Abstract
The War on Terror launched by the US against Islamic terrorist groups persisted through the Bush–Obama–Trump administrations for nearly 20 years before President Biden completely withdrew the US forces from Afghanistan by the end of August 2021. These military interventions are noticeable examples of American unilateralism in the Middle East. The War on Terror has been severely criticized by the global community as military actions without just cause and lacking grounds under international law. This research aims to critically evaluate the War on Terror in terms of legal and political theories of war now that twenty years of American unilateralism in the Middle East is over. In this article, the author examines other underlying reasons for, and the outcomes of, the war against terrorist groups. He will also suggest peaceful means to fundamentally resolve the Middle East conflict with a view to preventing war in other world regions.
This book chapter is based on Eric Yong Joong Lee, Rethinking Twenty Years of American Unilateralism in the Middle East: A Critical Evaluation of the War on Terror, Journal of East Asia and International Law 15(1), under the official permission of YIJUN Press, Ltd.
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Notes
- 1.
Plumer (2013).
- 2.
Knickmeyer (2021).
- 3.
BBC (2021).
- 4.
Reuters (2009).
- 5.
- 6.
Fisk (1998).
- 7.
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- 10.
‘Crusades’ in Britannica Encyclopedia (online). https://www.britannica.com/event/Crusades.
- 11.
Danforth (2016).
- 12.
‘The Cold War in the Middle East and Asia’ in Britannica Encyclopedia (online). https://www.britannica.com/topic/20th-century-international-relations-2085155/The-Cold-War-in-the-Middle-East-and-Asia.
- 13.
‘Arab-Israeli wars’ in Britannica Encyclopedia (online). https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-Israeli-wars.
- 14.
Tristam (2019).
- 15.
Brands et al. (2019).
- 16.
Beaumont (2022).
- 17.
Green (2016).
- 18.
Cordesman (2016).
- 19.
Al Jazeera (2018).
- 20.
Landler (2018).
- 21.
The Washington Post (2001).
- 22.
See Gurtov and Ness (2004).
- 23.
Lev (2001).
- 24.
See History (2001).
- 25.
Ibid.
- 26.
Katzman and Thomas (2017).
- 27.
ISAF’s mission in Afghanistan (2001–2014). In: North Atlantic Treaty Organization. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_69366.htm.
- 28.
Harding (2003).
- 29.
Yowell (2017).
- 30.
Taylor (2011).
- 31.
Timeline: The U.S. War in Afghanistan. In: Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-war-afghanistan
- 32.
Farr (2020).
- 33.
Williams and Parkin (2021).
- 34.
Ishak (2021).
- 35.
Glass (2019).
- 36.
See The Guardian (2002).
- 37.
Berger (2021).
- 38.
See ‘Iraq War’ in Britannica Encyclopedia (online). https://www.britannica.com/event/Iraq-War
- 39.
- 40.
See The Guardian (2003).
- 41.
Hamasaeed and Nada (2020).
- 42.
The Iraq War. In: Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/timeline/iraq-war
- 43.
Ibid.
- 44.
See generally Hedges (2003).
- 45.
Griffith (1963).
- 46.
Jowett (1999).
- 47.
Aquinas T. Summa Theologiae (Summa Theologica) (trans: Freddoso AJ). https://www3.nd.edu/~afreddos/summa-translation/TOC-part2-2.htm
- 48.
Grotius (2001).
- 49.
Ibid.
- 50.
Walzer (2015).
- 51.
- 52.
For simple division between jus ad bellum and jus in bello, see Walzer op. cit. 50. at 21.
- 53.
- 54.
Knickmeyer (2021).
- 55.
Whitlock (2019).
- 56.
Ibid.
- 57.
Ibid.
- 58.
BBC (2021).
- 59.
Saini et al. (2021).
- 60.
Walsh (2007).
- 61.
MacAskill and Borger (2004).
- 62.
Peterson (2018).
- 63.
Global Security (2004).
- 64.
United Nations Security Council (2003).
- 65.
See The Washington Post (2003).
- 66.
UK Parliament (2003).
- 67.
See The Sunday Times (2003).
- 68.
- 69.
Selected Speeches of President Bush (2001–2008).
- 70.
House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (2017).
- 71.
The Report of the Iraq Inquiry: Executive Summary (Report of a Committee of Privy Counsellors, HC 264). In UK Government Web Archive. https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20171123123237/http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk//media/246416/the-report-of-the-iraq-inquiry_executive-summary.pdf.
- 72.
Ibid. at 44.
- 73.
Leonhardt (2007).
- 74.
Keisler-Starkey and Bunch (2021).
- 75.
Jenkins and Godges (2011).
- 76.
The Chinese Classics: Vol. 2 The Life and Teachings of Mencius. https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/legge-the-chinese-classics-vol-2-the-life-and-teachings-of-mencius.
- 77.
See KBS (2003).
- 78.
Cordesman (2016).
- 79.
In 2020, 10,172 terrorist attacks were recorded globally increasing from the previous three years. See Number of terrorist attacks worldwide between 2006 and 2020. In: Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/202864/number-of-terrorist-attacks-worldwide.
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150 Years of Gandhi. In: Indian Institute of Public Administration. https://www.iipa.org.in/cms/public/page/gandhi.
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Lee, E.Y.J. (2023). Rethinking Twenty Years of American Unilateralism in the Middle East: A Critical Evaluation of the War on Terror. In: Lee, E.Y.J. (eds) Revolutionary Approach to International Law. International Law in Asia. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7967-5_5
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