Question

Briefly describe the key differences between the post-9/11 wars and earlier wars fought by the United States. How have these changes altered the goal of achieving national security for the United States?

Answer 1

• The major difference is that the war on terror is in no way a traditional war with military objectives.It’s been a long time since the United States declared war against another nation and fought army against army on a conventional battlefield. Now America is more war-weary than ever and no longer interested in getting involved with the problems in far-away countries.
• Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, ‘war’ has come to mean something different for the U.S. military, which has spent the last decade battling all kinds of unconventional enemies who use guerilla warfare and are more transient than ever.
• The current war on terror, however, is a completely unconventional, non-traditional type of conflict.
• Homeland Security makes every attempt to inject security measures into every aspect of the day of the average citizen. Metal detectors guard the entrances of high schools. Security agents ride aboard every airliner undetected but trained to act in the event of a similar incident. Troops are spread globally, searching for the unknown enemy who doesn’t reside in a place, but in a belief.
• For the average citizen, the most obvious changes in daily life have been the changes at airports when flying on airplanes. Airports now require passengers to arrive at least two hours prior to their departure.
• Despite newer and more modern security equipment, extra security protocol is still in place.
• Today, all U.S. security agencies share the same watch lists and threat databases, which are constantly updated. They share intelligence tips with one another and federal officials even sit on task forces with their local counterparts.