The 9-11 Attacks
Causes of the Al Qaeda attacks
The 9-11 attack on the United States depicted a clearly, and well-crafted plan rolled out intending to attain master success. The idea was built on a belief system that the United States of America was not as strong as other states around it thought it. The Islamic militant group (al-Qaeda) group leader Osama bin Laden intended to expose to the world this belief (“September 11 attacks | Facts & Information | Britannica,” n.d.). The belief was intimated by Abu Walid al-Masri, an Egyptian who was a close associate of the leader.
The build-up to the attack was based on several failed missions of the United States on different battlefronts. First, the bombing of the marines in Beirut led to the death of several deaths of the American troupes and subsequent retreat from Lebanon. This specific attack made bin Laden intensify his belief that America was a paper tiger (Ilardi, 2009). In other evidence, the death of 18 American servicemen on Somali soil in Mogadishu and withdrawal of the troupes Vietnam in the 1970s was enough evidence.
On the other hand, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had a plan to blow several American planes in Asia but failed numerously. However, his pursuit never faded, and therefore contributing to bin Laden’s masterplan would yield his satisfaction. Having set the ball rolling, al- Qaeda provided money, training and other logistical support to the executors of the plan. The ultimate aim was to ensure they bring down the ultimate far enemy and bring home new dawn and change in the Middle East.
Impact of the 9/11 attack on the policy
The events yielding the September 11 attack led to several changes in the relations between the United States and other nations. The war led to public outcry in the United States, and this led to the country’s administration to relook into the foreign policy. There was public disagreement between the United States and Egypt on the issue. The Bush administration took to use of Unilateralist approach in the Middle East, and this did not go down well with many states in the region, fueling possible class between the US and Egypt.
The George Bush administration dropped what would then be a life-changing dynamic by slamming the doors of any possibility of having détente. The US leadership was then chastised as immature by President Khatami. Later on, there was an increase in the military presence of the US in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Iran, and this made Iran feel surrounded. There was a change in the overall attitude by the US, with suspicion mounting over Iran’s intention to undermine new administration in Afghanistan. There was interest by the Iranian government to oversee a transformation of the society in Afghan over two decades.
In the later years of the US-allied ties with Israel, there was the seizure by the Israeli government of rounds of ammunition with source origin thought to be Iran, destined for Palestine. The discovery indicated that there was an effort by the Iranian government to set up radicalization in the Middle East (“The Impact of 9/11 on the Middle East | Middle East Policy Council,” n.d.). In Iraq, there was heated debate on the benefits that would arise from anti-reformist elements, and this was backed by Supreme Leader Khamenei, who later announced no talks with the US over peace talks. In the long run, the September 11 attack created an environment full of challenges between the leadership of both the Islamic republic and the US.
References
Ilardi, G. J. (2009). The 9/11 attacks – A study of Al Qaeda’s use of intelligence and counterintelligence. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 32(3), 171–187. https://doi.org/10.1080/10576100802670803
September 11 attacks | Facts & Information | Britannica. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/event/September-11-attacks
The Impact of 9/11 on the Middle East | Middle East Policy Council. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://mepc.org/journal/impact-911-middle-east