This blog post is going to be a little different than my normal blog post. Usually I have a situation and give you my opinion;however, I do not really know my opinion on this subject. In this blog post, I'm going to tell you about the War on Terror and it's effects. As most of you know, the War on Terror was declared after the Taliban slammed their planes into the World Trade Center Towers, and damaged the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

      On September 11, 2001, History.com says nineteen militants associated with the Islamic group al-Qaeda hijacked four planes, and carried out suicide attacks against the United States. Two planes were crashed into the World Trade Center towers, one was flown into the Pentagon, and the fourth landed in a field in Pennsylvania. During this tragic event, History.com tells us that about 3,000 people were killed. In response to this heroic event, President George W. Bush declared the War on Terror on September 20, 2001.

       Over a decade has passed since the Taliban crashed into the World Trade Center, and since George W. Bush declared the War on Terror. Many people, such as Anup Shah, wonder if declaring the War on Terror was a good idea. Anup Shah ask, "And looking back, what has the U.S to show for its decade of effort?" So what have they done? Yes, they eventually captured and killed Osama Bin Laden; however, but what else have they done to show their effort over the past twelve years?

      War on Terror by Anup Shah says that the killing of Osama Bin Laden was a major success, but the cost of vengeance has also been high. There has been hatred among Americans towards Muslims, thinking they are all terrorist and Islam is a threat to the world.  There has also been anger and resentment towards the U.S, which may cause them to have potential terrorists. Not only has the cost of vengeance been high, but the amount of deaths and the cost of the War on Terror has been high as well. 

       According to War on Terror, there have been about 6,000 U.S soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. There have also been many other deaths among civilians, enemy forces, and coalition troops. OWNI.eu tells us about the death records recorded in 2010. OWNI.eu says there have been 109,032 deaths among civilians and soldiers between 2004 and 2009. This included 66,081 civilians, 23,984 enemy forces, 15,196 Iraqi soldiers, and 3,771 coalition troops.  The amount of deaths caused because of the War of Terror is very high; however, the cost of the War on Terror is additionally very high. Brown University says there has been up to 4 trillion dollars spent on the War on Terror. This includes medical care and disability for all veterans.

       What I am trying to get to is, should we have declared the War on Terror? Has the outcome of the War on Terror be good enough? Have the effects of the War on Terror caused more loss than if we would not have had it? Could we have gone without declaring a War on Terror? Personally I do not know what my opinion is on this situation. What do you think?