PaxMundo.org
Title
Pax Mundo
Description
About Pax Mundo
Pax Mundo is an independent project of Dr. James Hayes-Bohanan, a geographer, educator, and activist. See the biographical note at the end of this page for more information. For further information about the project, see the FAQ page.
Background
The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 were, of course, a shock to a country that had never endured an attack of this magnitude against its civilians at home. The fact that someone could wish U.S. citizens harm was genuinely puzzling for those who had grown up on a steady diet of exclusively positive views of the U.S. role in the world. Those who think that U.S. foreign policy has been confined to feeding the hungry, curing the sick, and ending the Holocaust were genuinely surprised by the attack, though it was the second attack on the same address in New York and one of many throughout the world against U.S.-associated targets in recent years.
The international response to the attacks was initially very supportive of the United States. Hundreds of memorials were held throughout the world, messages of sympathy flooded in, and the international community generally supported the U.S. military response in Afghanistan. By early 2003, however, international support for some U.S. policies was softening. The treatment of detainees was being questioned, as was the proposal to move to Iraq as the next step in the “War on Terror.”
