646 Chapter 17 | Foreign Policywith these demands. This attitude illustrates a central truth: decisions to encourage
trade and globalization are real choices, choices that are sure to generate high levels
of conflict in American politics. While U.S. policy can encourage or discourage trade,
outsourcing, and other interactions that cross national borders, all these choices will
make some people better off and some worse off. As in so many other areas of American
politics, because of the wide range of interests that Americans bring to the table, there
is no one trade policy that is clearly better than all the others.Fighting terrorism: ISIL
There have been no major terrorist attacks on the United States since September 11,
2001, and the worldwide Al Qaeda organization that planned the September 11 attacks
has been decimated by a decade-long series of U.S. counterattacks using drones,
Special Forces troops, air strikes, and operations by ground forces. Nevertheless,
the potential for terrorism remains, and groups such as ISIL have continued to carry
out smaller operations, such as attacks in various European cities. ISIL has also
encouraged individuals to plan and execute their own attacks, such as the attacks in
San Bernardino by an American citizen and a permanent resident in December 2015
and the attacks by an American citizen in a Miami nightclub in June 2016.
The fight against global terror is different from a conventional war. In a conventional
war, there are clear victory criteria: the losing nation’s government capitulates. In
contrast, terrorism involves multiple organizations with fluid memberships. Eliminating
one individual or group may not reduce the danger of future attacks, because these
victories do not address the factors that drive terrorism, including poverty and a deep-
set anger that some individuals have against Western interests. For example, while the
United States and its allies have recaptured land in Syria and Iraq that was controlled by
ISIL and have killed or captured many ISIL fighters, offshoots of the organization still exist
throughout the world, as do anti-American, anti-West sentiments among some groups.
The same is true for Al Qaeda. Over the last 17 years, the United States has invaded
Afghanistan and removed the Afghan Taliban government that supported Al Qaeda,
destroyed many camps and other centers in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and captured
or killed many operatives and leaders of the organization. However, while Al Qaeda
is far weaker than it was in 2001, the possibility of an attack on Americans in the
United States or abroad by the remnants of Al Qaeda remains very real (although, as
we discuss in the What Do the Facts Say? feature, many Americans overestimate the
threat of terrorist attacks). Moreover, even after over a decade of military action and
efforts to build a stable democracy and a growing economy, Afghanistan remains
a dangerous, unstable place. Should the United States be responsible for creating a
stable, prosperous Afghan nation? What will happen if America withdraws its support?
Would the Taliban and Al Qaeda return, or would another equally bad group emerge?
Political scientist John Mueller argues that terrorism is hard to deter because its primary
purpose is to frighten people; as a result, the set of possible targets is very large.^58 We t y pically
think of terrorists attacking big, visible targets such as the World Trade Center or the U.S.
Capitol, but in fact, there are many public places, from malls to urban centers, where an
attack could cause high casualties and public panic. This fact makes the job of preventing
attacks virtually impossible. And given that the number of actual terrorists is quite small,
they are extremely difficult to find, regardless of whether they are in Syria or in America.
Human rights concerns also shape antiterrorism efforts. American attacks against
terror groups have the potential to cause civilian casualties—especially in places such as
Afghanistan, where these groups have tried to hide among civilians to discourage such
attacks. In addition, investigating terror groups may involve increased surveillance ofFull_18_APT_64431_ch17_614-654.indd 646 16/11/18 11:22 AM