War in Iraq

In President Bush's speech of September 20, 2001, the War on Terror commenced with a demand on the Taliban-controlled government of Afghanistan to turn over all al-Qaeda terrorists or face repercussions (Hetherington, 9). The United States invaded Afghanistan less than one month later on, October 7, 2001, in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Over the following year, President Bush and various administration officials sought to make the case that confronting Iraq over its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) was central to combating terrorism. The administration argued that Saddam Hussein, the leader of Iraq, was not to be trusted and thus WMD from Iraq could end up in the hands of terrorists and be deployed against Americans (Campbell, 6). Less publicly, administration officials discussed a war against Iraq as the key to reshaping the entire region of the Middle East (or southwest Asia) because, in their estimation, military victory in such a war was overwhelmingly likely. On March 19, 2003 the United States invaded Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) (Hetherington, 11)

The concept of terrorism has a history of being deployed to support political causes. In the late 20th century, anarchists used the term “terrorists” as a positive appellation to distinguish themselves from mere murderers (Croft, 21). Some Americans question the conclusion that terrorism should be the lens through which foreign policy is framed, but many more question the means employed in the struggle against terrorism (especially the war in Iraq and the Bush administration's domestic security policies). While President Bush has sought to frame the War in Iraq as the “central front” in the War on Terror, most Americans now disagree, and would like to see a swift end to the war in Iraq (Winkler, 14). A vast majority of Americans disapprove of holding terrorist suspects indefinitely without legal representation, ...