Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall Prentice Hall PoliticalScienceInteractive Magleby et al. Government by the People Chapter 20 Special Topic The War on Terrorism
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall Terrorism’s Threat to Democracy Terrorism Violence directed against innocent civilians to advance political goals A prolonged campaign of terrorism is designed to inspire pervasive fear among people, to convince them that their government cannot protect them, and to undermine their confidence in the political system
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall Notable Global Terrorist Attacks
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall September 11, 2001 American foreign policy drifted through the 1990s, after the end of the Cold War Clarity and focus returned suddenly after September 11th, as the war overrode other foreign policy concerns
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall The War on Terrorism Was the terrorist attack of 9/11 a crime against U.S. Citizens and property or was it an act of war? War Legal solution Military solution Crime
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall The War on Terrorism: Early Warnings As the 9/11 Commission reported, the most important failure of the U.S. government leading to the tragedy of September 11th was one of imagination: Americans and their leaders never thought it could happen here
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall The War on Terrorism: Early Warnings Osama bin Laden organized a loose-knit network of terrorist cells (Al Qaeda) in order to engage in global terrorism Grievances include: America’s support of Israel, American presence in Islamic holy lands
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall Global Terrorism Instead of being highly centralized and directed from a single leader, such as bin Laden, terrorist groups increasingly operate as independent “jihadist” agents
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall Declaring War on Terrorism “The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These mass murders were intended to frighten our nation in to chaos and retreat. But they failed; our country is strong....These deliberate and deadly attacks were more than acts of terror. They were acts of war.” -President George W. Bush
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall The War on Terrorism: The War in Afghanistan After 9/11, the United States quickly linked the attacks to Osama bin Laden and his Al- Qaeda terrorist network, and Bin Laden to Afghanistan’s Taliban government
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall The War on Terrorism Operation “Enduring Freedom” Operation Iraqi Freedom
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall Casualties of War Numbers of Americans Killed Revolutionary War 4, 435 War of ,260 Civil War214,939 Spanish-American War 385 World War I 53,402 World War II 291,557 Korean War 35,516 Vietnam War 58,516 Persian Gulf War 382 Afghanistan War 288 Iraq War2,850
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall Department of Homeland Security Created in November, 2002 Biggest bureaucratic transformation in American History –Affected 170,000 employees –Combined 22 agencies from 8 departments
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall The USA PATRIOT Act The USA PATRIOT Act, passed in the wake of the September 11th attacks, removes those designated by the president as “enemy combatants” from many of the procedural due process protections that are the cornerstone of the U.S. legal system
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall The USA PATRIOT Act In 2002, Attorney General John Ashcroft allowed law enforcement officials to go undercover to monitor activities and assemblies in any public place in order to combat terrorism
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall The USA PATRIOT Act Roving wiretaps Internet tracking Business records Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Property seizure Detention of suspected terrorists Aliens reporting and detention Prohibits harboring of terrorists Key Provisions
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall The USA PATRIOT Act Should the government be allowed to compile information from citizens ’ telephone calls, s, and web searches, as well as from financial, school and medical records?
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall The Airport Security Act Security in U.S. airports was federalized and strict new security measures were enacted
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall George W. Bush’s Approval Ratings
Copyright 2006 Prentice Hall The War on Terrorism “To Muslim parents, terrorists like bin Laden have nothing to offer their children but visions of violence and death. American and its friends have a crucial advantage--we can offer these parents a vision that might give their children a better future.” - 9/11 Commission Report