Challenges to Combating Transnational Terrorism: A Benghazi Case Study

Terrorism has increasingly become a global issue that affects all nations no matter their political or economic status. The attack on the United States embassy in 2012 by the terrorist organization Ansar al-Sharia, highlights the obstacles that the international community faces while combating terrorism. States and international organizations all have different abilities and are limited by their internal design and the nature of the international system. The Benghazi attack illustrates these abilities and limitations which include ideological and political obstacles that states and organizations have been facing in their attempts to combat transnational terrorism. Ideological misconceptions, lack of a universally agreed definition of terrorism, and inadequate cooperation all play roles in disrupting the international community's ability to effectively combat terrorism. This paper argues that individual state responses fail in effectively combating terrorism and that it is more plausible that collaboration between international players offers greater potential to reduce terrorism.