Essay - The War on Terrorism: Is It Justified? on September 11...

The War on Terrorism: Is It Justified?

***** September 11, 2001, two separate airliners, loaded with passengers, were flown into the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. This was soon followed by a simil*****r act in Washington, D.C. that destroyed part ***** the Pentagon. Passengers on ano*****r plane attempted to retake it from hijackers, and ***** plane crashed into the Pennsylvania countryside, undoubtedly preventing a fourth *****ttack.

By the time the second plane flew into the south tower of the World Trade *****, we knew these were deliberate attacks. By the time the Pentagon had been attacked, *****re ***** a widespread perception that we ***** at war. Spokespersons ***** reporters drew comparisons to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

*****, there are troubling differences to the ***** ***** December 7, 1941, ********** in who ***** enemy was or is in each situation. There was no doubt ***** 1941. Japan planned the attack, sent the carriers, trained the pilots, and dropped the bombs. They ***** signed a p***** with Germ*****ny and Italy, ***** the three countries had agreed ***** an attack on one was an attack on all. We were inst*****tly cast into ***** in ***** different theatres aga*****st three different countries, but we clearly knew ***** the enemy was. As Pipes (2002) said, "WITH WHOM, ***** what, is the United States at war? The answer to this question has far-reaching implications for strategy, ***** public diplomacy, and for foreign and domestic policy alike. It may seem that the answer is obvious; but it ***** not."

***** time, since September 11, 2001, these issues ********** as clear. This is the first time the United States has viewed itself as being in a state of war ***** not at ***** with ano*****r country.

***** some kind of retaliatory response ***** by some ***** of plan to prevent future assaults was appropriate ***** called for. However, ***** could argue that a w*****r ***** a more extended and planned response. The goal of a war is to defeat the *****. Can we even say who the enemy is in th***** case? If we can***** define who *****e enemy is, justification ***** acting against them *****s tenuous. If the identity of the ***** shifts over time without any new *****, exp*****ing the range ***** targets seems *****able.

President Bush and other government spokespersons have told us multiple times that the terrorists in Afghanistan and their protectors would not be the ***** targets.

***** the ***** few weeks after Septem*****r 11, whenever President George W. Bush referred to the target of the war as "evildoers" or "***** evil ones." (Pipes, 2002) Eventually this w***** clarified ***** the Al-Queda terr*****ist net*****ork led and funded by Osama Bin-Laden, but this precision was blurred ***** the revelation that this network ***** cells all over the world in many countries.

Those ***** question ***** direction the war may take fully understand ***** horror of September 11, 2001. They know that nearly 3,000 people died in New