Foreign Policy :: War on Terrorism

A nation’s foreign policy is the result of decades of work designed to answer the needs of a nation, both international and domestic, in the most optimal fashion possible. As a result, a nation’s foreign policy is rarely changed within a single day. September 11th, however, changed the direction and motivation of United States foreign policy in a matter of minutes. With the death of nearly 3,000 Americans, the collapse of the World Trade Center, and the nation’s air traffic control system completely shutdown, terrorism became the number one priority in U.S. foreign policy. Although foreign policy issues that existed prior to September 11th are still being addressed, seemingly everything has taken the back burner to our newly waged War on Terrorism. Currently, the War on Terrorism is being fought on several fronts. Abroad we are coping with the aftermath of war in both Afghanistan and Iraq; we are still hunting for Osama-bin Ladin and Saddam Hussein. We are also once again desperately trying to facilitate peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine in hopes that such efforts will curb terrorism, in both the Middle East and around the globe. At home, there are ongoing efforts to make our country safer through tougher security measures. Since September 11th, President Bush has drastically changed the way the U.S. deals with other nations, both allies and enemies. Presently, our nation is working under a pre-emptive foreign policy. The aim of this new policy is to prevent an attack on our nation by any means necessary. This controversial policy was exercised through President Bush’s pre-emptive strikes in the War with Iraq. In sync with our aggressive change of policy, U.S. military spending has soared above the 288.8 billion spent in the year 2000. Total defense spending for 2003 is 391.6 billion, this accounts for 51.6% of the discretionary budget. Requests for military spending in 2004 further increase to 399.1 billion. Figures such as these have been a source of major criticism for the President. Liberals especially emphasize the escalating costs of the War on Terrorism and on-going operations in Iraq. Foreign Policy :: War on Terrorism A nation’s foreign policy is the result of decades of work designed to answer the needs of a nation, both international and domestic, in the most optimal fashion possible. As a result, a nation’s foreign policy is rarely changed within a single day. September 11th, however, changed the direction and motivation of United States foreign policy in a matter of minutes. With the death of nearly 3,000 Americans, the collapse of the World Trade Center, and the nation’s air traffic control system completely shutdown, terrorism became the number one priority in U.S. foreign policy. Although foreign policy issues that existed prior to September 11th are still being addressed, seemingly everything has taken the back burner to our newly waged War on Terrorism. Currently, the War on Terrorism is being fought on several fronts. Abroad we are coping with the aftermath of war in both Afghanistan and Iraq; we are still hunting for Osama-bin Ladin and Saddam Hussein. We are also once again desperately trying to facilitate peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine in hopes that such efforts will curb terrorism, in both the Middle East and around the globe. At home, there are ongoing efforts to make our country safer through tougher security measures. Since September 11th, President Bush has drastically changed the way the U.S. deals with other nations, both allies and enemies. Presently, our nation is working under a pre-emptive foreign policy. The aim of this new policy is to prevent an attack on our nation by any means necessary. This controversial policy was exercised through President Bush’s pre-emptive strikes in the War with Iraq. In sync with our aggressive change of policy, U.S. military spending has soared above the 288.8 billion spent in the year 2000. Total defense spending for 2003 is 391.6 billion, this accounts for 51.6% of the discretionary budget. Requests for military spending in 2004 further increase to 399.1 billion. Figures such as these have been a source of major criticism for the President. Liberals especially emphasize the escalating costs of the War on Terrorism and on-going operations in Iraq.