Introduction
After the September 11 attacks, the USA started paying much attention to the protection of its population from terrorists. One of the most significant initiatives implemented for this purpose was the War on Terror. In its framework, several military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq were developed. The US considered that these wars were able to ensure the country’s safety and minimalize the possibility of future attacks, but this purpose did not seem to be achieved.
Advantages of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars for American Safety
In the framework of the war on terror, the USA had an opportunity to use its military power in order to protect the country without leaving its territory. However, politicians considered that more advantages could be obtained from the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. As a result of these wars, thousands of people, including Americans were murdered. However, many people believe that the country became safer after these events.
The former president of the USA stated that “we are safer, and our nation is more secure” due to the contribution of American troops in Afghanistan (Silva, 2014, para. 4). Even though Obama recognized this country as a dangerous place, he believed that its citizens would not attack the USA in the future. Nevertheless, the former president believed that America should not forget about terrorist organizations led by Afghanistan people, as the threat of them always exists. The representatives of the general public support such ideas. About half of Americans reported that they felt safer due to the wars on terror (Halper, 2016). In this way, both the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars seem to have positive influences on the perception of US safety.
Failure to Make the USA Safer
Even though some people reveal that they feel safer, actual reports show that the war on terror did not provide many advantages to the country. As it was already mentioned, thousands of people had died during the wars. What is more critical, regardless of their attempts to save the country, about 30,000 individuals die because of terrorism every year (Muggah & Khanna, 2016). The number of such attacks conducted in Iraq and Afganistan, for instance, increased after 2001, which proves that the American initiative somehow motivated foreigners to become more active (Washington’s Blog, 2013). Hartung (2018) focuses on the same issue from a financial point of view. In particular, he reveals that hundreds of billions of dollars are spent on military purposes in order to support initiatives associated with the war on terror. However, this budget could have been used in order to support the country from the inside. For example, more job opportunities could be created, and infrastructure could be improved.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that the US invasion and war with Iraq and Afghanistan do not really make the country safe. These actions made some representatives of the US population feel more protected, but actual changes prove that there was not much effect in these wars. Terrorist organizations do not seem to suffer because of the American invasion of their native countries. On the contrary, they receive an opportunity to recruit more people, stating that the USA destroys their homes and kills their relatives. In this way, it seems to be better for American military forces to focus on the ways to fight against particular terrorist organizations than the whole country.
References
Halper, Z. (2016). Do you feel safe in America?
Hartung, W. (2018). Spending more on the military doesn’t make America safer.
Muggah, R., & Khanna, P. (2016). After 15 years of war on terror, are we any safer?
Silva, D. (2014). ‘We are safer’: President Obama marks formal end of war in Afghanistan.
Washington’s Blog. (2013). Charts show that U.S. policy has increased terror attacks.