is based on relative recent news concerning the link between U.S. security and the war in Iraq and is very relevant for my research.

Source #4 from Google: Mueller, John, Is There Still a Terrorist Threat?: The Myth of the Omnipresent Enemy, from Foreign Affairs, September/October 2006, available at http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20060901facomment85501/john-mueller/is-there-still-a-terrorist-threat.html.

Source evaluation: The article presents the point-of-view of U.S. managing to become a secure nation after the policies adopted after the 9/11 attacks.

Source #5 from Google: Fletcher, Michael a., Bush warns of enduring terror threat, September 6, 2006, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/05/AR2006090500312.html.

Source evaluation: The article covers the official position of President George W. Bush regarding the war in Iraq and the importance of Iraq in the war against terrorism.

Source #6 from Google: Benjamin, Daniel, Two Years After 9/11: A Balance Sheet, October 2003 | Special Report No. 111, available at http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr111.html.

Source evaluation: The article discusses about who benefits from the war in Iraq… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Does the War in Iraq Diminish the Threat of Terrorism Here in America?" Assignment:

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Overview: This assignment gives you the rare opportunity to learn about a topic of your choice without having to defend a position on it. I encourage you to choose a topic you are genuinely interested in learning more about. This is pure research *****˜for the fun of it.*****

The key to this assignment is examination of the topic from different perspectives, actively seeking opposing or alternate points of view to compare, contrast, synthesize and evaluate. This *****˜playing opinions and ideas off each other***** is the dialectic process. You do not need to come to a conclusion or take a stand; in fact, you must avoid taking a position. Instead you must keep your mind open to additional questions, contradictions and complexities that may arise in the course of your research. (This builds on believing and doubting skills and surprising reversal techniques.)

Assignments: Exploratory Research Paper

Keeping a research log

Overview: Your research log is a record of the process of your research. You keep it in chronological order, the same order in which you will write your exploratory research paper. You might think of the log as a diary or journal, a day-by-day record of your efforts to examine your topic. You cannot do the exploratory paper without it, as it forms the raw material for your paper. The log has two parts: an annotated list of sources and a record of your thinking about what you are learning as you research. In one sense, your research log is just an expanded version of an annotated bibliography, but with a very important difference--it contains your thought processes as you compare and contrast information gained

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Exploratory Research Paper (20% of course grade)

These are the requirements for the Exploratory Research Paper:

1.Keep a research log (see sample on pp 212-13). Your research log must show at least 10 sources and at least 3 different kinds of sources. Each source must be properly cited according to APA documentation style. The log will be turned in with your paper.

2.Do research to examine your question, problem or issue from a variety of perspectives.

3.Write an exploratory paper of 850-1000 words and present it according to the format guidelines in your syllabus.

4. In your paper explain your chosen question, problem or issue and why you are interested in it and have not as yet reached a satisfactory answer or position (your starting point).

5.Write a first-person, chronologically organized, narrative account of your thinking process as you did your research. Do not simply report on what you found, but show evidence of a dialectic process in which you think about what you are learning. For example, draw tentative conclusions, assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of various points of view, question and *****˜talk back***** to your sources, decide what you need to do next. (You can read more about how to write in this way on page 214.) It is not necessary to arrive at a satisfactory answer, but you must show how your thinking has evolved.

6.Use appropriate APA documentation style for in-text citations.

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