Essay on Opposing Sides of Counterterrorism

Submitted By rsk0491
Words: 718
Pages: 3

Modernization, moral panic, globalization on issues of security and crime prevention
The terrorist attacks of September 9, 2001 became the beginning and also the creation of the “war on terror,” which would go on to last ten years. The controversial methods in which the United States attempted to attain their power and win this war had people both outraged and yet made people more patriotic towards America. The loss of liberties was significant and people either complied or attempted to fight back. However, the U.S was able to force compliance of the loss of liberties through moral panic and using their power to globalize their ideas of security and crime prevention through modernized forms of technology. Looking at two different articles, “A Counterterrorism Stratgey for the Next Wave” and “Looking back on 9/11: Was there an Alternative,” the two opposing sides attempts to look at would should have been done and what should be done.
“A Counterterrorism Strategy for the Next Wave” focuses on what the U.S needs to do in order to ensure their protection of homeland security and elimante terrorism. The article disagrees with Obama’s plan of ending the war and instead claims that this plan will lead to another attack. The methods presented in the article are quite extreme, costly, unrealistic, and most importantly limits the liberties that everyone should be entitled to. The article focuses on keeping troops in countries that are considered the birth of terrorism to control and to keep from any terrorist activities from reoccurring. It also claims that the U.S must provide monetary fund’s in order to achieve this goal. The article also states that if we begin to pull back and retreat our troops that terrorists will regain their confidence and power to strike back. This in turn creates a moral panic, in a sense that if we retreat and bring back our troops our country is open for terrorist attacks once again. Also intelligence sharing between other nations against terrorism is encouraged as well as cyber monitoring to prevent terrorist members from communicating with each other. This in itself creates compliance among citizens of the U.S to give up their privacy rights for the “greater good” in protecting America. The article also disagrees with the closure of Guantanamo Bay, unless a better system is put in place, because it is the best system in dealing with terrorist who should not be given any rights. Guantanamo Bay in itself goes against the International Criminal Court and the UN in keeping this detention centre open. It not only detains people without any proof but permits cruel and unusual punishment and torture. It is justified in the article because these people are