Abstract

The 11th September attacks served as a catalyst which forged an alliance between several different ideological trends: neo-conservatism, evangelical fundamentalism, nationalism, and a more classic neo-realism. The post 9/11 strategy has been put together progressively, and its objectives have been considerably widened in the space of three years. The scope of operations in Afghanistan and in Iraq has masked the diversity of the American military operations which range from technical assistance to sporadic military raids. These operations handed the advantage to advocates of risk taking and innovation. The Iraqi quagmire has however now changed the terms of the debate. The strategic assessment is ambivalent. Successes against Al Qaida and the fight against WMD proliferation have been registered, but this has not been the case in many other respects. The dynamic which was launched at the end of 2001 has implicated the United States in a very long term struggle: the 'War against Terror' is far from over.