War on Terror

America’s Place in the World The United States plays a unique role on the world stage; it is the vanguard of the free exchange of goods and services, and also ideas to a certain extent. The United States ensure freedom of the seas, the protection of weaker countries from aggressors, and the stability of the world community. Our country does not do this for ideological reasons alone. Our country plays this role for a simple reason; it is in our best interests to do so. Our economic prosperity and national security are so integrated into the fabric of the world community that we benefit every time a country open its borders to the free exchange of trade and ideas, and we suffer every time a country closes itself off from the world. This is why it is in our best interests to fight terrorism wherever it threatens to undermine national, regional, or global stability. Terrorists seek a variety of goals ranging from overthrowing the government, to simply influencing the government to adopt or disown a policy; all terrorists seek to cut their people off from the world and force their narrow-minded vision upon them. They seek to rebel against the globalized system that America has the most stake in. [1] The task may seem daunting, because there are many terrorists in the world. While it is true that many terrorist groups exist, there is significantly less that have global reach or that have the means to achieve their destructive agendas. The United States is best compared to a doctor. A doctor will treat a patient with cancer by surgically removing the tumors, but he will simply give a patient with a cold good consel and medicine so that the patient can treat himself at home. The patient with cancer would be Afghanistan, which required direct intervention, because the government itself sponsored terrorist groups that had global reach and threatened the stability of the global system. The patient with the cold is Mexico, which US forces provided funds and training to so they could fight the drug cartels themselves. The point is that while we should pursue the War on Terror, we do not always have to invade countries to do so. [2] Experience will Lower Costs The costs of the war will go down as time goes on as well. As we learn more and take in the lessons only experience can give, we’ll find cheaper and more efficient ways to defeat terrorists. We’ve already made progress, just look at the precision in which we killed Osama Bin Laden. Just look at the progress of the Iraq and Afghan wars. Over time we learned how to better fight terrorism. In the future we’ll be able to hunt terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda without conventional forces and costly campaigns; we’ll be able to eliminate these groups with precise and surgical strikes. [3] As we remove the cancer we also equip nations to deal with terrorism themselves. This is preventative medicine, and cheaper than doing it ourselves. I will admit that we have made mistakes in this war, but mistakes are always made at first and what matters is learning from them. We have learned. Cost of Life People will die in this struggle, but we cannot let that deter us. This is a cause worth fighting for; for both practical and ideological reasons. It is also important to remember that the majority of civilian deaths are caused by terrorists and not US forces. In fact, the advent of smart bombs and new sophisticated targeting systems, coupled with a strict code of conduct among ground forces, has made the War on Terrorism unique in that there are not nearly as many civilian deaths caused by US forces as there were in prior wars; like Vietnam and World War 2. [4] [5] In contrast to this, terrorists specifically design weapons and tactics to cause as much death among innocent as possible; suicide bombs, kidnappings, improvised explosive devices, and more. [6] Conclusion/Global Opinion The world may publically condemn us for the War on Terrorism, but the world benefits from it, just like we do. We are making the world safer, even my opponent admits this. That in the long run will outweigh the negatives. A safe world where commerce and ideas flow freely without the threat of violence is a world where the United States will always win. [1] http://www.heritage.org...[2] http://www.rawstory.com...[3] http://www.cfr.org...[4] http://www.iraqbodycount.org...[5] http://www.ethicapublishing.com...[6] http://www.un.org...