When US citizens watched the news footage of the attacks on America on September 11, 2001, disbelief and shock shivered throughout the nation. The destruction of the World Trade Center towers and the damage done to the Pentagon by the hijacked airplanes, not to mention the thousands of lives that were lost, clearly can be categorized as the worst terrorist attacks ever performed against the United States. After the ghastly attacks on one of the most powerful nations in the world, all eyes turned to the president, Mr. George W. Bush.
Before the attacks on September 11, 2001, the Bush administration was criticized for its position on various domestic and international issues. After Bush addressed the nation and united everyone under the same cause – justice and freedom – he initially gained a great amount of popularity.
However, despite the heightened sense of security and unity throughout the country, many people were concerned that the announcement of a global War on Terrorism would result in a crackdown of freedom and human rights in various nations throughout the world. Also, others are concerned that the War on Terrorism will give leaders the excuse to aim for more aggressive decision making and policies that will negatively affect the rights of citizens.
Because of the loose description of the term “terror,” some fear that those who work for peace and social justice around the world will be affected and not be able to accomplish their goals. Some people expressing thoughts based on the freedom of speech that is so important in this country find themselves being punished. For example, a US Marine criticized Bush, saying the president was abusing the constitution. Later, as he attempted to fly somewhere, he was prevented from boarding the flight because the authorities were told he was now on the “terrorist watch list.”
Amnesty International has been a continual criticizer of the Global War of Terrorism, saying that “governments and armed groups have launched a war on global values, destroying the human rights of ordinary people.” The question that has been asked since the war began is, will violence simply lead to more violence? During US-led bombing campaigns in the Middle East, the continual concern is that civilians will get caught in the middle. Now that the retaliated violence of the United States has begun, who is to say that more retaliated violence will not occur? If everyone plays “an eye for an eye,” the whole world will go blind.