Nearly 3,000 American citizens were killed in the 9/11 bombings. Unfortunately, very few Americans know many details of the events that led to that day or followed, which is currently known as the war on terror. When people are asked what they know about the war on terror the only things that can usually come to mind are the terms “Al Qaeda”, “9/11”, and “Osama bin Laden”. Most Americans claim to have knowledge on the war we've been fighting for over a decade now, but the reality is that they tend to know only what our government officials want them to know. By the end of this essay I hope to have answered many of the “unanswered” questions theat you’re not supposed to know about.

Most Americans believe that the war on terror started with the bombing of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, however, the war actually began long before then. The war on terror actually began in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s with the formation of the Al Qaeda organization in the Soviet War in Afghanistan. The Soviet War was the gateway to increased involvement with the middle east that led to where we are today.

It all began when the world discovered the vast petroleum (oil) deposits located in countries such as Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. These discoveries prompted the Soviet Union (modern day Russia) to enter the middle east and attempt to forcibly take control of the oil rich lands. However the Afghan people decided they weren't going to allow that to happen, and fought back. But in order for Afghanistan to be able to fully combat the Soviet superpower, they were going to need supplies and resources. This is where U.S. involvement in the middle east first began.

As the democratic superpower of the time American citizens were filled with a strong sense of nationalism and democratic spirit that was focused on combating the communist forces of the Soviet Union. For those who don’t know, Communism is defined as a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. This is in great contrast to the democratic system used here in the U.S. that pushes for individual gain and air competition in order to drive our economy. As a democratic nation we believe in a limited federal government, allowing for businesses to flourish or fail on their own, whereas in a communist country the government is strong and in control of almost all aspects of it’s nation. Thus we can see why our two nations eventually clashed in the 1980’s and so forth. So when the Soviet Union decided to go to war with a third world country the U.S. felt that it was a way for them to expand their communist rule, and interpreted it as a threat. Because of this the U.S. decided to help the forces rising up against the communists. Over a series of deliveries the U.S. transported food, weapons, and soldiers for training to the Afghan people in secret to help defeat the communist forces. It was in these moments that we paved the way for our own sorrows in the first decade of the twenty first century.

Ironically, the people that we tried to help in the Soviet Afghan war turned out to be our greatest threat of all, instead of the Soviets. During the time we gave our aid to the Afghan people, a militant/ political group representing it’s people when it’s government was too weak arose, and they called themselves the Al Qaeda. Their leader was Osama bin Laden, and at one point in time they were our allies. Being the strongest military force in Afghanistan at the time, it was only logical for our nations leaders to send Al Qaeda most of the aid we gave, since they had a better chance at finishing the war than anyone else at the time. Unfortunately after we’d given them these supplies, and we’d helped them win the war, things took a turn for the worst. Our leaders decided that simply stopping the spread of the communist threat wasn't enough, but instead that we needed to extend our democratic influence beyond our borders. Because of this we tried to influence the Afghan peoples during the civil war that followed the collapse of the government in Afghanistan, and the end of the war. Our influence took shape in the form of an Afghan citizen known as Ahmad Shah Massoud, a young leader who studied at Kabul University, and advocated for democracy. We attempted to aid Ahmad and put him into power where he could implement a democratic rule; however, Ahmad was opposed by Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

From the moment we began to support Ahmad and his democratic beliefs in equality and equal chance, we made Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda our enemies, and as we all know, that came with a very high price. Now we all must live with the fact that our leaders over-bearing ideals and desire to spread their own beliefs has led to the deaths of American citizens, and soldiers. By opposing Osama and training his forces for our own gain, we brought this terrorist war upon ourselves. And as I take my leave I implore you to ask yourself this, do you feel that the spread of democracy was worth the price we've paid?