Journal Entry 4/12/10 - War on Terror

After 9/11/01, political views on the war on terrorism have changed greatly. Our nation called for many security evaluations. This was a real eye-opener for many Americans because it is the first time a terrorist group had actually significantly affected thousands of Americans. The memory of this event will live on forever and this is what launched the War on Terror during President Bush's administration. I believe at the time President Bush handled things the way most Americans would have wanted. He called for many great changes in our country's national security. Immediately, troops were sent into Afghanistan and Iraq to try to fight off the dangerous terrorist groups. Also, airport security increased by a huge magnitude and more and more laws were put into effect by the TSA. Ideas about monitoring phone calls of suspicious actitivies were even being considered, and today certain laws exist about when the government can tap phone calls. This was what Amercians wanted - measures taken to prevent future attacks. The US was in search for the corrupt leader of Iraq and the head of the suspected terrorist group that planned the 9/11 attacks, Saddam and Osama. Many Americans agreed that this was the best action to take, however troops still reside all over the Middle East that were stationed there during this event. I believe that the troops have been there for way too long and should withdraw. Not only is it a huge waste of American money, but ruthless fighting with no objectives takes place everyday. I do agree that these terrorist groups should be put out of control and that Middle Eastern countries need to support and create a healthy government, but the large number of American troops and the fighting does not need to occur and it is very detrimental to our economy. With all the recent spending and debt that the Federal government has been facilitating, we need all the monetary resources we can get, and keeping the multitude of troops in Iraq is not necessary. After reading The Forever War by Dexter Filkins, I see the horrors that the troops have to go through and the poor civilian inhabitants of the country. I think the war and fighting needs to stop and we should be using a lot less troops to achieve this. I think that the UN needs to take a larger role in these terrorist activities. What puzzles me more than anything however, is the lack of motives that these terrorist groups have. Why? I don't understand why one or a mixure of these groups can just come together to form a cooperative, peaceful government. They thrive off this inessential need for violence and power which I see little point to. The Iraqi police needs to be building prisons along with schools to contain all the dangerous leaders and members of these terrorist groups. Overall, I think the US should at least try to remove soldiers little by little and observe the effects. If things go well, then we can use the resulting money we save on economic programs.