Undoubtedly, when we look back on the 10 years between 9/11 and Osama Bin Laden’s ultimate demise, some things will stick out in the world of politics.
Of all the events, though, one in particular seems to be easily the most important: the declaration of the War on Terror.
Declared nine days after the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush first used the term “War on Terror” in a joint speech to Congress.
According to Bush, it only begins with al-Qaida, but it will not end until “every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”
Furthermore, Bush did not seem to be lying when he discussed the lengths we would take to wage this war.
Nearly 10 years later, his claims of “we will direct every resource at our command” certainly seem to ring true.
In the end, though, can we really say this war has made us safer or allowed us to keep the ideals we hold true?
Since 2001, we’ve invaded Iraq, used waterboarding and wiretapped our own citizens— and who knows what else has been kept from us.
Perhaps, when we finally are able to look back on all the facts, we’ll finally see just how big an event this declaration was.
Maybe then we’ll see just how un-American the lengths we’ve gone to have really been.
Zachary Davis is a 20-year-old history junior from Warsaw, Poland. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_zdavis.
 
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Contact Zachary Davis at
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