War on Terror Paper

Terrorism is the illegal use of force or violence to accomplish a political

or social goal. It is premeditated, politically-motivated violence committed
against non-combatant targets who are not involved in fighting. We have
seen acts of terrorism in our everyday lives since the attacks of 9/11 to the
use of chemical weapons in Syria. Even though groups like the US
Department of Homeland Security aim to prevent terrorism it is impossible to
completely eradicate it, it is still present and recurring in our world. This
illegal act is abused in countries everyday and us as common people have
no control over this. However, even though we have no control over this I
believe it is important to be aware of these abusive acts of terrorism and to
know the motives and the consequences of the certain acts of terrorism in a
country. I also believe it is important to find new, innovative ways to help
prevent future terrorist acts. I am given the task of researching terrorism acts
within Syria and I will attempt to assess the impact of these terrorist acts. I
will be researching two terrorist acts within this country and I will address the
origin/motive, the impact, and how

the U.S. addressed these acts of

terrorism.
More than 10 months ago, the U.S government believed that the Syrian
government carried out a chemical weapons attack on the Damascus
suburbs on August 21, 2013. This belief was confirmed by videos from the
Damascus regions about the chemical weapons attack. In terms of the
casualties caused by the attack, a preliminary U.S government assessment

determined that 1,429 people were killed, including at least 426 children.
(WhiteHouse, online) The U.S government has assumed that small scale
attacks were also present in the Damascus suburbs. Knowing this, it is no
surprise that the Syrian regime conducted such an act of terrorism. With
such a devastating attack, one may wonder the motives behind the attack.
According to the U.S government, [they can] assess that the Syrian regime
has used chemical weapons over the last year primarily to gain the upper
hand or break a stalemate in areas where it has struggled to seize and hold
strategically valuable territory. (WhiteHouse, online) The Syrian regime
decided to use these chemical weapons against innocent citizens because
they were unable to secure portions of Damascus. The U.S. government also
states that weapons such as chemical weapons are one of many tools in its
(Syrian regime) arsenal. This shows that Syria will use these weapons to no
restriction in the times they believe it is necessary. If they have conducted
terrorist acts in the past involving chemical weapons and include these
weapons in their arsenal, I see no reason why they would not carry out
another attack, potentially harming more citizens. I strongly believe this
should be prevented and that people should be aware of countries that
believe it is okay to use such destructive and dangerous weapons. After
hearing about the attack, President Obama made it clear that the situation in
Syria would not be an open-ended intervention, and [that] there will be no
American troops on the ground. (WhiteHouse, online) This sparked some
controversy because President Obama decided to limit military action on a

country that is losing hundreds of citizens due to chemical weapons.

However, the U.S and Russia have recently teamed up to work together to
ensure the destruction of the Syrian chemical weapons program in the
fastest and safest manner possible. (WhiteHouse, online) The joint effort
between the two countries led to a historic United Nations Security Council
resolution that legally bound Syria to destroy its chemical weapons
stockpile (WhiteHouse, online) Even though Obama decided to limit
military action, the U.S. was able to work with Russia to come to a solution to
get rid of the chemical weapons in Syria as fast as possible. Furthermore, on
October 31st, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
announced that no additional chemical agents or munitions can be
produced in Syria. (WhiteHouse, online) This and the UNs resolution marked
big milestones in the combined efforts to eradicate chemical weapons in
Syria.
About 4 months ago, the Obama administration engaged in a debate
whether a law regarding U.S. attacks, the 2001 Authorization for the Use of
Military Force, applied to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a group
that has been expelled by al-Qaeda. Due to this group being expelled, it
removes the group from a lost of al-Qaeda associates. (DeYoung) This
expulsion of the group causes the U.S. to consider the current laws in place.
The U.S. has no current intention of attacking in Syria or Iraq. (DeYoung)
Rather they are more worried about this law in placed after 9/11. In a
national security speech in May, President Obama said he wanted to refine

and ultimately repeal the AUMF and to work with Congress to come up with
a alternative solution. (DeYoung) This expulsion has increased awareness of
the potential need to update laws and raises questions of the consequences
of the expulsion. A U.S. intelligence officials asks, Does it make al-Qaeda
leadership look stronger or weaker, Will it help their recruitment efforts.
(DeYoung) With this expulsion brings negative consequences to the citizens
of the countries. For example, on February, 3, 2014 a bomber from the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria detonated himself at a rebel base in northern
Syria, killing 16 fighters and wounding 20. (Hubbard) Furthermore, also on
Monday, at least 30 people, including 13 children and three women, were
killed in aerial bombardments by the Syrian government (Hubbard) This
expulsion created an awareness of the potential need to update laws, raised
questions of the consequences of the expulsion, and also created turmoil in
the countries affected by the isolation of the group.
Terrorism is a recurring epidemic in our world, it happens every day
and affects thousands of people. Terrorism can have major impacts on a
country and it is important to be aware of the impacts it can have. Even
though we as citizens have no power in changing and preventing these acts
of terrorism I think it is necessary to know the reasons and motives behind
them.

Works Cited

A Major Milestone Whitehouse. N.p., n.d. Web.

Breaks with Jihadist Group in Syria Involved in Rebel...." New York Times. 04 Feb.
2014: A.9. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Jun. 2014.

"Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria." Whitehouse. N.p., n.d. Web.

DeYoung, Karen, and Greg Miller. "Al-Qaeda Expulsion Stirs Debate Over U.S. Law."
Washington Post. 11 Feb. 2014: A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Jun.
2014.Hubbard, Ben. "Al Qaeda