This is the last AP of Junior year, in our Policy class. In the last unit (1), we focused on the Legislative branch In this unit (2), we learned about those who execute the law, within the Executive branch. We were going to have a 3rd unit, which would have focused on the Judicial branch, but due to certain circumstances, we did not get to it. We primarily dug into identifying the members of the President's cabinet and the role they play, as well as influential Executive Orders, signed by former Presidents. Some of these EO's included ones that, through executive power, led us into war (undeclared by Congress), with other countries. The two specific wars we looked at were the Korean War and the Vietnam War. We learned terminology from the conflicts, the propaganda, and attempted justification of such conflicts, and touched upon the U.S.'s involvement in the era of 'fighting against Communism'. For this project, we were challenged to pick a conflict that was the result of a Presidential EO and decide if it was/is just or unjust, according to the U.S. constitution. The project is written in the form of an Essay and, through research, builds context and support for the argument that the war is either just or unjust. Below, you will see the war I chose, and my essay determining its legal position. Enjoy!
Is this War Just?
The President of the U.S. has the ability to sign an Executive Order, which exempts the contents of that order, from immediate Congressional approval. This can either be a blessing or a curse, especially looking at the recent precedent surrounding war policy and Presidential power. In recent years, it has become the norm for Presidents to surpass Congressional approval and I believe that there is a need for the restoration of checks and balances, surrounding the current Executive Power. One war that was the result of a Presidential order, is The War on Terrorism. It is currently an ongoing war in Afghanistan, that has unnecessarily prolonged, for 19 years. The main countries involved in the war are the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. Though the legality of this war is being judged based on the U.S. constitution, and our involvement, this war started as a just war. The intentions were defined by President Bush, and the nation, of fighting terrorism after the 9/11 attacks and improving National/International security. However, as this war continued on, its intentions became more and more unclear and there was no longer a clear motive to continue fighting, therefore becoming morally unjust. Despite the destruction that has come out of this period, it is arguable that there was still good that was created. Examples of the benefits include the revolution of drone technology, more efficient GPS tracking, the strengthening of Federal databases for international identification, and more global communication about terrorist watchlists and counterterrorism attempts.
The beginning of this war was a direct response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and it was signed by President Bush when he was just 234 days into his 1st term. During this time, there was an immediate rush and need across the nation for unity and a strategic solution to seek justice for the tragedy. Wasting no time, the deployment of American troops into Afghanistan was just days after the planes hit. Within 7 days of the attack, Congress authorized President Bush to, according to the
Atlantic, "use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determined that planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or groups that harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons." This was not a Congressional declaration of war but it supported President Bush's counterterrorism efforts, which in turn, led Bush to sign Executive Order
13224, on September 23, 2001. This allowed the U.S. to cut off terrorist groups financially, if not physically. The order gave the “U.S. Government a powerful tool to impede terrorist funding and is part of our national commitment to lead the international effort to bring a halt to the evil of terrorist activity.” In other words, it provided the U.S. with the means to disrupt any financial support networks for terrorist groups or organizations.
There have been multiple years, administrations, and orders that continued in various iterations from September 2001, until now. The War on Terrorism no longer has the motive that it initially started with, and many have reason to believe that the original intent that was shared with the public, wasn't really the intent at all. According to the article, OIL SECRETS BEHIND U.S. WAR ON AFGHANISTAN, "the U.S.'s primary interest in the Afghan war might be oil, not terrorism; the U.S. president, they claim, had obstructed the investigation into the Taliban's activities." The U.S., especially during a time when we are engaged in such conflicts, has a tendency to mislead the public about America's military progress. Much like during the Vietnam War, with the publication of the Pentagon Papers, there were also
Afghanistan Papers that came out in 2019, again, hiding evidence that showed that the 'war' had proven to be unwinnable, among other misleadings. Due to this information coming out, along with Bush's alleged obstruction of an investigation on the Taliban, this war then becomes unjust, not only morally, but legally too. President Bush sending troops into the Middle East was just the beginning of the endless conflict and a precedent that was further set by President Obama. The consequence unofficially strengthened Executive Power, wherein they don’t require as much Congressional support, to put through EO's that deploy troops and engage in international conflicts. Another consequence of this war was the decline in Muslim support towards the U.S. and the devastating amount of discrimination that occurred towards those who follow Islam, in America.
In conclusion, The War on Terror was an unjust war because from its beginning to the current day, the war's intentions have been overshadowed by ulterior motives that are unlawful, based on personal agenda, and should not have been authorized to continue this long under the guise of 'seeking justice'. An anonymous senior member of the White House, interviewed by the
Washington Post said, “'We went to Afghanistan to deliver justice to those who attacked us on September 11th. . . . We believe we achieved that objective some years ago,' the senior official said, and now judge the threat to the United States 'to be at a level that we can address it without a persistent military footprint.'” This further proves that the longevity of the war was unjust, as well. America's attempt to disband al-Qaeda also ended up effectively scattering their network even further, making it hard to counteract, instead of eliminating their organizations. Additionally, it appeared for many years that there would be no end, until President Biden announced in April, that all American troops will be safely transported out of Afghanistan, in September 2021. Though this is a triumph that the troops are finally coming home, the damage of an unjust war will have far lasting impacts we have yet to witness.
“Confidential Documents Reveal U.S. Officials Failed to Tell the Truth about the War in Afghanistan.”
The Washington Post, WP Company, 9 Dec. 2019,
www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/.
“Executive Order 13224 - United States Department of State.”
U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 27 May 2021,
www.state.gov/executive-order-13224/.
Shashikumar, V.K. “OIL SECRETS BEHIND U.S. WAR ON AFGHANISTAN.”
Peace Research, vol. 33, no. 2, 2001, pp. 102–104. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/23608077. Accessed 12 June 2021.
Missy Ryan, Karen DeYoung. “Biden Will Withdraw All U.S. Forces from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 14 Apr. 2021,
www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/biden-us-troop-withdrawal-afghanistan/2021/04/13/918c3cae-9beb-11eb-8a83-3bc1fa69c2e8_story.html.
