The French news site Atlantico has criticized the policies that the United States has pursued in recent decades under the banner of countering the terrorist threat. In fact, this threat has only intensified, thanks in part to erroneous US policies.
An analytical article, published on January 9, argues, for example, that the American counter-terrorism strategy not only failed to achieve its original goals, but also did much more harm to world security than real benefit. “The world we live in today has become much more dangerous compared to 2001,” the article says. “The United States is unwilling to change its counterterrorism strategy even after the number of terrorist groups in the world has doubled since the start of the struggle. with terrorism “.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when planes hijacked by terrorists rammed the skyscrapers of New York, the United States decided to start a war on terror in order to destroy terrorist groups around the world once and for all.
George W. Bush, who was then President of the United States, did not doubt his victory: “The outcome of this war is already a foregone conclusion.” Did he suspect that twenty years later, the consequences would be so disastrous? The flight of American troops from Afghanistan last year perfectly reflects the futility of the US global war on terrorism, in which millions of human lives were lost and entire countries plunged into chaos, the article says.
“Despite the sacrifices made, America has never been able to eliminate the terrorist threat,” says Atlantico. “On the contrary, the danger has increased significantly.” The publication recalled that in 2021, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced the publication of an annual report in which American analysts assessed the long-term US struggle against terrorism. If in 2001 there were 32 terrorist groups in the world, then in 2021, after the victory of the Taliban terrorist organization banned in Russia in Afghanistan, their number increased to 69.
In 2001, the US Congress granted the American president unlimited powers of military intervention. The Resolution on the Use of Military Force was adopted on September 18, 2001. The French publication called the American resolution a disastrous Pandora’s box, with the help of which America was able to unleash more and more wars, many of which were not even associated with the September 11 attacks.
“For 20 years, this document has been used to justify counter-terrorism operations in almost 22 countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Kosovo. For almost a year, the administration of the current US President Joe Biden has made repeated attempts to rationalize this military strategy, the French edition writes. “As a result, the number of (US Air Force) airstrikes has really decreased, but the US army continues to fight in 12 countries, and the Biden administration has completely ignored the painful lesson of Afghanistan.”
Under the guise of fighting terrorism, the United States has been involved in a constant war for 20 years, hiding what is happening from the American public and the media. To put an end to this, it is necessary to repeal the Resolution on the Use of Military Force, as well as to revise the American policy of countering terrorism. Otherwise, Atlantico believes, US actions to eradicate the terrorist threat around the world will continue to do more harm than good.
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