One of the most pressing issues facing the United States and the world today is terrorism.  Terrorism isn’t a new concept, but it has become much more widespread since the turn of the twenty-first century.  The September 11, 2001 attacks were the worst acts of terrorism ever committed, but they only shed a few rays of light on a very serious problem.  Since 2001, attacks around the globe have killed roughly 10,000 people yearly.  Groups such as Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and the newly established Islamic State in Iraq and Syria are wreaking havoc overseas and threatening to attack the United States as well.  These dangers are forcing the U.S. to come up with an efficient, strategic solution to terrorism. Enhanced airport and homeland security are important safeguards, but they cannot guarantee protection.  The only way to truly rid ourselves of this threat is to eliminate the terrorists themselves.  However, American citizens are overwhelmingly against sending troops to foreign countries.  According to a poll by the Pew Research Center, sixty percent of Americans are opposed to military intervention against the terrorists in Iraq.  Americans do not want a repeat of the Iraq War, which saw billions in U.S. funding turn Iraq into what it is now- a weak nation swarming with radical extremists.  On the other hand, the Department of Defense believes that terrorists are a threat to national security and must be taken care of before they can grow any stronger.  The issue of terrorist response has shown a deep divide in thinking between American civilians and the American government.  The government believes that sending troops overseas is what constitutes as protection of the “common defense”.  Civilians don’t see eye to eye on this.  They think that the government should focus on prevention and protection measures here at home.  In the end, it boils down to the priority of every issue facing America, be it domestic or international.  Many people, including myself, think that the effort, time, and money being used up in the fight against terrorists could be better spent on things such as education, healthcare initiatives, and public infrastructure.  A glaring example of these problems is the City of Detroit, a once beautiful city now abandoned and in major bankruptcy.  The U.S. spends seven-and-a-half million dollars a day fighting Iraqi terrorists, and has spent nearly 818 billion dollars since 2001 in the region.  To put things in perspective, Detroit only has a debt of eighteen billion dollars, a mere two percent of the defense expenditure in Iraq.  A quick look at the U.S. budget shows that the Department of Defense’s funding-670 billion dollars-is more than twice the amount spent on education, homeland security, energy, and transportation combined. Is fighting distant terrorists really more important than addressing the domestic issues facing America?  The U.S. government thinks so- despite opposition from home and staggering expenses, it has decided to continue the War on Terror.