The United States Use of Soft Power in Combating Terrorism after 9/11 Attacks

Abstract

On September 11, 2001, four suicide bombings hit the American soil, targeting their symbolic buildings such as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington. In only two hours, nineteen members of the Al Qaeda Jihadist network controlled four planes and killed almost 3,000 persons. These attacks highly affected America and were immediately considered as acts of war by President George W. Bush. Thus, he declared the “War on Terror” and launched the “Operation Enduring Freedom” in Afghanistan. This operation, based on the use of military force, had bad consequences on Afghanistan leading to the death of hundreds of people and the destruction of the country. This fed anti-Americanism, seriously damaged the image of America, and worsened the relationships between America and some nations. For the sake of improving the US status, the Bush administration implemented another strategy known as “soft power” based on the power of persuasion and attraction. Since then, the US government, with the cooperation of NATO, began to change the Afghan society through a total reconstruction plan that did not only focus on rebuilding the material infrastructure of the country, but also concentrated on generating a society that embraces the American values to prevent any future terrorist acts. Humanitarian aids, exchange programs, and broadcasting activities were among many “soft power” tools applied to spread the American culture. It is then understood that the US did not use on kind of power, but rather mixed two sorts that are “hard” and “soft”. Eventually, combining these two types show a good flexibility in using different strategies together in a smart way. Thus, “soft” and “hard” powers are used jointly to be complementary in what is called “smart power”.