The United States and Islmaic Radicals: Conflict Unending‪?‬

Introduction The events of September 11, 2001 shook the foundations of the world's only superpower. Approximately 3,000 lives were lost in the tragic attacks on American soil. (1) The United States quickly determined that the radical Islamic group al Qaeda bore responsibility for the horrendous act. Since then, President George W. Bush has vowed to fight terrorism until the threat to the U.S. is completely eradicated. Adopting a proactive policy, the U.S. attacked the al Qaeda base in Afghanistan in October 2001, forcing the Taliban regime that harbored al Qaeda from power. Despite an outright victory in the war against the Taliban and al Qaeda, Afghanistan remains unstable and al Qaeda continues to operate around the world. The situation is not much different in Iraq where U.S. military force has toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein. Successful al Qaeda terrorist attacks around the world following American military action in both Afghanistan and Iraq highlight the difficulty of devising a strategy to combat even one radical Islamic group, let alone eradicating the threat from all groups. (2)