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Main article: War on Terrorism

Criticism of the War on Terrorism (also named the War on Terror) addresses the issues, morals, ethics, efficiency, economics, and other questions surrounding the War on Terrorism. The term anti-war usually refers to the opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. Organised opposition to a possible future military attack against Iran by the United States (US is known to have started during 2005-2006 There has been significant opposition to the Iraq War across the world Opposition to the 2001 Afghanistan War consisted of tens to a hundred thousand protestors in the United States and the United Kingdom. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is a coalition of Non-governmental organizations whose goal is to abolish the production and use of Anti-personnel mines Opposition to US involvement in the Vietnam War is significant because domestic protest in the U Nuclear disarmament is the proposed dismantling of Nuclear weapons. Opposition to World War II was most vocal during its early period and stronger still before it started while Appeasement and Isolationism were considered viable diplomatic World War I was mainly opposed by Left-wing groups but there was also opposition by Christian Pacifist groups Opposition to the Second Boer War in Britain was modest when the war began on 11 October 1899 and was always less widespread than support for it let alone Popular opposition to the American Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865 was widespread This article concerns Loyalists in the American Revolution. For information on the role of those Loyalists in Canadian history after their emigration see United Empire In order to facilitate organized opposition to war Anti-war activists have often founded anti-war organizations A conscientious objector (CO is an individual who on religious moral or ethical grounds refuses to participate as a combatant in war or in some cases to take any role that would support A draft dodger, draft evader or draft resister, is a person who avoids ("dodges" or otherwise violates the Conscription policies of the A peace movement is a Social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or all wars minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or Peace churches are Christian churches groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism. Peace camps are a form of physical Protest camp that is focused on Anti-war activity Anti-imperialism, strictly speaking is a term that may be applied to or movement opposed to some form of Imperialism. Antimilitarism is a doctrine commonly found in the Anarchist and more globally in the Socialist movement which may be both characterized as Internationalist Nonviolence is a philosophy and strategy for social change that rejects the use of physical Violence. Pacificism is the general Ethical opposition to War or Violence, except in cases where force is deemed absolutely necessary to advance the cause of Satyagraha ( Sanskrit: सत्याग्रह satyāgraha) is a philosophy and practice of Nonviolent resistance developed by Mohandas An anti-war book is a book that is perceived as having an Anti-war theme An anti-war film is a Film that emphasizes the pain horror and human costs of armed conflict An Anti-war Song is a Musical composition that either states anti-war sentiments directly or one which is perceived (by the public and/or critics as having The War on Terrorism (also known as the War on Terror) is the common term for the military political and legal, and ideological conflict and specifically for U The War on Terrorism (also known as the War on Terror) is the common term for the military political and legal, and ideological conflict and specifically for U Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life Arguments are also made against the phrase itself, calling it a misnomer. A misnomer is a term which suggests an interpretation that is known to be untrue

The notion of a "war" against "terrorism" has proven highly contentious, with critics charging that it has been exploited by participating governments to pursue long-standing policy objectives, reduce civil liberties, and infringe upon human rights. thumb| |Broken Liberty Istanbul Archaeology Museum Civil liberties are freedoms that protect the Individual from the Government. Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled Some argue that the term war is not appropriate in this context (as in War on Drugs), since they believe there is no tangible enemy, and that it is unlikely international terrorism can be brought to an end by means of war[1]. War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units The War on Drugs is a prohibition campaign undertaken by the United States government with the assistance of participating countries intended to reduce the Illegal Others note that "terrorism" is not an enemy, but a tactic; calling it a "war on terror," obscures differences between conflicts. For example, anti-occupation insurgents and international jihadists.

Contents

"War on Terrorism" seen as pretext

Some have argued that part of the "War on Terrorism" has little to do with its stated purpose, since Iraq had nothing to do with the September 11 attacks and the invasion was carried out on the basis of faulty or doctored intelligence. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Excerpts from an April 2006 report compiled from sixteen US government intelligence agencies has strengthened the claim that engaging in Iraq has increased terrorism in the region. [2]

Domestic civil liberties

Picture of Satar Jabar, one of the prisoners subjected to torture at Abu Ghraib. Abar was not in Abu Ghraib on charges of terrorism, as was commonly believed, but rather for carjacking.
Picture of Satar Jabar, one of the prisoners subjected to torture at Abu Ghraib. Satar "Peller" Jabar was a prisoner at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, Iraq, during the early years of the U The city of Abu Ghraib ( Arabic: أبو غريب Abū Ghurayb Abar was not in Abu Ghraib on charges of terrorism, as was commonly believed, but rather for carjacking[3]. Carjacking is a Crime of stealing a motor vehicle when the vehicle is occupied
See also: USA PATRIOT Act, Protect America Act of 2007, and NSA electronic surveillance program

The "War on terror" has been seen as a pretext for reducing civil liberties. The USA PATRIOT Act, commonly known as the Patriot Act, is a controversial Act of Congress that U The Protect America Act of 2007 ( PAA) is a controversial amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA that was signed into law on August 5 An electronic surveillance program was implemented by the National Security Agency (NSA of the United States in the wake of the September 11 2001 attacks as part thumb| |Broken Liberty Istanbul Archaeology Museum Civil liberties are freedoms that protect the Individual from the Government.

Within the United States, critics argue that the Bush Administration and lower governments have restricted civil liberties and created a "culture of fear". George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. Culture of fear is a term that refers to a perceived prevalence of Fear and Anxiety in public discourse and relationships and how this may affect the way people Bush introduced the USA PATRIOT Act legislation to the United States Congress shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks, which significantly expanded U. The USA PATRIOT Act, commonly known as the Patriot Act, is a controversial Act of Congress that U The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses S. law enforcement's power. It has been criticized as being too broad and having been abused for purposes unrelated to counter-terrorism. President Bush had also proposed Total Information Awareness, a federal program to collect and process massive amounts of data to identify behaviors consistent with terrorist threats. The Information Awareness Office (IAO was established by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA the research and development agency of the United States It was heavily criticized as being an "Orwellian" case of mass surveillance. The adjective Orwellian describes the situation idea or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free-society Mass surveillance is the pervasive Surveillance of an entire population or a substantial fraction thereof

Many opponents focus on the domestic aspects, complaining that the government is systematically removing civil liberties from the population or engaging in racial profiling. Racial profiling is the inclusion of racial or ethnic characteristics in determining whether a person is considered likely to commit a particular type of crime or They also allege that this approach increases public hostility to dissenting voices by encouraging the view that such people are being unpatriotic or even treasonous for simply disagreeing with the administration. Some, such as Giorgio Agamben, criticize a "generalised state of exception", which could be followed by a more or less deliberate strategy of tension (using false flags terrorist attacks and other ruse of war tactics). Giorgio Agamben (born 1942 in Rome) is an Italian philosopher who teaches at the Università IUAV di Venezia. A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors or order government agencies A strategy of tension (strategia della tensione is an alleged way used by world powers to divide manipulate and control Public opinion using Fear, Propaganda A ruse of war (from the French ruse de guerre) is an action taken by a Belligerent in Warfare to fool the enemy in order to gain intelligence

In the United Kingdom, critics have claimed that the Blair government has used the War on Terrorism as a pretext to radically curtail civil liberties, some enshrined in law since Magna Carta. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to Magna Carta ( Latin for Great Charter, literally " Great Paper " also called Magna Carta Libertatum ( Great Charter of Freedoms For example: detention-without-trial in Belmarsh prison [1]; controls on free speech through laws against protests near Parliament [2] and laws banning the "glorification" of terrorism [3]; and reductions in checks on police power, as in the case of Jean Charles de Menezes (a Brazilian electrician shot dead after being mistaken for a terrorist [4]) and Mohammed Abdul Kahar (a Londoner shot by the Metropolitan Police after a false tip-off, but then released along with his brother without any charges [5]). HM Prison Belmarsh is a high security Prison in the Thamesmead area of the London Borough of Greenwich in south-east London. Jean Charles de Menezes (7 January 1978 &ndash 22 July 2005 was a Brazilian national living in the Tulse Hill area of south London. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld The 2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid saw the arrest of two men at their east London homes in Forest Gate by police acting on what they described as "specific intelligence "Metropolitan Police" redirects here See also Metropolitan police.

Former Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Menzies Campbell has also condemned Blair's inaction over the controversial US practice of extraordinary rendition, arguing that the human rights conventions to which the UK is a signatory (e. The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal Political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 1988 by merging the Sir Walter Menzies Campbell CBE QC (born 22 May 1941) commonly known as Ming Campbell, is a British Politician g. European Convention on Human Rights) impose on the government a "legal obligation" to investigate and prevent potential torture and human rights violations. The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (also called the "European Convention on Human Rights" and "ECHR" was adopted under the [6]

Defiance of international laws

See also: Guantanamo Bay detention camp, Unlawful combatant, Extraordinary rendition, Black site, Extrajudicial prisoners of the United States, and Abu Ghraib prison

Opponents feel the Bush administration is creative in suggesting legal loopholes and exception laws. The Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp is a controversial United States Detention center operated by Joint Task Force Guantanamo since 2002 in Guantanamo An unlawful combatant or unprivileged combatant/belligerent is a Civilian who directly engages in armed conflict under the International Humanitarian Law Extrajudicial prisoners of the United States, in the context of the War on Terrorism, refers to Foreign nationals the United States detains outside The Abu Ghraib prison (سجن أبو غريب also Abu Ghurayb is in Abu Ghraib, an Iraqi city 32 km (20 mi west of Baghdad. However, most human rights organizations and even allies of America think there are breaches of international and US law. Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled They point to the use of enemy combatant status, extraordinary rendition, alleged use of prisoner abuse which to observers outside the Bush administration constitutes torture. The term enemy combatant has historically referred to members of the armed forces of the state with which another state is at war Torture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental is intentionally

The status "enemy combatant" was used by the Bush administration because the Taliban regime was never internationally recognized as a state, and that their supporters thus had no right to the treatment expected of a legitimate military of uniformed soldiers and officers under the Third Geneva Convention. An unlawful combatant or unprivileged combatant/belligerent is a Civilian who directly engages in armed conflict under the International Humanitarian Law Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences whereby a state acknowledges an act The Third Geneva Convention (or GCIII) of 1949 one of the Geneva Conventions, is a treaty agreement that primarily concerns the treatment of Prisoners of

After adoption of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, any non-American national, anywhere on earth, can be designated "enemy combatant. The United States Military Commissions Act of 2006, also known as HR-6166 was an Act of Congress signed by President George W " The Bush administration's position is that unlawful combatants have no rights under the Geneva Conventions and therefore can be sent anywhere without trial or charges. However, this claim is widely disputed by legal experts. For details on the subject see unlawful combatant. An unlawful combatant or unprivileged combatant/belligerent is a Civilian who directly engages in armed conflict under the International Humanitarian Law More specific is the case of Maher Arar,[4] a Canadian-Syrian dual-citizen. Maher Arar (born 1970 a telecommunications engineer lives in Canada, holding dual Syrian and Canadian citizenship Multiple citizenship, or multiple nationality is a status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a Citizen under the laws of more than one state. During a flight transfer in New York, he was approached by authorities and eventually sent to a Syrian prison for 374 days without charges. American birth is the only defense against forced exile. American national birth should not protect American-born terrorists or fail to protect naturalized citizens, yet it does both.

Whatever the legal justification of the Bush administration, commentators note that command responsibility is a well established doctrine, making those responsible for these policies liable for prosecution. Command responsibility, sometimes referred to as the Yamashita standard or the Medina standard, is the doctrine of hierarchical accountability in cases of

Unilateralism

"You're either with us or against us in the fight against terror," a remark by U. S. President Bush in November 2001,[5] has been a source of criticism. November 2001: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - Thomas A. Keaney of Johns Hopkins University's Foreign Policy Institute said "it made diplomacy with a number of different countries far more difficult because obviously there are different problems throughout the world. "[6]

The US has a network of secret jails for terrorist suspects [7]; Abu Ghraib is but one example. Many of the countries those jails are in would consider the existence of secret torture jails in their territory without their knowledge as an act of war if a lesser nation would have done it.

Independent journals in Iraq were repeatedly bombed to the ground in several locations (amid claims of mistaking them for al-Qaeda buildings), yet a memo about the planned bombing of the very same al-Jazeera TV headquarters without notifying first the peaceful allied nation of Qatar (where al-Jazeera resides) surfaced and embarrassed the Bush administration. [8]

This suggests the rights of other nations are to be rearranged retroactively by loopholes and exceptions to fit the needs of the "war on terror" being waged. In part by misleading allies rather than negotiating with them, which has been the reaction of smaller democracies fighting terrorism.

Pax Americana

One analysis is that the United States intends "to establish a new political framework within which [it] will exert hegemonic control" (World Socialist Web Site Editorial Board). Hegemony (hɨˈdʒɛməni (Amer /hɨˈɡɛməni/ (Brit (ἡγεμονία hēgemonía) is a concept that has been used to describe and explain the dominance of one social Many people say the United States seeks to do this by controlling access to oil or oil pipelines. Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit

This view is shared by a broad variety of ideological streams, including social democrats (e. g. Michael Meacher: "The global war on terrorism has the hallmarks of a political myth propagated to pave the way for a wholly different agenda -- the U. Michael Hugh Meacher (born November 4 1939) is a British Labour party Politician, and Member of Parliament (MP for S. goal of world hegemony, built around securing by force command over the oil supplies required to drive the whole project"); anarchists, Greens (e. g. George Monbiot), Marxists and consipracy theorists (e. George Joshua Richard Monbiot (born 27 January, 1963) is a left-wing Journalist, Author, Academic and environmental g. David Icke). David Vaughan Icke (pronounced /aɪk/ born 29 April 1952 is a British writer and public speaker who has devoted himself since 1990 to researching "who and what is really controlling In addition, many people on this side of the political spectrum opine that the war is being fought to benefit domestic political allies of the Bush administration, especially arms manufacturers. (See Military-industrial complex. A military-industrial complex (MIC is a concept commonly used to refer to Policy relationships between Governments national Armed forces, and industrial )

Proponents of the hegemony hypothesis point out that achieving such a situation is the stated aim of the Project for the New American Century, a conservative think tank that includes many prominent members of the Republican Party and Bush administration among its present and former members. The Project for the New American Century (PNAC was an American neoconservative Think tank based in Washington D It is even arguable that this attitude was what led to the rise in Middle Eastern hostility in the first place.

As a war against Islam

See also: War against Islam

Some critics claim that the war on terrorism is truly a war on Islam itself. War against Islam (also War on Islam, or Attack on Islam) is a critical term used to describe a perceived campaign to harm weaken or even annihilate the religion

After his release from Guantanamo in 2005, ex-detainee Moazzam Begg appeared in the Islamist propaganda video 21st Century CrUSAders and claimed the U. Moazzam Begg (born 1968 is one of nine British Muslims who were held in Extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in S. is engaging in a new crusade:[7][8]

"I think that history is definitely repeating itself and for the Muslim world, and I think even a great part of the non-Muslim world now, are beginning to recognize that there are ambitions that the United States has on the lands and wealth of nations of Islam. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents "

Ex-U. S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark has described the war on terrorism as a war against Islam. In most Common law jurisdictions the Attorney General, or Attorney-General, is the main legal advisor to the government and in some jurisdictions may in addition William Ramsey Clark (born December 18 1927 is a lawyer and former United States Attorney General. [9]

Methods

Extrajudicial detention of captives in Guantanamo Bay.
Extrajudicial detention of captives in Guantanamo Bay. The Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp is a controversial United States Detention center operated by Joint Task Force Guantanamo since 2002 in Guantanamo

Many people contend that a "war" against terrorism is plainly wrong since terrorist attacks are considered criminal acts like murder and therefore should be investigated by the police with the perpetrators brought to justice and given a fair trial in a court of law. Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment Police are agents or agencies usually of the executive, empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order through the legitimatized use of force

Many people believe that interrogation methods employed by U. S. forces violate international Geneva Conventions in places such as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Abu Ghraib, Iraq. The Geneva Conventions consist of four Treaties formulated in Geneva, Switzerland, that set the standards for International law for humanitarian Guantánamo Bay ( Spanish Bahía de Guantánamo) is a bay located in Guantánamo Province at the south-eastern end of Cuba Beginning in 2004 accounts of Abuse, Torture, Sodomy and Homicide of Prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq They believe that if U. S. forces act immorally or unethically then those forces are no better than the insurgents they are trying to find. An insurgency is a violent internal uprising against a sovereign government that lacks the organization of a revolution

Another criticism is that the "war on terrorism" is effectively an act of terrorism in itself. Critics point to incidents such as the Bagram torture and prisoner abuse scandal, the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal, the alleged use of chemical weapons against residents of Fallujah [10], and the use of military force to disperse anti-American demonstrations in Iraq [11] [12]. In 2005 The New York Times obtained a 2000-page United States Army report concerning the Homicides of two unarmed Civilian Afghani Beginning in 2004 accounts of Abuse, Torture, Sodomy and Homicide of Prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of Chemical substances to kill injure or incapacitate an enemy. For other meanings see Fallujah (disambiguation. Fallujah (الفلوجة sometimes transliterated

Some Libertarians believe that a "war" against terrorism is wrong because it makes national security into such a high government priority, that any sacrifice of personal liberty and freedom is deemed necessary, no matter how large or small [13]. Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the National security is the entire scope of measures undertaken by the Governments of Nation-states in providing assurance of national Sovereignty For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. Liberty, the freedom to act or believe without being stopped by unnecessary force Political freedom is the absence of interference with the sovereignty of an individual by the use of coercion or aggression They believe this leads not only to an unjustified erosion of liberty, but to a general climate of fear in which people become unwilling to exercise their civil liberties. Fear is an Emotional response to Threats and Danger. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific Stimulus, such as thumb| |Broken Liberty Istanbul Archaeology Museum Civil liberties are freedoms that protect the Individual from the Government. They warn of the danger of the public being enslaved under mass surveillance, as eventually everyone comes under suspicion of being a potential terrorist. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another Mass surveillance is the pervasive Surveillance of an entire population or a substantial fraction thereof

Critics also maintain that a strategy of tension was employed prior to the Iraq War, which is now being repeated against countries described as the "axis of evil", such as Iran. A strategy of tension (strategia della tensione is an alleged way used by world powers to divide manipulate and control Public opinion using Fear, Propaganda The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign Definition President Bush's exact statement was as follows second goal is to prevent regimes (terrorist that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics.

Aiding terrorism

British Liberal Democrat politician Shirley Williams writes that the American and United Kingdom governments "must stop to think whether it is sowing the kind of resentment which is the seedbed of future terrorism. The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal Political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 1988 by merging the Shirley Williams Baroness Williams of Crosby PC (born 27 July 1930) is a British Politician and academic "[9] The United Kingdom ambassador to Italy, Ivor Roberts, said that U. An ambassador is the highest ranking Diplomat who represents their country Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Sir Ivor Roberts KCMG (b 1946 is President of Trinity College Oxford and was formerly British ambassador to Yugoslavia, Ireland S. President Bush is "the best recruiting sergeant ever for al Qaeda. "[10] The United States granted "protected persons" status under the Geneva Convention to the Mojahedin-e-Khalq, an Iranian group classified by the U.S. Department of State as a terrorist organization, sparking criticism. The People's Mujahedin of Iran ( PMOI, also MEK, MKO) ( Persian: سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران sāzmān-e mojāhedin-e khalq-e [11] Other critics have noted that the American government has granted political asylum to several terrorists and terrorist organizations that attack Cuba to try and overthrow Fidel Castro, while the American government claims to be anti-terrorist. The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13 1926 is a Cuban revolutionary leader who was prime minister of Cuba from December 1959 to December 1976 and then president until

Political Double-Standards of the Bush Administration

There have been important criticisms that there are double-standards in Bush Administration's War on Terrorism. These double-standards have involved the unwillingness of the United States to send military troops into Pakistan to search for Osama Bin Ladin because the Bush administration has been unwilling to violate the sovereignty of Pakistan, who has exported nuclear technology to North Korea. Osama bin Laden, with some spelling variations is the name used in English to refer to (أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن born 10 March Whereas the Bush Administration has had no inhibitions about violating the sovereignty of Iraq on claims that Saddam Hussein used weapons of mass destruction on Kurdish citizens in Iraq, and had ties to al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida, al-Qa`ida or al-Qa`idah, ( Arabic:; ar-Latn ''al-qāʿidah'' Translation: The These actions raise concern to critics about the objective of the invasion, mainly having it look like the real objective of the invasion in Iraq was to secure the oil reserves.

Many observe that the U. S. government has had no qualms about supporting groups opposing local administrations perceived to be hostile to U. S. interests.

Examples are Operation Condor, in which the CIA tried to fight Communism by supporting military leaders in South America despite their less than democratic tactics, as well as President Reagan's backing of the Contras against the Sandinista government of Nicaragua. For other uses of Operation Condor please see Operation Condor (disambiguation Operation Condor (Operación Cóndor Operação Condor was a campaign near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a A dictatorship is usually defined as an autocratic Form of government in which the Government is ruled by a Dictator. The Contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua 's FSLN (Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional Sandinista Junta of National The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional) is a socialist Nicaraguan Political party. Nicaragua (ˌnɪkəˈrɑgwə officially the Republic of Nicaragua () is a representative democratic republic and the largest nation in Central America

People note that the alleged mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks was part of the Mujahedin who were sponsored, armed, trained and aided by the CIA to commit terrorist acts in Afghanistan to fight Russia after it invaded Afghanistan. The Civil war in Afghanistan, also known as Afghan Civil War, began in 1978 and has continued The Soviet war in Afghanistan, also known as the Soviet-Afghan War or just the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, was a nine-year conflict involving [14][15][16][17]

Venezuela accuses the U. S. government of having a double standard on terrorism for giving safe haven to Luis Posada Carriles. Luis Clemente Faustino Posada Carriles (born February 15, 1928) is a Cuban born Venezuelan anti- Castro terrorist [12]

Misleading information

Some critics argue that some politicians supporting the "war on terror" are motivated by reasons other than those they publicly state, and critics accuse those politicians of cynically misleading the public to achieve their own ends.

For instance, in the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq, President Bush and members of his administration indicated that they possessed information which demonstranted a link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda. Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda link allegations were made by some U Published reports of the links began in late December, 1998. In January, 1999, Newsweek magazine published a story about Saddam and al-Qaeda joining forces to attack U. S. interests in the Gulf Region. ABC News broadcast a story of the link between the two soon after. ABC News video report Polls suggest that a majority of Americans believe that Saddam Hussein was linked to the attacks of September 11, 2001. Although this has been the position of the Bush Administration, an investigation by the 9/11 Commission found no credible evidence that Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaeda with the 9/11 attacks. 9/11 Commission ReportThe National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002

Regardless of whether or not the Bush administration was deliberately misleading the people, wrong information was distributed, resulting in increased support for the war.

Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan criticized the use of pro-humanitarian arguments by Coalition countries prior to its 2003 invasion of Iraq, writing in an open letter: "This selective attention to human rights is nothing but a cold and calculated manipulation of the work of human rights activists. Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a Western based international Non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to Irene Zubaida Khan, born December 24, 1956 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is the Secretary General of Amnesty International The term coalition of the willing is a post-1990 political phrase used to describe military or military/humanitarian interventions for which the United Nations Security Council Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia Let us not forget that these same governments turned a blind eye to Amnesty International’s reports of widespread human rights violations in Iraq before the Gulf War. "[13]

Decreasing international support

British citizens have repeatedly stated they do not support Bush's War and hold the belief that its aim was to steal Iraqi oil. Statistics used by the US to justify the war have also be proven to be fake. In 2002, strong majorities supported the U. S. -led War on Terrorism in Britain, France, Germany, Japan, India, and Russia. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending By 2006, supporters of the effort were in the minority in Britain (49%), France (43%), Germany (47%), and Japan (26%). Although a majority of Russians still supported the War on Terrorism, that majority had decreased by 21%. Whereas 63% of the Spanish population supported the War on Terrorism in 2003, only 19% of the population indicated support in 2006. 19% of the Chinese population supports the War on Terrorism, and less than a fifth of the populations of Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan support the effort. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern Indian support for the War on Terrorism has been stable. [14] Andrew Kohut, speaking to the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, noted that, according to the Pew Research Center polls conducted in 2004, "majorities or pluralities in seven of the nine countries surveyed said the U. The US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives The Pew Research Center is a Think tank based in Washington D S. -led war on terrorism was not really a sincere effort to reduce international terrorism. This was true not only in Muslim countries such as Morocco and Turkey, but in France and Germany as well. The true purpose of the war on terrorism, according to these skeptics, is American control of Middle East oil and U. S. domination of the world. "[15]

Role of U. S. media

Researchers in the area of communication studies and political science have found that American understanding of the war on terrorism is directly shaped by how the mainstream news media reports events associated with the war on terror. In Bush’s War: Media Bias and Justifications for War in a Terrorist Age[16] political communication researcher Jim A. Kuypers illustrated “how the press failed America in its coverage on the War on Terror. Jim A Kuypers is an American academic specializing in Communication studies. ” In each comparison, Kuypers “detected massive bias on the part of the press. ” This researcher called the mainstream news media an “anti-democratic institution” in his conclusion. “What has essentially happened since 9/11 has been that Bush has repeated the same themes, and framed those themes the same whenever discussing the War on Terror,” said Kuypers. “Immediately following 9/11, the mainstream news media (represented by CBS, ABC, NBC, USA Today, New York Times, and Washington Post) did echo Bush, but within eight weeks it began to intentionally ignore certain information the president was sharing, and instead reframed the president's themes or intentionally introduced new material to shift the focus. ”

This goes beyond reporting alternate points of view, which is an important function of the press. “In short,” Kuypers explained, “if someone were relying only on the mainstream media for information, they would have no idea what the president actually said. It was as if the press were reporting on a different speech. ” The study is essentially a “comparative framing analysis. ” Overall, Kuypers examined themes about 9-11 and the War on Terrorism that the President used, and compared them to the themes that the press used when reporting on what the president said.

“Framing is a process whereby communicators, consciously or unconsciously, act to construct a point of view that encourages the facts of a given situation to be interpreted by others in a particular manner,” wrote Kuypers. These findings suggest that the public is misinformed about government justification and plans concerning the war on terror.

Others have also suggested that press coverage has contributed to a public confused and misinformed on both the nature and level of the threat to the U. S. posed by terrorism. In his book, Trapped in the War on Terror[17] political scientist Ian S. Lustick, claimed, “The media have given constant attention to possible terrorist-initiated catastrophes and to the failures and weaknesses of the government's response. ” Lustick alleged that the War on Terrorism is disconnected from the real but remote threat terrorism poses, and that the generalized War on Terrorism began as part of the justification for invading Iraq, but then took on a life of its own, fueled by media coverage.

Media researcher Stephen D. Cooper’s analysis of media criticism Watching the Watchdog: Bloggers As the Fifth Estate[18] contains many examples of controversies concerning mainstream reporting of the War on Terror. Cooper found that bloggers’ criticisms of factual inaccuracies in news stories or bloggers’ discovery of the mainstream press’s failure to adequately check facts before publication caused many news organizations to retrack or change news stories.

Cooper found that bloggers specializing in criticism of media coverage advanced four key points: 1. Mainstream reporting of the war on terrorism has frequently contained factual inaccuracies. In some cases, the errors go uncorrected; moreover, when corrections are issued they usually are given far less prominence than the initial coverage containing the errors. 2. The mainstream press has sometimes failed to check the provenance of information or visual images supplied by Iraqi “stringers” (local Iraqis hired to relay local news). 3. Story framing is often problematic; in particular, “man-in-the-street” interviews have often been used as a representation of public sentiment in Iraq, in place of methodologically sound survey data. 4. Mainstream reporting has tended to concentrate on the more violent areas of Iraq, with little or no reporting of the calm areas.

British objections to the phrase "war on terrorism"

The Director of Public Prosecutions and head of the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK, Ken McDonald — Britain's most senior criminal prosecutor — has stated that those responsible for acts of terrorism such as the 7 July 2005 London bombings are not "soldiers" in a war, but "inadequates" who should be dealt with by the criminal justice system. The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several Criminal jurisdictions around the world The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public Prosecutions The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Sir Kenneth Donald John Macdonald, QC (born 4 January 1953) is Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP of England and Wales. The 7 July 2005 London bombings (also called the 7/7 bombings) were a series of coordinated bomb blasts that hit London's public transport system during Criminal justice is the system of practices and organizations used by national and local governments directed at maintaining Social control, deterring He added that a "culture of legislative restraint" was needed in passing anti-terrorism laws, and that a "primary purpose" of the violent attacks was to tempt countries such as Britain to "abandon our values. " He stated that in the eyes of the UK criminal justice system, the response to terrorism had to be "proportionate, and grounded in due process and the rule of law":

"London is not a battlefield. Proportionality is a principle in law which although related covers two distinct concepts London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Those innocents who were murdered. . . were not victims of war. And the men who killed them were not, as in their vanity they claimed on their ludicrous videos, 'soldiers'. They were deluded, narcissistic inadequates. They were criminals. They were fantasists. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting We need to be very clear about this. On the streets of London there is no such thing as a war on terror. The fight against terrorism on the streets of Britain is not a war. It is the prevention of crime, the enforcement of our laws, and the winning of justice for those damaged by their infringement. "[19]

Pejorative terms

Critics have replaced "war on terrorism" or related phrases with pejorative terms:

Just as the War Against Drugs would make some kind of sense if they honestly called it a War Against Some Drugs, I regard Dubya's current Kampf as a War Against Some Terrorists. Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (born Robert Edward Wilson, January 18, 1932 &ndash January 11, 2007) was an American I may remain wed to that horrid heresy until he bombs CIA headquarters in Langtry. [20]

See also

References

  1. ^ The Seattle Times: Nation & World: "War on terror" difficult to define
  2. ^ Glaister, Dan. The War on Terrorism (also known as the War on Terror) is the common term for the military political and legal, and ideological conflict and specifically for U The War in Afghanistan, which began on October 7 2001 as the U The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia There has been significant opposition to the Iraq War across the world An unlawful combatant or unprivileged combatant/belligerent is a Civilian who directly engages in armed conflict under the International Humanitarian Law A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors or order government agencies The USA PATRIOT Act, commonly known as the Patriot Act, is a controversial Act of Congress that U The NSA warrantless surveillance controversy concerns Surveillance of persons within the United States incident to the collection of Foreign intelligence by the Command responsibility, sometimes referred to as the Yamashita standard or the Medina standard, is the doctrine of hierarchical accountability in cases of The Power of Nightmares, subtitled The Rise of the Politics of Fear, is a BBC Documentary film series written and produced by The United States Central Intelligence Agency defines the Class of '05 problem as the possibility that Western dissidents could become Insurgents in postwar The Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp is a controversial United States Detention center operated by Joint Task Force Guantanamo since 2002 in Guantanamo Beginning in 2004 accounts of Abuse, Torture, Sodomy and Homicide of Prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq "Campaign in Iraq has increased threat, says American intelligence report". Guardian Unlimited, September 25, 2006. guardiancouk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group.
  3. ^ "Beneath the Hoods", War in Iraq, Newsweek, 2006-07-19. Newsweek is an American weekly Newsmagazine published in New York City. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 711 - Muslim forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by their king Roderic. Retrieved on 2007-02-12. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1429 - English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orleans from attack by the  
  4. ^ Democracy Now! | Canadian Man Deported by U.S. Details Torture in Syria
  5. ^ "Bush says it is time for action". Cable News Network, 6 November 2001. Cable News Network, usually referred to by its Initialism CNN, is a major English language Television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner
  6. ^ Taylor, Susan Martin. "With us or against us? Mideast is not that simple". St. Petersburg Times, 9 May 2002. The St Petersburg Times is a daily Newspaper based in St Petersburg Florida, that serves the larger Tampa Bay area
  7. ^ Bookshop's messages of racist hate, The Observer, February 4, 2007
  8. ^ "21st Century CrUSAders: A War on Muslims in Iraq and Palestine" DVD/VHS, Green 72 Media, 2005. The Observer is a British Newspaper published on Sundays In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Events 211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is
  9. ^ Williams, Shirley. "The seeds of Iraq's future terror". The Guardian, 28 October 2003. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group.
  10. ^ Richburg, Keith B. "Kerry Is Widely Favored Abroad". The Washington Post, p. The Washington Post is the largest and most circulated Newspaper in Washington D A14, 29 September 2004.
  11. ^ Peterson, Scott. "Why the US granted 'protected' status to Iranian terrorists". The Christian Science Monitor, 29 July 2004. The Christian Science Monitor (CSM is an international Newspaper published daily Monday through Friday
  12. ^ The Christian Science Monitor. "Venezuela accuses US of 'double standard' on terrorism". Retrieved August 5, 2006.
  13. ^ Khan, Irene. Irene Zubaida Khan, born December 24, 1956 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is the Secretary General of Amnesty International "Human rights in the balance". Amnesty International, 25 September 2004. Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a Western based international Non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to
  14. ^ Pew Global Attitudes Project: America’s Image in the World: Findings from the Pew Global Attitudes Project
  15. ^ www. au. af. mil/au/awc/awcgate/congress/koh111005. pdf
  16. ^ Kuypers, Jim A. [2006-10-28]. Bush’s War: Media Bias and Justifications for War in a Terrorist Age. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. . ISBN 0-7425-3653-X.  
  17. ^ Lustick, Ian S. [2006-09-01]. Trapped in the War on Terror. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-3983-0.  
  18. ^ Cooper, Stephen D. [2006-06-12]. Watching the Watchdog: Bloggers As the Fifth Estate. Marquette Books. ISBN 0-9229-9347-5.  
  19. ^ There is no war on terror in the UK, says DPP, The Times, January 24, 2007, p. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. 12.
  20. ^ Energy questions that will need to be answered. Liverpool Daily Post - Example of usage of phrase "so-called War on Terror". Retrieved on 2007-10-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II
  21. ^ War On Terror Labelled A Disaster. Sky News - Example of usage of phrase "so-called War on Terror". Retrieved on 2007-10-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II
  22. ^ U.S. war tab $200 billion for next year. Toronto Star - Example of usage of phrase "so-called War on Terror". Retrieved on 2007-10-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II
  23. ^ Misusing terror victims' pain to fight culture wars. The Canberra Times - Example of usage of phrase "so-called War on Terror". Retrieved on 2007-10-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II
  24. ^ Mistrial in key ‘terror’ case. SBS World News - Example of usage of phrase "so-called War on Terror". Retrieved on 2007-10-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II
  25. ^ Rendition, the movie. Guardian - Example of usage of phrase "so-called War on Terror". Retrieved on 2007-10-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II
  26. ^ Don't cave in to the Taliban. International Herald Tribune - Example of usage of phrase "so-called War on Terror". Retrieved on 2007-10-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II
  27. ^ www.president-bush.com.
  28. ^ "Dramatic interventions". The Independent UK, 17 March 2004.

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