What action did the United States take after the 9/11 attacks?
On October 8, 2001 President Bush declared that the United States will fight against the “war on terror”.
The War on terror begun in Afghanistan against the Taliban and Al Qaeda called Operation Enduring Freedom which consisted of strategies of U.S. forces taking control over Afghanistan. It was launched October 2001. Afghanistan was Al Qaeda's safe haven and where all their terrorist training camps were held. The Al Qaeda terrorist group reside in the rough terrain in the mountains of Afghanistan. One goal was to bring down Taliban members in Afghanistan because they worked with and protected Al Qaeda. Also the focus was to gain intelligence from the Northern Alliance, which is an Afghan army assisting the U.S., to find as much information of where the Al Qaeda groups are located and where the training camps are. The U.S. started in the capital of Kabul and large cities like Kandahar to drive the Taliban and Al Qaeda forces to the mountains in Tora Bora. Kandahar is where a large group of Taliban and Al Qaeda members resided. On October 19, 2001 the U.S. special forces had an air strike to drive the terrorist group out of Kandahar and this led to the capture of many Taliban and Al Qaeda members. Once the U.S. troops took over Kandahar they started air strikes in Kabul which led to the U.S. taking over the capital Kabul and driving Taliban and Al Qaeda forces to Tora Bora which was their ultimate goal. The next target was Kondoz province in Afghanistan which the U.S. led air strikes that destroyed 12 tanks, 51 cargo trucks, 44 bunker complexes and 2,000 killed or wounded Taliban and Al Qaeda forces which was a major blow for the terrorist. After the battle of Kondoz it led to 3,500 Taliban and Al Qaeda forces to surrender.
The next focus was attacks in the mountains of Tora Bora where the United States army drove most of the Taliban and Al Qaeda forces. Tora Bora is a line of mountains connected to the borders of Pakistan.
The Tora Bora mountains was the fortress for Al Qaeda. This is where the terrorist group would meet, this is where their weapons were held, this is where they established their training camps, this is were they dug many caves and it was their hide out. With the help of Afghan forces, against the terrorist groups, they assisted the United States army in fighting in Tora Bora. The fight in Tora Bora started with air strikes but led to U.S. troops on foot climbing the mountains, once they reached Al Qaeda forces few were captured, most fought till the death and some slipped away into Pakistan, and the where abouts of Bin Laden were unknown.The U.S. troops destroyed Al Qaeda forces in Tora Bora and leveled control in Afghanistan. The war in Afghanistan is still ongoing today, but Operation Enduring Freedom lasted from October 2001- March 2002.
The next focus was attacks in the mountains of Tora Bora where the United States army drove most of the Taliban and Al Qaeda forces. Tora Bora is a line of mountains connected to the borders of Pakistan.
The Tora Bora mountains was the fortress for Al Qaeda. This is where the terrorist group would meet, this is where their weapons were held, this is where they established their training camps, this is were they dug many caves and it was their hide out. With the help of Afghan forces, against the terrorist groups, they assisted the United States army in fighting in Tora Bora. The fight in Tora Bora started with air strikes but led to U.S. troops on foot climbing the mountains, once they reached Al Qaeda forces few were captured, most fought till the death and some slipped away into Pakistan, and the where abouts of Bin Laden were unknown.The U.S. troops destroyed Al Qaeda forces in Tora Bora and leveled control in Afghanistan. The war in Afghanistan is still ongoing today, but Operation Enduring Freedom lasted from October 2001- March 2002.
The War on Terror continued and President Bush declared war against Iraq in March 2003. The United States launched Operation Iraqi Freedom. Bush's goal in Iraq was to end Saddam Hussien's rule, and to find weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussien's was captured and hung to his death. Weapons of mass destruction were never found. In May 2003 Bush declared major operations of combat was over and it was a start of reconstructing and stabilizing the country of Iraq.
Saddam Hussien's statue being destroyed by Iraqi's symbolizing the end to his rule.
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I believe that image of Saddam Hussien's statue being destroyed is the most iconic symbol of the war on terror. Despite the thousands of soldiers fighting, this image showed the world that a tyrant can be taken down...literally. There is still many battles yet to have taken place, but it is comforting to an extent that the U.S. is at least attempting to control terrorism.
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