(VOVworld) – On Thursday the US commemorates the 13th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The US-led fight against terrorism did not end after the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011. It is now facing a new challenge from the Islamic State (IS), which has become a major threat.
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| Twin beams of light flash into the sky from The Tribute in Light display near the World Trade Center complex on Sept. 8 in New York City. (Photo: Mark Lennihan, AP) |
On September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers took control of 4 Boeing passenger jets and crash them into the Pentagon in Washington and the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. About 3,000 people of 90 nationalities were killed. The world was shocked to see the twin towers on fire and collapsing. The attacks changed many things in American society.
Anti-terrorism – Washington’s ultimate priority
Before the September 11 attacks, the US seemed unconcerned about terrorism or extreme Islamists. Everything changed after the “black day”. Over the past 13 years, the US has invested a lot of resources in the fight against terrorism. The US defense budget has doubled. A number of new security agencies were established. The aviation sector has spent millions of USD on ensuring security. Anti-terrorism has become a focal issue of the government’s agenda. The US Senate has given more power to executive agencies to pry into private lives by bugging phone calls and emails. These security measures have evoked a backlash from the public.
It’s undeniable that Washington’s efforts over the past 13 years have had results. A number of terrorist plots have been detected and foiled. The operation to kill Osama bin Laden, the Al-Qaeda terrorist chief, in 2011 was a milestone in the US’ war on terror.
A new threat from the Islamic State (IS)
Americans will never forget the September 11 attacks and the ghost terrorism will always haunt the US. The rise of the IS in Iraq and Syria over the past few months has put the US on high alert. Unlike the Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, the IS has strong financial banking. It gets money from oil and gas exploitation and electricity in areas it has occupied and from ransoming kidnapped foreigners. The IS, with 50,000 militiamen in Syria and 10,000 in Iraq, has taken control of a large area of Iraq and Syria. Some Al-Qaeda associated rebel groups have joined the IS to turn it into a global terrorist network. But the brutal videotaped killing of two American journalists has sparked global indignation and led to the formation of an international anti-terrorism coalition.
The US creates a coalition to strengthen power
Prior to the commemoration of the September 11 attacks, US President Obama made public a strategy to eliminate the IS. It consists of military, diplomatic, and economic measures and a coalition with Arab countries. US Secretary of State John Kerry visited the Middle East to build a large coalition to encounter the IS. More than 40 countries have agreed to join the coalition with a commitment to send troops and provide financial and humanitarian aid for civilians.
The US is not alone in the fight against the IS, a global threat. But analysts say that considering the IS’s advantages, it will take the US 20 years to defeat the IS, compared to 10 years to eliminate Al-Qaeda. The US’s rocky relations with Iran and worsening relations between Russia and the West over the Ukrainian crisis could undermine the coalition.