Terrorism and Its Effects on International Relations

September 11, 2001, will forever be remembered as a day of tragedy for the United States as an act of terrorism killed roughly 3,000 people at the World Trade Center, and 200 at the Pentagon. Terrorists hijacked four separate aircraft that day, two planes were crashed into the north and south tower of the World Trade Center in New York, one was crashed into the Pentagon in Virginia, and the last one crashed into a field where it was believed that passengers disrupted the hijackers, causing the aircraft to crash before reaching its target. Both towers eventually fell, and this attack brought about the beginning of many changes for the United States, that had a ripple effect onto other nations. On September 20th, Bush called for an emergency joint session of the US Congress where he announced the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (MacFarlane, P. J., 2017). Along with this new department came the development of several measures that were implemented to prevent future attacks. Although the terrorist attacks of 9/11 were devastating and caused turmoil and unrest for the United States, even to present day, there were some positive outcomes to be had from this event.

Using the concepts of security, terrorism and risk learnt in this unit, critically evaluate the record of global counter-terrorism measures since the 9/11 attacks.

So far, terrorism has been a key obstacle to many foreign nations, as they are struggling to prevent terrorist attacks. From the year of 1997 up to the year of 2003, international terrorist attacks have gone from less than 500 to almost 3000. Overall, global terrorism has grown by almost 1200% from 1997 to 2003. (Johnston 1). This massive increase in terrorism reflects on other nations' lack of control of the safety of their nation. These statistics also show that something needs to be done to protect the

Domestic terrorism has played a major part in shaping the societies of the United States. The ideologies of individuals can become radicalized. This can lead to a movement. This movement involves the infliction of fear upon the communities, in attempt to make it a better world. It is critical to examine the events created by one man’s extreme ideologies in effort to better understand.

In response to what marked the United States forever, the September 11 attacks, the federal government procreated what is known as The Department of Homeland Security. The main responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security consisted of having to protect the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to terrorist attacks, man-made accidents, and natural disasters. In another words, the existence of the Department of Homeland Security is to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards. Though many different government agencies see and define Homeland Security accordingly to their protocol, the National Strategy for the Department of Homeland Security was able to

George W Bush, who just barely got elected, was the president of the United States during 9/11. His rating skyrocketed after the event due to both parties rallying around him, which helped to get the USA PATRIOT Act, just a month after 9/11, (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Which basically gave law enforcement and intelligence agencies sweeping power to thwart terrorist plots. This was a major influence of the 21st century because what was not well known to the public at the time was that the act gave NSA (National Security Agency) Access to millions of citizens private information. This was a massive story in the summer of 2013 when the thousands of leaked documents reached the public. In addition to laws being passed were whole departments being created to address the new “War on Terror”. The Department of Homeland Security or the DHS is tasked with protecting the United States territory from terrorist threats and to respond to natural disasters. Currently, it is the third largest cabinet in the U.S government. The War in Afghanistan was a direct effect of the attacks and was originally supported by the U.S population, however as years passed with no real result, history began to repeat itself, with the majority of Americans opposing the war. The

It made it equally as important as anything else did on the agenda. Also the United States was now a state of mobilization. The armed forces would now and always be at a striking force. All of the changes were something new to the people of America but it was an idea that was not only accepted it was expected. The same rings true with 9/11 in relation to the role of America. Our sole focus is national security and to put our military at a point of being called upon any second. The United States has embraced the idea that things have changed and are willing to do whatever possible to prevent future events of this magnitude. Another characteristic that the Cold War Period and 9/11 hold in common is that both were a pervasive political and military competition that dominated international politics.

Resulting from the attacks September 11 government activity has expanded. This includes new agencies/organizations, legislations, bills, and etc. Contained in the article “9/11 to now: Ways we have changed” by Jason Villemez, more than 130 pieces of legislation related to 9/11 have been introduced into Congress one year after the attacks and 48 bills have been passed into law (Villemez). All of these legislations and bills were related directly to the terrorism experienced on American soil. Within these papers multiple acts were formed including the following: Aviation and Transportation Security Act, Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act, and many others. Following different acts came new organization and agencies to oversee the nation’s security. According to the Washington Post, 263 organizations have been created or reorganized as a response to 9/11 (Priest, Arkin). There are hundreds of other organizations that do work related to counter-terrorism, security, and intelligence. The Department of Homeland Security is one of the big organizations created in response to the attacks. The Department of Homeland Security is to oversee and protect the country against terrorism and respond to future attacks or threats (Creation of the Department of Homeland Security). All government activity has been an accomplishment since 9/11 and used for the people of the United

After the terrorist attack of 9/11, the U.S. came to the reality that it did not have the resources available to foil terrorist plots. Days of panic proceeded in congress to answer the issue at hand, the conclusion was to extend a branch called the Department of Homeland Security. According to the "National Strategy for Homeland Security," the definition of homeland security is "a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce America's vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recovery from attacks that happen.” After President

Under President Bush’s command, the U.S government did a number of things in response to the attacks. They tightened up domestic security in airports and in public places. And they also created a “War on Terror”, accusing Afghanistan and Iraq of supporting the Al-Qaeda operation, invading their countries, and also bringing down and replacing their governments.

Per the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), domestic terrorism is an offense that is intended to influence or affect the conduct of government through intimidation or coercion. It can also be considered as a retaliation against government conduct. Terrorism violates many statutes, including 18 U.S.C. § 2332b, § 930(c), which relates to killing or attempting to kill during the attack of a federal facility with a dangerous weapon; and § 1114 which relates to the killing or attempted killing of officers and employees of the U.S (FBI, 2016). To be classified as an act of domestic terrorism, the event must contain specific criteria, such as the involvement of acts that are dangerous to human life that are in violation of federal or state law.

September 11, 2001 marked the most horrific day in history for United States of America. The events of this day changed the lives of those residing in America forever. United States was considered somewhat safe, in regards to terrorists’ attacks. However, this all came to a screeching halt when 19 militants known to be a part of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group hijacked four planes for the purpose of destroying targeted areas in the United States. As a result of the deadly attack on the United States, security measures drastically changed. Although, security measures throughout the United States have been in place, extreme caution came into effect. All departments looked at different measures to improve preventing terrorists’ attacks.

When the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred the United States responded in a manner which was seen as a traditional reaction to such an attack; it used its overwhelming superior military to invade the nation of Afghanistan. As Afghanistan was the operating base of the terrorist group responsible for the attacks, Al Qaeda, the invasion all but destroyed the group's operating capacity. But in response to the United States' apparent victory the terrorists have re-organized themselves into a looser confederation and turned to alternative methods of finance and operation. One could say that the success of the American military's answer to the September 11th attacks have created a new environment in which terrorists currently operate. This includes the use of the internet, unconventional alliances with international criminal organizations, as well the inception of the "lone wolf" terrorist. Faced with these new type of threats, the United States and its allies must find a way to identify and deal with them.

As a direct consequence of September 11, a number of substantial challenges lie ahead in the area of counter-terrorism..   The most prominent of these is the changing nature of the terrorism phenomenon.  In past years, when terrorism was largely the product of direct state sponsorship, policymakers were able to diminish prospects for the United States becoming a target using a combination of diplomatic and military instruments to deter potential state sponsors.  Today, however, many terrorist organizations and individuals act independently from former and present state sponsors, shifting to other sources of support, including the development of transnational networks.

The immediacy and the primacy of any truly potent force is the ability to perpetuate itself. Sharp and energetic outbursts have their place, and can be known to have great effect-cataclysmic forces, despite their maximum destructive potential, are temporary in their total effects in relation to some absolute goal. In other words, they are generally limited in scope, and well defined in purpose; there is a tactical objective, which is usually consummated quickly. The more dreaded force creeps along, escalating incrementally, and while it may abide a strategic goal, or even a policy, it is generally open-ended. This sort of ambiguity I am referring to differs from the flexible tactical necessity in that strategic outcomes are very much