Nobody could predict that 19 men were about to hijack four commercial airplanes from Boston and use them as missiles. Americans found themselves united following the attacks made on the World Trade Center towers and Pentagon. While what could have been done (if anything) to prevent the attacks are currently under question, the fact that we learned a great deal from the attacks is undeniable. We discovered the hate that some countries and people have for us, and the lengths they are willing to go to in order to exercise it. After the attacks, Americans wanted vengeance. President Bush called for a "War on Terrorism- in order to eliminate terrorists and the threats that they impose on us and our way of living. The country approved, and the American public suddenly became terrorism conscious. Bombing raids were conducted in the mountains of Afghanistan, and the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and his terrorist network Al Qaeda was on. Although Osama Bin Laden is still very much sought after, our attention has shifted to another threat. The target is the Iraqi regime, led by Saddam Hussein. Hussein's anti-American sentiment is unquestionable, as is his capability to bring harm to the citizens of the United States and our allies. Since this is an election year and the realities of war are less appealing than what some had anticipated, the country now seems very divided in their support of this "War on Terror-.
There are many arguments people have tried to make against the war in Iraq. One that is brought up constantly is that the United States is only interested in Iraq for the oil. Jeff Long, who served in the US Coast Guard for over 6 years, said that it is true that we have an interest in the oil reserves in Iraq, so do most countries in the world. He said that what most people ignore is if oil was the major motivation for the US, they could lift sanctions on Iraq and buy it. It's that simple.