3.6 - War On Terror

Question 1

What was the aim of the War on Terror?

Answer 1

• Tackle Islamic extremist groups

Question 2

What is the current outcome of the War on Terror?

Answer 2

• Afghanistan is now run by the Taliban
• Iraq is riddled with Shia factionalism
• Somalia is still in anarchy, suffering from famines, Al Shabab controls a large amount of the country
• Insurgency against Boko Haram has resulted in village groups being displaced in sub-Sahel region
• Jihadist groups in Mali demanded the withdrawal of French and UN peacekeepers
• ISIS has split into multiple ‘franchises’ to remain present, albeit not as a single entity
• killing of leaders did not lead to disbandment

Question 3

What is the problem with the War on Terror?

Answer 3

• 18,000 Iraqis imprisoned
• Covert CIA surveillance and drones operating overseas
• Abuse in Abu Ghraib prison
• “enhanced interrogation” techniques employed
• include: humiliation, torture, degradation
• use of extraordinary rendition
• US left UN Convention against Torture

Question 4

What is extraordinary rendition?

Answer 4

• movement of prisoners to sites outside US
• usually to countries with lax attitude towards human rights
• allows for “enhanced interrogation” techniques to be used with no legal liability

Question 5

Why is terrorism harder to fight now?

Answer 5

• is no longer as explicitly state-sponsored
• is increasingly decentralised
• hard to track possible perpetrators
• many perpetrators are not members of terror groups, are instead inspired by groups

Question 6

What is the aftermath of the war on terror?

Answer 6

• US is reluctant to intervene as readily
• eg. Syria
• Actions have deepened resentment towards US
• possibly increased threat of terrorism
• WikiLeaks has leaked documents detailing torture
• decrease in public support at home
• possibly destabilising
• Russia and China are also being considered as alternative to US
• decrease in US influence
• US neglect of international institutions and policy has resulted in tarnished image

Question 7

How can Jihadist forces be overcome?

Answer 7

• Engage directly
• air strikes are ineffective
• Predict where groups may go
• have to win media battle
• compete with internet based brainwashing
• counter internet grooming
• counter radicalisation of young
• counter radical alt-right extremism
• often used as justification of jihadist attacks
• need to invest in intelligence

Question 8

When doesn’t intervention help?

Answer 8

• When it inevitably targets one group within a group
• results in change of cultural dynamics

Question 9

When can intervention help?

Answer 9

• if it permits aid and humanitarian assistance

Question 10

What is ethnonationalism?

Answer 10

• State policy based around the interests of open ethnicity
• basing national identity around ethnicity

Question 11

What was the US justification for its acts during the War on Terror?

Answer 11

• Prisoners are not covered under the Geneva Convention
• is wrong in reality