A different kind of war? : September 11 and the United States' Afghan War

McInnes, C., 'A different kind of war? 11 September and the United States' Afghan war'. Review of International Studies, 29 (2), 165-184. RAE2008

The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and the US response have been widely described as heralding a new kind of war. For over a decade previous to 11 September, however, a body of literature had developed arguing that during the 1990s a new kind of warfare had begun to emerge for the West. This article examines whether 11 September and its immediate aftermath ? the US campaign in Afghanistan ? confirmed these trends, or whether it really did constitute a different kind of war. It does so through a four-part framework: that during the 1990s wars were localised; that the enemy was not a state but a regime or individual leader; that civilian deaths should be minimised; and that wars were fought on behalf of the West by professionals, but that the risks to these forces should also be minimised.

Peer reviewed