When my writing professor asked us to read two Wikipedia pages, one on the "War on Terror" and the other on the "September 11 Attacks," I was skeptical because I know Wikipedia is not always the most accurate source. However with an open mind and good background knowledge on the topics I realized that these Wikipedia pages had true and useful information.
According to the article, the War on Terror and the use of the phrase began in 2001 by the United States and United Kingdom with the aim to eliminate militant organizations (namely al-Qaeda). However, during the first Obama administration the use of the phrase was discouraged because of controversy associated with its meaning. Still the war on terror continues under the name of Overseas Contingency Operation. Regardless of the names employed, the war on terror has included many questionable strategies since 2001 namely Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. While the war on terror has spared American lives, when compared to other contentious decades, the cost of this "war" has been $1.2 trillion since 2001, according to a March 2011 Congressional report.
In a slip-up at Camp David former president Bush remarked that the War on Terror "is going to take a while." It appears from the information on Wikipedia that Bush was correct. After over a decade militant groups continue to cause harm throughout the world. According to the article, in 2011 there were 18 al-Qaeda attacks around the world. From the information presented, it is quite clear that terrorism has no easy solution. Through various controversial strategies such as torture and drone strikes the United States has been able to kill important al-Qaeda leaders. However, Mali demonstrates that al-Qaeda continues to thrive, and as long as it does the Untied States War on Terror will continue.
According to Wikipedia, the September 11 attacks were four coordinated suicide attacks where al-Qaeda militants highjacked four passage jets and crashed them in New York City and the Washington, D.C. areas. The attacks were contrived by Osama bin Laden and they killed nearly 3,000 people. Osama bin Laden in 2004 claimed his motives for the attacks were the United States support for Israel and its sanction on Iran. In the aftermath of the attacks former President Bush announced a war on terror, which involved the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the invasion of Iraq. According to the article the attacks were not only economically costly they also caused long-term health effects and changes in cultural perspectives.
While it is nearly impossible to condense 9/11 down into a brief summary, Wikipedia does a good job in the article's opening paragraphs to outline what happened on 9/11, its cause and its effects. Wikipedia is a stepping-stone that leads to further research. However if I had not known about 9/11 reading the article would give me a general idea of the significance of the September 11 attacks. The importance of having a site like this where people can go to begin research is critical. Wikipedia, when taken with a grain of salt, gives readers basic knowledge of almost anything.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Terror
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks
According to the article, the War on Terror and the use of the phrase began in 2001 by the United States and United Kingdom with the aim to eliminate militant organizations (namely al-Qaeda). However, during the first Obama administration the use of the phrase was discouraged because of controversy associated with its meaning. Still the war on terror continues under the name of Overseas Contingency Operation. Regardless of the names employed, the war on terror has included many questionable strategies since 2001 namely Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. While the war on terror has spared American lives, when compared to other contentious decades, the cost of this "war" has been $1.2 trillion since 2001, according to a March 2011 Congressional report.
In a slip-up at Camp David former president Bush remarked that the War on Terror "is going to take a while." It appears from the information on Wikipedia that Bush was correct. After over a decade militant groups continue to cause harm throughout the world. According to the article, in 2011 there were 18 al-Qaeda attacks around the world. From the information presented, it is quite clear that terrorism has no easy solution. Through various controversial strategies such as torture and drone strikes the United States has been able to kill important al-Qaeda leaders. However, Mali demonstrates that al-Qaeda continues to thrive, and as long as it does the Untied States War on Terror will continue.
According to Wikipedia, the September 11 attacks were four coordinated suicide attacks where al-Qaeda militants highjacked four passage jets and crashed them in New York City and the Washington, D.C. areas. The attacks were contrived by Osama bin Laden and they killed nearly 3,000 people. Osama bin Laden in 2004 claimed his motives for the attacks were the United States support for Israel and its sanction on Iran. In the aftermath of the attacks former President Bush announced a war on terror, which involved the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the invasion of Iraq. According to the article the attacks were not only economically costly they also caused long-term health effects and changes in cultural perspectives.
While it is nearly impossible to condense 9/11 down into a brief summary, Wikipedia does a good job in the article's opening paragraphs to outline what happened on 9/11, its cause and its effects. Wikipedia is a stepping-stone that leads to further research. However if I had not known about 9/11 reading the article would give me a general idea of the significance of the September 11 attacks. The importance of having a site like this where people can go to begin research is critical. Wikipedia, when taken with a grain of salt, gives readers basic knowledge of almost anything.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Terror
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks
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