The United States of America have maintained a supreme position within international affairs, denoting them with the title of having ‘global primacy’ for over two decades (Betts 2002). The question being asked in this instance is whether terrorists pose as a threat to the great power of the United States?
A terrorist is someone who attempts through the use of force or the coercive threat of force to specifically or indiscriminately target or recklessly kill non-combatants to advance political or religious ideological objectives by generating widespread fear and/or coercing other governments or non-state actors. There have been multiple terrorist attacks against the United …show more content…
Perhaps America is overspending on its ‘noble’ protection and prevention discourse. Some preach that Obama must create a method of aligning ‘his foreign policy prescriptions with evolving global trends’ (Lindsay 2011). Without this, Obama may lead his state further from global leadership. As it stands, one of the main reasons America could find itself in a vulnerable position against terrorists, is if it fails to maintain position relations with other minor states who hold some international power. It has the capacity to either ‘play the game for itself alone’ or ‘for the system as a whole’ (Brooks Wohlforth …show more content…
This perception relates to the possibility that there may be no real existing terrorist threat. John Mueller discusses the fact that as there has been no follow up to the 9/11 bombings, and that there is a very real possibility that the reaction of the American government has been a tactic to gain more power over the globe (2006). Reports from the FBI prove that ‘fewer than ten US citizens or residents per year’ have stimulated enough doubt or suspicion through their monitored international communications, to warrant further monitoring on a domestic level (Mueller 2006). The magnification of a terrorist threat by the authorities of the United States, may be a method to place them in higher esteem, and furthering their glorified stance across the world, as they can be seen as