Explain how the War on Terror transformed modern U.S. policy.
The United States war on terror refers to an international military campaign launched by the United States following the September 11 attacks. It mainly targets the fundamentalists of the Sunni Islamic groups who are thought to attack the United States and other regions that seem opposed to their religious ideologies. (Hobson, 2020). The main groups that the campaign targets include the al-Qaida, Taliban, Islamic State, Pakistan, Tehrik-i-Taliban, and other franchise groups. These groups are linked to various international terrorism activities that harm to the innocent people and countries In the war on terror, the United States government targets the vast network of terrorist groups and all the governments that support the terrorists (Hobson, 2020). Following the intense campaign that the United States engages in fighting terror and terrorism worldwide, it has shaped its foreign policy to support the war on terror.
Among the ways in which the war on terror transformed the U.S policy include creating tradeoffs that support the war on terror. In this sense, the United States focuses its interests in embracing strategies that are likely to facilitate better results for its quest in the war against terror. It achieves this by partnering with other countries and armies that are likely to support the course of the United States focused on ensuring and facilitating the defeat of the terrorist groups. Among the strategies used by the United States include the plan to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty and the plan to enlarge NATO. If the United States achieves the determined strategies, there are increased chances that it will develop better machinery and capacity to win the war on terror.
The United States has also focused its policy to facilitate cooperation with various key Islamic countries. In this sense, the Nation has focused its policy on facilitating effective cooperation with countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. Through this cooperation, the United States has an increased capability to gain a larger force to help it fight the war on terror. The inclusion of the Arabic countries is specifically important because the war a difficult move. As long as the United States continues to support Israel against Palestine and also continue to sanction Iraq, the Arab states are likely to withdraw their support for the United States (Saud, Sargana, & Sargana, 2019). The United States has also focused its foreign policy to adopt strategies that enable it to go into the regions and countries perceived as the main centers of the terrorists to fight terrorism from the source. It goes to the regions and countries perceived to be controlled by terrorists and fights to control the specific regions. Through this approach, it overthrows governments and leaderships believed to be providing support for the terrorist groups.
The United States has also sought to increase its border security to limit the possibility of terror attacks from the adversary states. It seeks to increase its border security through the tightening and improvement of airport security. The United States has imposed increased measures to determine the individuals who get into the country through its international airports to ensure it limits the possibility of terrorists getting into the country and the smuggling in of weapons that could be used for terror attacks. It has also focused on securing its land borders by creating strict restrictions on the people allowed into the country to limit the possibility of terror attacks.