Liberty and Justice for All

<p>The Bush administration has declared that the spread of democracy with its habits of freedom is the best way to protect America from international terrorism. This conclusion is based on a presumption that political freedom is a strong determinant of terrorism. This paper contends that not all democratic forms are equally able to eliminate the conditions that are exploited by terrorist organizations. Furthermore the U.S. must understand the manner in which political freedom economic conditions and religion is related to affiliation with terrorist organizations. Assessing the convergence of these factors revealed several key findings. First states that exhibit both political and religious repression are extremely prone to terrorist exploitation. Second states with growing economic conditions and high relative deprivation are more prone to terrorist exploitation than states without these conditions. Finally the convergence of political repression and growing economies in Islamic states is extremely prone to terrorist exploitation. In the end understanding these conditions can help GWOT planners identify high risk states that are not currently affiliated with terrorist organizations. If the internal conditions of these states can be improved terrorists dislocated from current states by GWOT efforts will not have new sanctuaries in which to fall back. In summary by assessing these relationships and factors this thesis can help decision-makers frame the next stages and ultimate objectives of the Global War on Terrorism.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>