HOW SUCCESSFUL HAS SURVEILLANCE BEEN IN THE SO CALLED WAR ON TERROR

How successful has surveillance been in the so called War on Terror

[Name of the Institute]

How successful has surveillance been in the so called War on Terror

Rational for choosing the Topic

One of the foremost reasons for choosing this topic is the issue and the problems face by a number of innocent people living in the United Kingdom.

Here, the topic might look a bit skeptical to many of the people; however, this is the true fact that so called “war on terror” has brought misery to many. This debate on the war on terror, along with its surveillance set fear in the hearts of many people. It is due to this war and so called terrorism that people living abroad or trying to settle there are no longer safe. However, on the other hand, this so called war on terror has increased discriminations and people are unable to get visa foreign visas (Norris, 1998, pp: 17).

Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency

The struggle against terrorism is still at a crossroad though so many years have passed since 9/11. There is a continuing debate on what makes a better strategy, counterterrorism or counterinsurgency. This debate that has been going on for quite some time does not answer the question as to how to fight against the international terrorism. The fight against terrorism and the news related to terrorism is one of the most talked about topics these days. There are many factors for this. The way the terrorism has affected the common man is one of the prime factors behind this. Another very important factor is the fact that media has played a vital role in disseminating the ideology related to countering terrorism and insurgencies in various parts of the world (www.privacy.org). There are many lessons to be learnt from the past experiences and an increasing need for the government to satisfy people so that they support the government in its efforts to fight not the Muslims but the ones using the name of their religion and causing mass disruption in the world as a consequence of their faulty beliefs. The terrorists and those who support them in any way are under the impression that they make part of a bigger world though they are living in a Utopia of sorts (Lyon, 2007, pp: 14).

The war in Afghanistan was started by the United States of America with the stated objective which was to “dismantle, defeat and disrupt Al-Qaeda which is operational in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return in either of the two countries in the future.” (Norris, 2006, pp: 16)

The debates on counterterrorism and counterinsurgency fail to answer the question on how to fight against international terrorism as they focus too much on the strengths and weaknesses of the two not on the fact that what is it that should comprise of the counter-terrorism strategy when fighting on an international level. When it comes to counter terrorism strategies of a democracy, it is ...