Weakness Against Terrorism: Fifteen Years of Failed U.S. Policy

Abstract

The events of September 11th, 2001 shocked the world. Americans and the world watched in horror as two planes slammed into beacons of U.S. power and might; the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 innocent people. That these attacks were successfully prosecuted against America was all the more shocking. After all, America was the lone superpower and, undeniably, had the world's most competent and strongest military perhaps the strongest of all time. But these attacks should not have been unexpected. For the 15 years prior to 9/11, the United States failed to respond with strength while violent terrorist actions escalated. This paper argues that law enforcement and deterrence fail against terrorism. Only military strength in combination with effective arms of all elements of national power can defeat terrorism.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 08, 2007
Accession Number
ADA467152

Entities

People

  • Kenneth Carrick

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter IED
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Bombs
  • Chemical Weapons
  • Commercial Aircraft
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Economic Sanctions
  • Governments
  • Law
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • Training
  • United States
  • Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Strategic Security Studies