The cold war and the war on terror essay example

The cold war was a military and economic super showing between the Soviet Union and the western allied states to the United States. The concept of brinkmanship was used to show the extend or extreme nature in which the cold war pushed both the United States and the Soviet Union to invent deadly military weapons so as to force each other to the extremities and finally forcing them to surrender unconditionally (Gaddis, 2006).
During the cold war, the eastern block and the western blocks both used tactics and intimidation as strategies to make their opposing factions back down or surrender. Each country tried to push the other to the brink in the competition to control global politics and foreign policy. There was massive retaliation and inventions in both nuclear and space science. During the Cuban missile crisis, the tensions escalated and forced the two countries to brink as almost actual military war broke out.
This escalated tensions had diverse effects in both the United States and Russia. The US passed the espionage act of 1917 which was amended severally times to serve the purpose of this act was to protect the US from military incentives. This act was meant to prohibit any attempt of a citizen to collude with a foreign military state with which the US is at war and to promote the military insubordination (Gaddis, 2006).
The famous convicted persons of this act include Joseph Franklin, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and Daniel Ellsberg. The most famous victory was granted to Rutherford whose conviction was overturned on appeal on appeal. The pentagon papers was categorized as a merchant of treason by the united states’ supreme court ruling on their whistle blowing contents as a charge to treason. Critics of the modern thinking and constitutionalism argued that the espionage act was a restraint to the freedom of free speech and expression. All whistle blown contents published by the post magazine and the New York Times committed treason by publishing the contents. All this was done in an attempt to curb the spread of leaked US information to its enemies (Doherty, 2011).
The war on terror or the global war on terrorism is world military fight against the global militant groups most specifically the al-Qaeda that has caused massive destructions and instability of the security of nations. This fight was first coined in by United States former president W. George Bush after the bombing by suspected a-Qaeda militia of the World Trade Center towers and the pentagon (Lansford, 2009).
The failed states are those countries which are weak in the sense that they are not capable defending their boarders against militia groups like the a-Qaeda, thus they are insecure and vulnerable to attacks. In backing up and advancing the international order for establishing security amongst the super power the failed states are of concern as they are used by the militia to attack the embassies of the Super Power States (Lansford, 2009). For instance the attack of 1998 on the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania was militias’ intimidation of the United States.
The militia also uses the failed states of to exercise their powers by abducting the government of search nations, for instance Somalia and Afghanistan have been used by militia groups as their basement. Therefore, the advancement and positive achievement on war on terror will only be attainable if the vulnerability of the failed states to militants attack be prevented and the governments of such nations including their military be strengthened so as to prevent threats from militia. A time will come that the failed states will comply with the militia groups for the sake of the security of their citizens. This will pose threats to the international security thus the international order on war on terror as it will compromise the effective elimination of such militia groups.
President Obama first wanted to appreciate United States military for the great job they had done in restoring peace in Afghanistan. He began his speech by highlighting the security challenges that America had gone through as a result terrorist acts of al Qaeda. President Obama said “ the American soldiers have done enough including training Afghanistan’s troops to defend their own country, increase of their troops by 100, 000, and establishment of police forces among other reform”.
Secondly, was to announce United States plan to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan leaving them to be independent. He wanted to inform the nation and the world at large America’s strategy to terminate its partnership with Afghanistan. He said that the government was planning to remove its troops in phases. This statement from president Obama made it clear the America’s plan on terrorism in Afghanistan “ after one month the country is going to remove 10, 000 troops and in the next summer it will take home another 33, 000 troops and by 2014 the process shall be complete”.
The president also wanted to assure the citizens of his state and those of Pakistan that al Qaeda threat had reduced tremendously. In his speech president Obama mentioned that “ both the American and Pakistan governments have worked together to reduce to reduce the terrorist groups leadership by half”. He said that the troops had inflected a lot of loses on Taliban and had already taken over its strongholds. He however warned the people to remain vigilant bearing in mind the other challenges especially Osama Bin Laden their king leader.
Finally, president Obama needed to bring out the need for allowing the Afghanistan government to be independent in terms of security. He stated that the American troops are not supposed to continue patrolling their streets since they had their own government. He then assured them that removing America’s troops did not mean end of war against terror but allowing the Afghanistan’s troops to fight under indirect support of American government.
President Obama in his speech highlighted the atrocity-taking place in the prison camp located at Guantanamo bay. President Obama said, “ This prison has continuously violated or rather redefined justice through its practices of starving the inmates”. The mistreatments of Qur’an lead to the start of the hunger strike by the inmates which after its long term existence, it gain the popularity that it is simply a symbol of the large rejection of the general existence.
The president offers a helping hand to its closure seeking to eliminate and fully eradicating the violation of the rights. This protest were become so extreme that could likely lead to loss of lives in the partaking. The detention camp guards violated the rights of inmates hire their grievance via protest, by moving any detainee who refused to have their meals to single cells rather than letting them stay at their usual communal area.
The America people’s rights are facing violating by the patriot act that was developed to major in the protection of the state from attacks by the terrorist. It then turned out that this act is violating the people’s privacy. This act also deprived citizen their freedom of speech on event that one gets imprisoned especially without solid charges. The individual right to bear any arms and religious liberty are the other major right that gets to be violate and redefine. The act gave the military the mandate and permission to conduct some the unreasonable seizures and searches which are considered as a violation to the people right to be in secure and in sound mind within their residential places at least they are entitle to be informing before the search.
The surge of the American troops in the Afghanistan quietly came to an end during the late 2009. President Obama made an official announcement that described the end of the entire fanfare during the end of the year 2009. The end of the surge of the American troops in the Afghanistan was characterized by the withdrawal of 33, 000 troops. The afghan surge is one of the major and the most important milestones in war fair that the Obama administration has played significant roles in bringing it to an end. By the end of the year 2009, the afghan surge was only composed with a total 68, 000 U. S troops in the Afghanistan region (Meyer, 2012).
The Afghanistan surge by the American forces is considered to be great success by numerous security institutions and agencies in the country. The surge, to a greater extend did accomplish a majority of its set objectives. These entail reverting of the Taliban momentum and strength in the battlefield and substantially increase the capability and size of the Afghanistan national intelligence and security forces (Meyer, 2012). The United States and its allies mainly the NATO aims at handing over all the security matters that is requirements and responsibilities to the Afghan country by the year 2014.
The United States current mission entails empowering the afghan intelligence and security forces to take responsibility their own security matters. This entails both internal and external aggressions and attacks to the afghan country. The United States as a country has made significant strides in the war against terror both within and outside its boundaries. The immeasurable success attained insofar is mainly attributed to the heavy investment on its intelligence and security forces and agencies.

Works Cited

Doherty, Berlie. Treason. London: Andersen Press, 2011. Print.
Gaddis, John L. The Cold War. London: Allen Lane, 2006. Print.
Lansford, Tom, Robert P. Watson, and Jack Covarrubias. America’s War on Terror. Farnham, England: Ashgate, 2009. Print.
Meyer, Dakota, and Francis J. West. Into the Fire: A First-Hand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War. New York: Random House, 2012. Print.