Kaarten: Chapter 9: The War on Terror | Quizlet

What happened after WWII with the USA?

- USA was immensely powerful after WWII

- Middle East was interesting... (they wanted) LOTS OF OIL (black gold = if you have oil, you have A LOT)

- Looking for allies in the Middle East

With which countries will they try to become allies in the Middle East?

1) Iran (1950-1979)

2) Iraq (1979)

3) Afghanistan (1979)

How did the "friendship" between the USA and Iran go?

Iran (1950 - 1979) = 70s

- Pro-Western Shah (king in Iran) => kept in power with support from the West

= becomes first friend of USA -> CHEAP OIL

- Iran was a Western + modern state

- Cold War: close to the Soviet-Union (good for the USA to take them as a friend because they border with Russia)

However: Iranian Revolution in 1979

- Cause: the growing hate against interference of the West (Iranians wanted USA gone)

- Result: Iran becomes an anti-western, Islamic state

- Led by Khomeini: took away women rights -> very conservative

- NO LONGER FRIEND OF USA

Result: look for another friend

How did the "friendship" between the USA and Iraq go?

Iraq (1979) = USA started diplomatic relationships

- Led by Sadam Hussein (= dictator)

- Dictatorship, no respect for human rights

- USA backed Iraq in war against Iran (1979)

- Iraq used chemical weapons (that were produced + delivered by the USA)

- In exchange: cheap OIL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Iraq: increases the oil prices (the USA never received the oil) = USA is not happy -> they will take revenge

- Iraq invasion of Iran was a failure

- Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (1990) = small country BUT produces A LOT of oil

o Reason: Kuwait oil production lowered the oil price (in Iraq)

o Reaction: UN peace mission led by the USA (40 countries) = push the Iraqis out of Kuweit

§ Result: Iraq was pushed back

· IRAQ= no longer friend of USA

How did the "friendship" between the USA and Afghanistan go?

Afghanistan (1979)

- Soviet invasion of Afghanistan -> USA promises the people to help them against SU

- USA supported the Mujahideen ( to keep SU out of Afghanistan)

o Radical Islamic jihad fighters = freedom fighters

o To fight off the SU

§ Success! The SU lost the Afghan war

§ They take the money and part of the Mujahidin use the money to form : Al-Qaida (1989) (9/11)

· Scared that the USA will interfere too much in their land

· Terrorist group led by Osama bin Laden (= USA first said that he was a freedom fighter)

o GOAL: destroy the west (they are destroying the Middle East / Islam)

What did the turning point: 9/11 entail?

- Terrorist attack on 11/9/2001

- Hijacked planes (Al-Qaida ->trained people to hijack the plane using flight simulators)

- A total of 4 planes (at that moment there was no airport control)

1) World Trade Center: Twin Towers - economic function = eye catcher -> the whole world will know about it

2) Third plane -> crashed into the Pentagon (Washington, D.C. army)

- Fourth => into a field -> on its route to The White House?/ Capitol?

-3000 people died

- Perpetrators: Al-Qaida

Reaction USA: USA start ->'War or Terror'

What did the War on Terror entail?

The Patriot Act (2001)

- Expanded surveillance (including tapping phones -> wiretapped -> everyone's phone -> without consent)

- Immigrants could be detained indefinitely without a trial = arabs/ muslims -> racist

The Bush Doctrine (2001)

- Unilateralism: work alone

o USA will take action! (Even if it stands alone) => countries who have bonds with terrorist countries -> will be destroyed by the USA

o If necessary, ignoring international law or UN-resolutions

- Pre-emptive military action

o USA will take military action, even without direct threats (a suspicion alone = used to invade a country and free it from terrorists even though there aren't any)

= The start of the War on Terror

They will invade: Afghanistan + Iraq

What did the War in Afghanistan entail?

The first country on the hit list: The War in Afghanistan (2001 -2021)

- Cause: the Taliban regime (USA apparently have evidence that Taliban is housing members of Al-Qaida)

= fundamentalist islamic regime

- It supported and housed Al-Qaida

- Did not want to hand over Osama bin Laden

o In a couple of weeks: Afghanistan is defeated

Reaction: A NATO-coalition led by the USA invaded in 2001 -> if one country is attacked, their allies have to help (including Belgium) = ONLY TIME THIS WAS USED

RESULT: Taliban was removed + beaten -> democratic government formed in Afghanistan

In reality: you can not just suddenly force democracy in a country where there was none for years

- 2011: Osama bin Laden was killed by US Special Forces

- 2014 - 2020: fight with Taliban continues

- 2020 - 2021: USA falls back

- 2021: Taliban is back in power

=> lots of civilian casualties

What did the War in Iraq entail?

The war in Iraq (2003 - 2011)

Why did they attack Iraq?

Causes: According to the USA:

o Iraq was producing WMD's (Weapons of Mass Destruction) (Americans= scared that they would give it to terrorist groups)

o Iraq was supporting terrorist organisations, including Al-Qaida

Goal: to end the regime of Sadam Hussain and dismantle the WMD's

- 2003: USA and UK troops invaded Iraq

o Without permission of the UN-Security Council

§ = it was an illegal war

Result: after two months, the regime of Sadam Hussain ended => executed on live television

- 2006: Sadam Hussain executed for crimes against humanity

o HOWEVER:

§ No WMD's were found

§ No evidence was found that there were ties between Iraq and Al-Qaida (= flag false operation in Vietnam)

· 'The war was based on lies' -> ALL ABOUT OILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Next goal: 'Nation Building' (we need to build a new Iraq)

- Stabilising and transforming Iraq into a democracy (suddenly: if you are a country that is for decades controlled by a dictator -> you can not change mentality of the people)

o IT FAILED: chaos

o 2011: President Obama decides to fall back

§ = breeding ground for extremist Islamic fighters: ISIS

What did ISIS entail?

- ISIS (aka ISL, IS, Daesh)

= collaboration between former Al-Qaida and other Islamic fighters

= Extremist and fundamentalist islam

-> Wants to kill all other Muslims and infidels = non-believers (believed that all other Muslims were not real Muslims)

o 2013- 2014: expansion across Iraq and Syria

o 2014: "Caliphate" led by one leader (Abu Bakr al Baghdadi = ni kennen) + Sharia law = extrem form(reconquer all countries that were originally islamic)

o 2015: losing territory

o 2015 - 2016: wave of terrorist attacks in Western Europe in the Middle East there were also many worse than in Europe

- 2014 - 2020: The war on ISIS by an international coalition

- 2024: Still some minor fighting

= HOWEVER: new regional 'ISIS' movements were formed

-> Afghanistan + Africa (Burkina Faso, Niger, Somalia, DRC..) => small groups of ISIS fighters continuing the ideology

What can we conclude?

Importance of geopolitics -> something you do politically that involves resources(oil)

- Interventions of USA to seek allies in the Middle East

-> Blows up in their face every time

= iranian revolution

= Iraqi invasion of Kuweit

= The Mujahideen becoming al-Qaida: 9/11

RESULT: War on Terror: long term failure

- Western intervention and nation building failed

= democracy cannot be imported and expected to work

= Chaos = hatred = breeding ground for extremism

e.g. ISIS in Iraq and Syria

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