By: Harshith Chinni, a HISTOYOUTH writer
On January 20, 2001, George Walker Bush was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States. He had beaten Democrat Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential Elections by a narrow margin and again defeated Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election. He had pledged to the American people tax cuts, educational reforms, and to bring national security up front. His slogan was, “Compassionate Conservatism”, which stresses a free market economy and that governments should only intervene when necessary. Unlike democracy, compassionate conservatism believes in providing the underprivileged with skills to create their own wealth, rather than redistributing the wealth of the citizens. The Bush administration faced pressing challenges that demanded immediate action, including the 9/11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, 2008 global economic crisis. But let’s focus on 9/11.
September 11th, 2001, was expected to be a typical, sunny day. Never in Americans’ wildest dreams did they think that it would be the day when more than 3,000 people were killed, or the day that would change international relations forever. Four passenger planes were hijacked by members of Al-Qaeda, an Islamic terrorist organization, and crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
President Bush was inside an elementary school giving a speech when he was notified of the attacks. He immediately got into contact with first responders from New York and Washington, and addressed the American people of the disastrous attacks they had witnessed. He wanted the American people to be united and stand in the face of adversity, emphasizing that no attack could question America’s resilience and determination.
Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act after the event, which significantly expanded the search and surveillance powers of federal law-enforcement and intelligence agencies. However, it was met with more criticism than support. Section 215 violated the privacy protections laid out by The Fourth Amendment because it permitted warrantless searches. Section 218 allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to conduct surveillance of citizens without showing probable cause of criminal activity. Section 505 contravened The First Amendment rights as it authorized search parties based partly on First Amendment activity and imposed gag orders without requiring any form of judicial review.
The fact that this act allowed government officials to intervene in ordinary Americans’ lives, who had no relation to the event, clearly went against Compassionate Conservatism’s values of intervening only when necessary, which showed Bush’s incompetence in balancing civil liberties and national security.
In an attempt of retaliation, Bush launched the war on terrorism, which involved major wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Before 9/11, both these countries were incredibly impoverished and faced multiple humanitarian issues, such as the lack of clean water and food. Taliban, an Islamic terrorist organization based in Afghanistan, even advised the United States to not launch an attack on their soil because of the crises their nation were going through. The war had increased anti-Americanism and Westernophobia among Muslims, which played a factor in the Paris bombing attacks in 2015. Critics alleged that the war on terrorism was a red herring, and was actually intended for the US to be a monopoly of global oil reserves and expand the country’s international military presence. A report from the Costs of War Project at Brown University estimated that these wars have led to more than 4.5 million deaths. These include adults who were the sole breadwinners of their family, children who could have grown up to become the next Einstein, but more importantly, humans.
Was Bush not informed of America’s stance on world peace? America played a pivotal role in the establishment of the United Nations which advocates for world peace, and a crucial role in brokering the Dayton Agreement, which ended the Bosnian War and brought peace to the region. It is apparent that peace is not an option when Uncle Sam is threatened and their wars were nothing short of a reckless and disastrous military rampage.
Bush’s tenure was further exacerbated by the opening of Guantanamo Bay, which was used to house Muslim militants and suspected terrorists captured by American forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. What makes Guantanamo Bay controversial is its use of a detention centre for detainees outside American jurisdiction who were jailed indefinitely without legal representation and use of torture to gain information, going against the Geneva Conventions.
In conclusion, rather than upholding America’s historical stance on world peace and resolving issues diplomatically, Bush’s administration focused more on retaliation. Despite pledging “Compassionate Conservatism”, Bush’s handling of the 9/11 attacks showed a lack of compassion and a willingness to compromise civil liberties in the name of “justice”.
Works Cited
Nolen, Jeannette L.. "Guantánamo Bay detention camp". Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Jul. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Guantanamo-Bay-detention-camp. Accessed 30 July 2023.
Duignan, Brian. "USA PATRIOT Act". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Jul. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/USA-PATRIOT-Act. Accessed 28 July 2023.
Jackson, Richard. "war on terrorism". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Jul. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/war-on-terrorism. Accessed 30 July 2023.
Echols, Connor. “The War on Terror led to over 4.5 million dealths: report”. Responsible Statecraft. 16 May, 2023. https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/05/16/the-war-on-terror-led-to-over-4-5-million-deaths-report/. Accessed 30 July 2023.
Goldsmith, Stephen. “What Compassionate Conservatism Is–And Is Not”. Hoover Institution. 30 October, 2000. https://www.hoover.org/research/what-compassionate-conservatism-and-not. Accessed 28 July 2023.
Image Credits:
Nachtwey, Jim. “Ground Zero.” 11 September, 2001. http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/jn/images/07-JN_WTC_19-35.jpg. Accessed 30 July, 2023.
Khaliq, Abdul. 16 March, 2015. http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/data/upimages/wounded_girl_suicide_attack_mar16_15.jpg. Accessed 30 July, 2023.
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