Terror- The Invisible and Ubiquitous Hydra- A Study on the Problematic Nature of the Bush Administration's "War on Terrorism"

Abstract: Abstract: In this Master's thesis, the Bush administration's ?war on terrorism? is examined. Taking a discursive approach, the study seeks to explicate how the ?war on terror? has been linked to the concept of identity and ultimately to cast light on the problematic implications of the discourse. A fundamental aim in this regard has been to address a recent US intelligence report whose findings have indicated that the Iraq war- which the Bush administration has called the central front in the ?war on terrorism?- has increased rather than diminished the terror threat against the United States. The theoretico-empirical analysis demonstrates that the Bush administration has failed to identify a main target and a tangible objective in its ?war on terror? and that the identity construction has taken place in the cloak of oversimplified and absolutist dichotomies. The overall conclusion is that far from eliminating the multifaceted enemy, the discourse ?war on terrorism? has produced the very ?terrorists? it has sought to uproot. Keywords: War on terror/terrorism, Discourse, Identity, George W Bush, Bush administration,