Was this the right answer to the problems of terrorism?

The September 11 attacks committed by the terrorist organization Al Qaeda deeply traumatized the American population. The country believed itself to be invulnerable and safe from any attack. The collapse of the twin towers was an electric shock.

After the attacks, foreign policy becomes the number one priority of the American government. To deal with terrorism, the United States will provide a global and military response.

Was this the right answer to the problems of terrorism?

First, we will see American foreign policy before September 11, then the arrival of the neoconservatives and the policy of “global policeman”, the exorbitant cost of this policy and finally the change in this policy since 2008.

Since the end of the Cold War, American leaders have hesitated between two impulses. On the one hand, they are convinced that their power has been unequaled since the fall of the USSR and therefore they could invade any enemy country. On the other hand, they fear the "Vietnamese syndrome" with the risk of being stuck in an unpopular war like the Vietnam War in the late 1970s.

To find a point of balance between these two impulses, Bill Clinton had led a hybrid policy before September 11, 2001, by intervening military only with the Air Force.

September 11 is a shock for Americans. The balance between the 2 impulses is shattered.

Indeed, foreign policy becomes the number one priority of the government of the 43rd President of the United States George W. Bush. Pushed by the neoconservatives, Bush describes this terrorist crime as an act of war. It sets up a global and preventive war against terrorism.

Barely a month after September 11, the intervention in Afghanistan was launched. It is a question of taking the fight to the enemy, spreading the market economy and Western-style democracy. The success of the operation is mixed.

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