War on Terror Speech

Kyle Holtry
HIST-1700-F16-Maroudas

Right after the attacks of 9/11, President Bush appeared in front of the country and gave a
powerful speech. The speech was given on September 20, 2001. The country was in fear and was
angry after the fateful day of 9/11, so it was obvious that we needed to fight back after such a
devastating attack. Congress allowed Bush to declare war on terrorism and Al Qaeda. In his
speech, President Bush talked about how America must infiltrate and invade the countries that
harbor and house Al Qaeda. He also spoke with fury that the United States would not be defined
by the age of terror (Bush).
The strange thing about this speech is that it was not very controversial at the time it was
given because the country wanted to fight back after being attacked, but after our troops had
been in the Middle East for over 10 years people began to wonder if we had done the right thing.
The controversy became more apparent after we killed Osama bin Laden and yet we still
maintained troops in the Middle East. Conspiracy theories arose asserting that we were staying in
the Middle East for economic gains. On the other hand, many thought we needed to keep our
troops in the Middle East to fulfill the statement made by President Bush when he said, It will
not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated. (Bush)
A common opinion among Americans was that it was a good idea to keep troops in the Middle
East to help the nations that were torn apart after years of war, and some thought that we needed
to bring the troops home because our job was done.

Its interesting how something that seemed so right in the beginning could raise so much
controversy after just a few years, and it all began with the speech that President Bush gave
following 9/11. The speech, when it was given, was received with almost no backlash, but in
retrospect as history has unfolded the speech could now be viewed with much controversy.