
and the United Kingdom
with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) as well as non-NATO countries. Originally, the campaign was waged against al-Qaeda
and other militant organizations with the purpose of eliminating them.
The phrase 'War on Terror' was first used by US President George W. Bush
and other high-ranking US officials to denote a global military, political, legal and ideological struggle against organizations designated as terrorist and regimes that were accused of having a connection to them or providing them with support or were perceived, or presented as posing a threat to the US and its allies in general.
I Define a “terrorist” as a non-state actor who attacks civilian targets in order to strike terror into the hearts of the enemy community.. A “state terrorist” is a state doing the same thing.
"I think they very much see the world in a black and white way, us against them, Muslims against infidels."
You know, terror is an idea. You don’t fight an idea with a conventional Army. To win a war on terror you have to win the hearts and minds of people from whom, from where the terrorists are operating from. If you win their hearts and mind and get them on your side, you’ll win the war. If those people start regarding the terrorists as freedom fighters, history has told us that you can’t win the war.
I’ll give you an example of (George Bush's) war on terror. He’s spent something like almost a trillion dollars. The estimates are that anything up to a million people have died and has he made the world a safer place? In my opinion he’s made the world a far more dangerous place. These are now nurseries for future terrorists.
There are some Arabs who think that the Germans did the right thing by the Jews. This makes it easy to recruit Arab terrorist.
and the United Kingdom
with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) as well as non-NATO countries. Originally, the campaign was waged against al-Qaeda
and other militant organizations with the purpose of eliminating them.
The phrase 'War on Terror' was first used by US President George W. Bush
and other high-ranking US officials to denote a global military, political, legal and ideological struggle against organizations designated as terrorist and regimes that were accused of having a connection to them or providing them with support or were perceived, or presented as posing a threat to the US and its allies in general. It was typically used with a particular focus on militant Islamists and al-Qaeda.
Although the term is not officially used by the administration of US President Barack Obama
(which instead uses the term Overseas Contingency Operation), it is still commonly used by politicians, in the media and officially by some aspects of government, such as the United States'
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
.
Precursor to the 9/11 attacks
The origins of al-Qaedaas a network inspiring terrorism around the world and training operatives can be traced to the Soviet War in Afghanistan
(December 1979 – February 1989). In May 1996 the group World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders (WIFJAJC), sponsored by Osama bin Laden
and later reformed as al-Qaeda, started forming a large base of operations in Afghanistan
, where the Islamist
extremist regime of the Taliban had seized power that same year. In February 1998, Osama bin Laden signed a fatwa
, as the head of al-Qaeda, declaring war
on the West
and Israel
, later in May of that same year al-Qaeda released a video declaring war on the United States
and the West.
Following the bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
, US President
Bill Clinton
launched Operation Infinite Reach
, a bombing campaign in Sudan
and Afghanistan against targets the US asserted were associated with WIFJAJC, although others have questioned whether a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan was used as a chemical warfare plant. The plant produced much of the region's antimalarial drug
s and around 50% of Sudan's pharmaceutical needs. The strikes failed to kill any leaders of WIFJAJC or the Taliban.
Next came the 2000 millennium attack plots
which included an attempted bombing of Los Angeles International Airport
. In October 2000 the USS Cole bombing
occurred, followed in 2001 by the September 11 attacks.
Terminology
The phrase "War on Terror" has been used to specifically refer to the ongoing military campaign led by the United States, United Kingdom
and their allies against organizations and regimes identified by them as terrorist, and excludes other independent counter-terrorist operations and campaigns
such as those by Russia
and India
. The conflict has also been referred to by names other than the War on Terror. It has also been known as:
- World War IIIWorld War IIIWorld War III denotes a successor to World War II that would be on a global scale, with common speculation that it would be likely nuclear and devastating in nature....
- World War IV (assuming the Cold WarCold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
was World War III) - Bush's War on Terror
- The Long WarWar on TerrorismThe War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
- The Global War of Terror
- The War Against al-Qaeda
In 1984 the Reagan Administration
used the term "war against terrorism" as part of an effort to pass legislation that was designed to freeze assets of terrorist groups and marshal the forces of government against them. Author Shane Harris asserts this was a reaction to the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing
.
On September 16, 2001, at Camp David
, President George W. Bush used the phrase war on terror in an unscripted and controversial comment when he said, "This crusade – this war on terrorism – is going to take a while, ... " Bush later apologized for this remark due to the negative connotations the term crusade has to people of Muslim
faith. The word crusade was not used again. On September 20, 2001, during a televised address to a joint session of congress, Bush launched the war on terror when he said, "Our 'war on terror' begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated." Bush did not say when he expected this would be achieved. "
US President Barack Obama
has rarely used the term, but in his inaugural address on January 20, 2009, he stated "Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred." In March 2009 the Defense Department officially changed the name of operations from "Global War on Terror" to "Overseas Contingency Operation" (OCO). In March 2009, the Obama administration
requested that Pentagon
staff members avoid use of the term, instead using "Overseas Contingency Operation".
Both the term and the policies it denotes have been a source of ongoing controversy, as critics argue it has been used to justify unilateral preventive war
, human rights
abuses and other violations of international law
.
US objectives
The George W. Bush administration
defined the following objectives in the War on Terror:
- Defeat terrorists such as Osama bin LadenOsama bin LadenOsama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, Abu Musab al-ZarqawiAbu Musab al-ZarqawiAbu Musab al-Zarqawi ; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh was a Jordanian militant Islamist who ran a paramilitary training camp in Afghanistan...
and destroy their organizations - Identify, locate and destroy terrorists along with their organizations
- Deny sponsorship, support and sanctuary to terrorists
- End the state sponsorship of terrorism
- Establish and maintain an international standard of accountability with regard to combating terrorism
- Strengthen and sustain the international effort to fight terrorism
- Work with willing and able states
- Enable weak states
- Persuade reluctant states
- Compel unwilling states
- Interdict and disrupt material support for terrorists
- Eliminate terrorist sanctuaries and havens
- Diminish the underlying conditions that terrorists seek to exploit
- Partner with the international community to strengthen weak states and prevent (re)emergence of terrorism
- Win the war of ideals
- Defend US citizens and interests at home and abroad
- Implement the National Strategy for Homeland SecurityNational Strategy for Homeland SecurityThe United States National Strategy for Homeland Security is a formal government response to the events of September 11, 2001 at the Pentagon and World Trade Center. The document issued by President George W...
- Attain domain awareness
- Enhance measures to ensure the integrity, reliability, and availability of critical physical and information-based infrastructures at home and abroad
- Integrate measures to protect US citizens abroad
- Ensure an integrated incident management capability
- Implement the National Strategy for Homeland Security
US and NATO-led military operations
Operation Active Endeavour
Operation Active Endeavour is a naval operationof NATO started in October 2001 in response to the September 11 attacks. It operates in the Mediterranean Sea
and is designed to prevent the movement of militants or weapons of mass destruction
and to enhance the security of shipping in general. The operation has also assisted Greece
with its prevention of illegal immigration
.
Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Enduring Freedom is the official name used by the Bush administration for the War in Afghanistan, together with three smaller military actions, under the umbrella of the Global War on Terror. These global operations are intended to seek out and destroy any al-Qaeda fighters or affiliates.
Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan

delivered an ultimatum to the Taliban government of Afghanistan to turn over Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda
leaders operating in the country or face attack. The Taliban demanded evidence of bin Laden's link to the September 11 attacks and, if such evidence warranted a trial, they offered to handle such a trial in an Islamic Court. The US refused to provide any evidence.
Subsequently, in October 2001, US forces (with UK and coalition allies) invaded Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime. On October 7, 2001, the official invasion began with British and US forces conducting airstrike
campaigns over enemy targets. Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, fell by mid-November. The remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban remnants fell back to the rugged mountains of eastern Afghanistan, mainly Tora Bora. In December, Coalition forces (the US and its allies) fought within that region
. It is believed that Osama bin Laden escaped into Pakistan
during the battle.
In March 2002
, the United States and other NATO and non-NATO forces launched Operation Anaconda
with the goal of destroying any remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the Shah-i-Kot Valley
and Arma Mountains of Afghanistan. The Taliban suffered heavy casualties and evacuated the region.
The Taliban regrouped in western Pakistan and began to unleash an insurgent-style offensive against Coalition forces in late 2002. Throughout southern and eastern Afghanistan, firefights broke out between the surging Taliban and Coalition forces. Coalition forces responded with a series of military offensives and an increase in the amount of troops in Afghanistan. In February 2010
, Coalition forces launched Operation Moshtarak
in southern Afghanistan along with other military offensives in the hopes that they would destroy the Taliban insurgency once and for all. Peace talks are also underway between Taliban affiliated fighters and Coalition forces.
Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines

deployed to the Philippines
to advise and assist the Armed Forces of the Philippines
in combating Filipino Islamist groups. The operations were mainly focused on removing the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and Jemaah Islamiyah
(JI) from their stronghold on the island of Basilan
. The second portion of the operation was conducted as a humanitarian program called "Operation Smiles." The goal of the program was to provide medical care and services to the region of Basilan as part of a "Hearts and Minds" program.
Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa



In October 2002, the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) was established in Djibouti
at Camp Lemonnier. It contains approximately 2,000 personnel including US military and special operations forces (SOF) and coalition force members, Combined Task Force 150
(CTF-150).
Task Force 150 consists of ships from a shifting group of nations, including Australia
, Canada
, France
, Germany
, Italy
, Netherlands
, Pakistan
, New Zealand
and the United Kingdom. The primary goal of the coalition forces is to monitor, inspect, board and stop suspected shipments from entering the Horn of Africa region and affecting the US' Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Included in the operation is the training of selected armed forces units of the countries of Djibouti, Kenya
and Ethiopia
in counter-terrorism
and counter-insurgency
tactics. Humanitarian efforts conducted by CJTF-HOA include rebuilding of schools and medical clinics and providing medical services to those countries whose forces are being trained.
The program expands as part of the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Initiative
as CJTF personnel also assist in training the armed forces of Chad
, Niger
, Mauritania
and Mali
. However, the War on Terror does not include Sudan
, where over 400,000 have died in an ongoing civil war.
On July 1, 2006, a Web-posted message purportedly written by Osama bin Laden urged Somalis to build an Islamic state
in the country and warned western governments that the al-Qaeda
network would fight against them if they intervened there.
Somalia has been considered a "failed state
" because its official central government was weak, dominated by warlords and unable to exert effective control over the country. Beginning in mid-2006, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), an Islamist faction campaigning on a restoration of "law and order" through Sharia
law, had rapidly taken control of much of southern Somalia.
On December 14, 2006, the US Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer
claimed al-Qaeda cell operatives were controlling the Islamic Courts Union, a claim denied by the ICU.
By late 2006, the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government
(TFG) of Somalia had seen its power effectively limited to Baidoa
, while the Islamic Courts Union controlled the majority of southern Somalia, including the capital of Mogadishu
. On December 20, 2006, the Islamic Courts Union launched an offensive
on the government stronghold of Baidoa, and saw early gains before Ethiopia
intervened in favor of the government.
By December 26, the Islamic Courts Union retreated towards Mogadishu, before again retreating as TFG/Ethiopian troops neared, leaving them to take Mogadishu with no resistance
. The ICU then fled to Kismayo, where they fought Ethiopian/TFG forces in the Battle of Jilib
.
The Prime Minister of Somalia claimed that three "terror suspects" from the 1998 United States embassy bombings
are being sheltered in Kismayo. On December 30, 2006, al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri
called upon Muslims worldwide to fight against Ethiopia and the TFG in Somalia.
On January 8, 2007, the US launched the Battle of Ras Kamboni
by bombing Ras Kamboni
using AC-130 gunships.
On September 14, 2009, US Special Forces killed two men and wounded and captured two others near the Somali village of Baarawe
. Witnesses claim that helicopters used for the operation launched from French-flagged warships, but that could not be confirmed. A Somali based al-Qaida affiliated group, the Al-Shabaab, has confirmed the death of "sheik commander" Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan along with an unspecified number of militants. Nabhan, a Kenyan, was wanted in connection with the 2002 Mombasa attacks.
Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara
Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara (OEF-TS) is the name of the military operation conducted by the United States and partner nations in the Sahara/Sahel region of Africa, consisting of counter-terrorism efforts and policing of arms and drug trafficking across central Africa.Iraq
Iraqhad been listed as a State sponsor of international terrorism by the United States since 1990, when Saddam Hussein fell out of US favor
. The regime of Saddam Hussein
proved a continuing problem for the UN and Iraq’s neighbors in its use of chemical weapons against Iran
ians and Kurds.
Iraqi no-fly zones
After the Gulf War, the US, French and British militaries instituted and began patrolling Iraqi no-fly zones
, to protect Iraq's Kurdish minority and Shi'a Arab
population—both of which suffered attacks from the Hussein regime before and after the Gulf War—in Iraq's northern and southern regions, respectively. US forces continued in combat zone deployments through November 1995 and launched Operation Desert Fox
against Iraq in 1998 after it failed to meet US demands of "unconditional cooperation" in weapons inspections.
Prior to Operation Desert Fox, US president Bill Clinton
predicted "And mark my words, he will develop weapons of mass destruction. He will deploy them, and he will use them." Clinton also declared a desire to remove Hussein from power and in the same speech said, "The hard fact is that so long as Saddam remains in power, he threatens the well-being of his people, the peace of his region, the security of the world." In the aftermath of Operation Desert Fox, during December 1998, Iraq announced that it would no longer respect the no-fly zones and resumed its attempts to shoot down US aircraft.
Air strikes by the British and US against Iraqi anti-aircraft and military targets continued over the next few years. Also in 1998, Clinton signed the Iraq Liberation Act
, which called for regime change in Iraq on the basis of its alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, oppression of Iraqi citizens, and attacks on other Middle Eastern countries.
The George W. Bush administration called for the United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) to again send weapons inspectors to Iraq to find and destroy the alleged weapons of mass destruction and called for a UNSC resolution. UNSC Resolution 1441
was passed unanimously, which offered Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" or face "serious consequences."
Resolution 1441 did not authorize the use of force by member states. The Iraqi government subsequently allowed UN inspectors some access to Iraqi sites, while the US government continued to assert that Iraq was being obstructionist.
In October 2002, a large bipartisan majority in the United States Congress
authorized the president to use force if necessary to disarm Iraq in order to "prosecute the war on terrorism." After failing to overcome opposition from France
, Russia
, and China
against a UNSC resolution that would sanction the use of force against Iraq, and before the UN weapons inspectors had completed their inspections (which were claimed to be fruitless by the US because of Iraq's alleged deception), the United States assembled a "Coalition of the Willing
" composed of nations who pledged support for its policy of regime change in Iraq.
Operation Iraqi Freedom


with an air campaign, which was immediately followed by a U.S.-led ground invasion
. The Bush administration stated the invasion was the "serious consequences" spoken of in the UNSC Resolution 1441
. The Bush administration also stated the Iraq war was part of the War on Terror, something later questioned or contested.
Baghdad, Iraq’s capital city, fell in April 2003 and Saddam Hussein’s
government quickly dissolved. On May 1, 2003, Bush announced that major combat operations in Iraq had ended. However, an insurgency
arose against the U.S.-led coalition and the newly developing Iraqi military and post-Saddam government. The insurgency, which included al-Qaeda affiliated groups
, led to far more coalition casualties than the invasion. Other elements of the insurgency were led by fugitive members of President Hussein's Ba'ath regime, which included Iraqi nationalists and pan-Arabists. Many insurgency leaders are Islamists and claim to be fighting a religious war to reestablish the Islamic Caliphate of centuries past. Iraq’s former president, Saddam Hussein was captured
by U.S. forces in December 2003. He was executed
in 2006
.
In 2004
, the insurgent forces grew stronger. The United States conducted attacks on insurgent strongholds in cities like Najaf
and Fallujah.
In January 2007
, President Bush presented a new strategy for Operation Iraqi Freedom based upon counter-insurgency
theories and tactics developed by General David Petraeus
. The Iraq War troop surge of 2007
was part of this "new way forward" and, along with US backing of Sunni groups it had previously sought to defeat, has been credited with a widely recognized dramatic decrease in violence by up to 80%.
Operation New Dawn
The war entered a new phase on September 1, 2010, with the official end of US combat operations. However, 50,000 US troops remain in an advise and assist role to provide support for Iraqi security forces.International military support

, the United Kingdom
, and the Afghan Northern Alliance
. Since the initial invasion period, these forces were augmented by troops and aircraft from Australia
, Canada
, Denmark
, France
, Italy
, Netherlands
, New Zealand
and Norway
amongst others. In 2006, there were about 33,000 troops in Afghanistan.
On September 12, 2001, less than 24 hours after the September 11 attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., NATO invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty
and declared the attacks to be an attack against all 19 NATO member countries. Australian Prime Minister
John Howard
also declared that Australia would invoke the ANZUS
Treaty along similar lines.
In the following months, NATO took a wide range of measures to respond to the threat of terrorism. On November 22, 2002, the member states of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
(EAPC) decided on a Partnership Action Plan against Terrorism which explicitly states that "EAPC States are committed to the protection and promotion of fundamental freedoms and human rights, as well as the rule of law, in combating terrorism." NATO started naval operations in the Mediterranean Sea
designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction as well as to enhance the security of shipping in general called Operation Active Endeavour.
Support for the United States cooled when America made clear its determination to invade Iraq in late 2002. Even so, many of the "coalition of the willing" countries that unconditionally supported the US-led military action have sent troops to Afghanistan, particular neighboring Pakistan
, which has disowned its earlier support for the Taliban and contributed tens of thousands of soldiers to the conflict. Pakistan was also engaged in the War in North-West Pakistan
(Waziristan War). Supported by US intelligence, Pakistan was attempting to remove the Taliban insurgency and al-Qaeda element from the northern tribal areas.
International Security Assistance Force
December 2001 saw the creation of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) to assist the Afghan Transitional Administration
and the first post-Taliban elected government. With a renewed Taliban insurgency, it was announced in 2006 that ISAF would replace the US troops in the province as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The British 16th Air Assault Brigade (later reinforced by Royal Marines
) formed the core of the force in southern Afghanistan, along with troops and helicopters from Australia, Canada and the Netherlands. The initial force consisted of roughly 3,300 British, 2,000 Canadian, 1,400 from the Netherlands and 240 from Australia, along with special forces from Denmark and Estonia
and small contingents from other nations. The monthly supply of cargo containers through Pakistani route to ISAF in Afghanistan is over 4,000 costing around 12 billion in Pakistani Rupees.
Fighting in Pakistan

sided with the United States against the Taliban government in Afghanistan after an ultimatum by US President George W. Bush. Musharraf agreed to give the United States the use of three airbases for Operation Enduring Freedom. United States Secretary of State
Colin Powell
and other administration officials met with Musharraf. On September 19, 2001, Musharraf addressed the people of Pakistan and stated that, while he opposed military tactics against the Taliban, Pakistan risked being endangered by an alliance of India and the US if it did not cooperate. In 2006, Musharraf testified that this stance was pressured by threats from the US, and revealed in his memoirs that he had "war-gamed" the United States as an adversary and decided that it would end in a loss for Pakistan.
On January 12, 2002, Musharraf gave a speech against Islamic extremism. He unequivocally condemned all acts of terrorism and pledged to combat Islamic extremism and lawlessness within Pakistan itself. He stated that his government was committed to rooting out extremism and made it clear that the banned militant organizations would not be allowed to resurface under any new name. He said, "the recent decision to ban extremist groups promoting militancy was taken in the national interest after thorough consultations. It was not taken under any foreign influence".
In 2002, the Musharraf-led government took a firm stand against the jihadi organizations and groups promoting extremism, and arrested Maulana Masood Azhar
, head of the Jaish-e-Mohammed
, and Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
, chief of the Lashkar-e-Taiba
, and took dozens of activists into custody. An official ban was imposed on the groups on January 12. Later that year, the Saudi
born Zayn al-Abidn Muhammed Hasayn Abu Zubaydah
was arrested by Pakistani officials during a series of joint US-Pakistan raids. Zubaydah is said to have been a high-ranking al-Qaeda official with the title of operations chief and in charge of running al-Qaeda training camps. Other prominent al-Qaeda members were arrested in the following two years, namely Ramzi bin al-Shibh, who is known to have been a financial backer of al-Qaeda operations, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who at the time of his capture was the third highest ranking official in al-Qaeda and had been directly in charge of the planning for the September 11 attacks.
In 2004, the Pakistan Army
launched a campaign in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
of Pakistan's Waziristan
region, sending in 80,000 troops. The goal of the conflict was to remove the al-Qaeda
and Taliban forces in the region.
After the fall of the Taliban regime many members of the Taliban resistance fled to the Northern border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan where the Pakistani army had previously little control. With the logistics and air support of the United States, the Pakistani Army captured or killed numerous al-Qaeda operatives such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, wanted for his involvement in the USS Cole bombing, the Bojinka plot, and the killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl
.
The United States has carried out a campaign of Drone attacks
on targets all over the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. However, the Pakistani Taliban
resistance still operates there. To this day it’s estimated that 15 US soldiers were killed while fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban remnants in Pakistan since the War on Terror began.
Osama bin Laden
, the founder of al-Qaeda, was killed
on May 2, 2011, during a raid conducted by the United States special operations forces
in Abbottabad
, Pakistan.
Islamic terrorism after 9/11
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of Benazir BhuttoBenazir BhuttoBenazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
's motorcade and Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombingIslamabad Marriott Hotel bombingThe Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing occurred during the night of 20 September 2008, when a dump truck filled with explosives detonated in front of the Marriott Hotel in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, killing at least 54 people, injuring at least 266 and leaving a 60 ft wide, 20 ft ...
in PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... - 2008 Mumbai Terrorist Attacks in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and 2011 Mumbai bombings2011 Mumbai bombingsThe 2011 Mumbai bombings were a series of three coordinated bomb explosions at different locations in Mumbai, India, on 13 July 2011 between 18:54 and 19:06 IST... - 2009 Attack2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket teamThe Sri Lankan cricket team attack occurred on March 3, 2009, when a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers, part of a larger convoy, was fired upon by 12 gunmen, near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. The cricketers were on their way to play the third day of the second Test against the...
on the Sri Lankan CricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
Team in PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... - 2009 Fort Hood shooting
- Domodedovo International Airport bombingDomodedovo International Airport bombingThe 2011 Domodedovo Airport bombing was a suicide attack in the international arrival hall of Moscow's busiest airport, Domodedovo Airport, on January 24, 2011....
in RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... - 2011 Alexandria bombing2011 Alexandria bombingThe 2011 Alexandria bombing was an attack on Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, on Saturday, 1 January 2011. Twenty three people died as a result of the attack, all of them Coptic Christians. Some 97 more people were injured...
and 2011 Imbaba church attacks2011 Imbaba church attacksThe 2011 Imbaba church attacks were a series of attacks that took place on 7 May 2011 against Coptic Christian churches in the poor working-class neighborhood of Imbaba in Cairo, Egypt...
in EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world... - Itamar attackItamar attackThe Itamar attack, also called the Itamar massacre,was an attack on a Jewish family in the Israeli settlement of Itamar in the West Bank that took place on 11 March 2011, in which five members of the same family were murdered in their beds...
in West BankWest BankThe West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan... - Hamas school bus attackHamas school bus attackThe Hamas school bus attack was a 7 April 2011 incident in which Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a Kornet laser-guided anti-tank missile over the border at an Israeli school bus. Hamas militants claimed responsibility...
and 2011 Jerusalem bus stop bombing2011 Jerusalem bus stop bombingThe 2011 Jerusalem bus bombing was a bomb attack carried out in a bus station in downtown Jerusalem, near the Jerusalem International Convention Center compound on 23 March 2011 at 15:00...
in IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... - List of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel, 2011 in Israel
- 2011 Cirebon bombing2011 Cirebon bombingOn April 15, 2011, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in a mosque in a police compound in the city of Cirebon, in West Java, Indonesia...
in IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an... - 2011 Marrakech bombing2011 Marrakech bombingThe 2011 Marrakech bombing killed 17 people in the city of Marrakech, Morocco on 28 April 2011. The blast, from a bomb left in a bag, destroyed the Argana cafe in Djemaa el-Fna square, a popular tourist spot. At least 20 people were injured. Most of the dead were tourists.-Casualties:17 people were...
in MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara... - 2011 Abuja police headquarters bombing2011 Abuja police headquarters bombingThe 2011 Abuja police headquarters bombing was believed to be the first suicide bombing in Nigeria's history. The attack happened on June 16, 2011, when a suicide bomber drove a car bomb onto the premises of the Louis Edet House in Abuja, the headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force...
and May 2011 northern Nigeria bombingsMay 2011 northern Nigeria bombingsThe May 2011 northern Nigeria bombings happened in several towns in northern Nigeria on 29 May 2011. The blasts happened just a few hours after Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as Nigeria's president. Boko Haram was suspected in the attacks....
in NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in... - 25 June 2011 Logar province bombing25 June 2011 Logar province bombingThe 25 June 2011 Logar province bombing was a suicide car bombing that occurred on 25 June, 2011 in Azra District, Logar Province, Afghanistan targeting a hospital, killing at least 15, possibly as many as 35.- Sources :* Retrieved: September 25, 2011....
in AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world... - 30 June 2011 Nimruz province bombing30 June 2011 Nimruz province bombingThe 30 June 2011 Nimruz province bombing was a roadside bombing targeting a bus of civilians killing 20 and injuring more than 30 in Nimruz province, Afghanistan....
in Afghanistan - 2 July 2011 Zabul province bombing2 July 2011 Zabul province bombingThe 2 July 2011 Zabul province bombing was a roadside bombing that killed 11 members of a family in Zabul Province, Shamulzayi District, Afghanistan, thought to be refugees returning from Pakistan heading to Ghazni Province....
in Afghanistan - 2011 Charsadda bombing2011 Charsadda bombingA double bombing occurred on 13 May 2011 in Shabqadar Fort in Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. 80 people were killed when two suicide bombs exploded in the Frontier Constabulary training center. At least 150 others were injured. The explosions occurred while cadets...
, 2011 Faisalabad bombing2011 Faisalabad bombingThe 2011 Faisalabad bombing occurred on 8 March 2011. At least 25 people were killed and over 127 wounded when a car bomb blast occurred in a compressed natural gas station in the Pakistani city of Faisalabad...
, 2011 Dera Ghazi Khan bombings2011 Dera Ghazi Khan bombingsA pair of bombings occurred on 3 April 2011 in a Sufi shrine dedicated to a 13th-century Sufi saint, Ahmed Sultan, located in the city of Dera Ghazi Khan in the southern region of Pakistan's largest province, Punjab.-Background:...
, July 2011 Karachi target killings, June 2011 Peshawar bombingsJune 2011 Peshawar bombingsThe June 2011 Peshawar bombings occurred on 12 June 2011 in Peshawar, Pakistan. At least 34 people were killed and more than 90 were injured when two bombs exploded in a market soon after midnight. The first bomb went off around 11:50 pm local time in Khyber market area and injured 3 people...
, March 2011 Peshawar bombingMarch 2011 Peshawar bombingThe 9 March 2011 Peshawar bombing occurred in the city of Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in north-west Pakistan. The attack took place in the Adezai locality of Peshawar; 37 people were killed and at least 45 were wounded. The blast happened during a funeral held for the...
, PNS Mehran attackPNS Mehran attackThe PNS Mehran attack was a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan attack/shooting that took place on 22 May 2011, at PNS Mehran, the headquarter of the Pakistan Navy's Naval Air Arm and the most populous Pakistani military installation, located near the PAF's Faisal Air Force Base of Karachi, Sindh...
, in PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... - 21 June 2011 Al Diwaniyah bombing21 June 2011 Al Diwaniyah bombing21 June 2011 Al Diwaniyah bombing was a suicide bombing that occurred outside the provincial governors house. It is believed he was the intended target...
, 24 January 2011 Iraq bombings24 January 2011 Iraq bombingsThe 24 January 2011 Iraq bombings were a series of four explosions, two in Baghdad and two in Karbala, which killed at least 27 people and wounded at least 78 more....
, 27 January 2011 Baghdad bombing27 January 2011 Baghdad bombingAt least 48 people are killed and 78 wounded in the 27 January 2011 Baghdad bombing. A car bomb was detonated at a funeral tent in the north-western Shula district of Baghdad.-See also:*January 2011 Iraq suicide attacks*24 January 2011 Iraq bombings...
, January 2011 Baghdad shootingsJanuary 2011 Baghdad shootingsThe January 2011 Baghdad shootings occurred when four Iraqi security personnel and an engineer were killed in Baghdad on 2 January 2011 by suspected insurgents. The attackers all used silencers on their weapons, and the attacks occurred within an hour of each, which implied they were deliberately...
, January 2011 Iraq suicide attacksJanuary 2011 Iraq suicide attacksThe January 2011 Iraq suicide attacks were a series of three consecutive suicide bombings in Iraq.-18 January attack:On 18 January 2011, a bomber killed 63 people and injured around 150 in the city of Tikrit. The bombing occurred near a police facility where several hundred people were gathered...
, 5 July 2011 Taji bombings5 July 2011 Taji bombingsThe 5 July 2011 Taji bombings were two coordinated bombings, a car bomb followed by a bomb, that were detonated in the parking lot of a municipal governemnt building in Taji, Iraq killing at least 35 and wounding at least 50....
in IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.... - 2011 Minsk Metro bombing2011 Minsk Metro bombingThe 2011 Minsk Metro bombing occurred on 11 April 2011 when at least 15 people were killed and more than two hundred were injured in an explosion on the Minsk Metro, Belarus. The explosion happened at the central Oktyabrskaya station at 17:55 local time....
in BelarusBelarusBelarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
In addition, there have been several planned terrorist attacks that were not successful.
- 2004 financial buildings plot2004 Financial buildings plotThe 2004 financial buildings plot was a plan led by Dhiren Barot to attack a number of targets in the U.S. and the United Kingdom which is believed to have been approved by al-Qaeda....
- 21 July 2005 London bombings21 July 2005 London bombingsOn 21 July 2005, four attempted bomb attacks disrupted part of London's public transport system two weeks after the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The explosions occurred around midday at Shepherd's Bush, Warren Street and Oval stations on London Underground, and on a bus in Shoreditch...
and 2007 London car bombs2007 London car bombsOn 29 June 2007, in London, two car bombs were discovered and disabled before they could be detonated. The first device was left near the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket at around 01:30, and the second was in Cockspur Street, in the same area of the city.... - 2006 Toronto terrorism plot
- 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot2006 transatlantic aircraft plotThe 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives carried on board at least 10 airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada...
involving liquid explosives carried onto commercial airplanes - Hudson River bomb plot
- 2007 Fort Dix attack plot2007 Fort Dix attack plotThe 2007 Fort Dix attack plot involved a group of six radical Islamist men who conspired to stage an attack against U.S. Military personnel stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The alleged aim of the group was to "kill as many soldiers as possible"....
- 2007 John F. Kennedy International Airport attack plot2007 John F. Kennedy International Airport attack plotThe 2007 John F. Kennedy International Airport attack plot was an alleged Islamist terrorist plot to blow up a system of jet fuel supply tanks and pipelines that feed fuel to John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York. These pipelines travel throughout the undergrounds of New York...
- 2009 Bronx terrorism plot2009 Bronx terrorism plotOn May 20, 2009, US law enforcement arrested four black Muslim men in connection with a plot to shoot down military airplanes flying out of an Air National Guard base in Newburgh, New York and blow up two synagogues in the Riverdale community of the Bronx....
- 2009 New York Subway and United Kingdom Plot
- 2009 Christmas Bomb Plot
- 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt2010 Times Square car bombing attemptThe attempted car bombing of Times Square on May 1, 2010, was a planned terrorist attack that was foiled when two street vendors discovered the car bomb and alerted a NYPD Patrolman to the car bomb threat after they spotted smoke coming from a vehicle...
- 2010 cargo plane bomb plot
- 2010 Portland car bomb plot2010 Portland car bomb plotThe 2010 Portland car bomb plot involved an incident in which Mohamed Osman Mohamud , a Somali-American student, was arrested in an FBI sting operation on November 26, 2010, after attempting to set off what he thought was a car bomb at a Christmas tree lighting in Portland, Oregon. He was charged...
- 2011 Dearborn mosque bombing plot2011 Dearborn mosque bombing plotOn January 24, 2011, a Imperial Beach, California man named Roger Stockham was arrested and charged with terrorism after attempting to blow up the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan. According to police, he targeted the city because of its large Arab-American and Muslim population...
- 2011 Manhattan terrorism plot2011 Manhattan terrorism plotThe 2011 Manhattan terrorism plot was an alleged effort by two Muslim Arab-Americans to bomb various targets in Manhattan, New York. The suspects allegedly planned to attack an unspecified synagogue and one of them expressed interest in blowing up a church and the Empire State Building...
U.S. Military aid to other countries
PakistanIn the three years before the attacks of September 11, Pakistan received approximately $9 million in American military aid. In the three years after, the number increased to $4.2 billion, making it the country with the maximum funding post 9/11.
Such a huge inflow of funds has raised concerns in the Indian press that these funds were given without any accountability, as the end uses not being documented, and that large portions were used to suppress civilians' human rights and to purchase weapons to contain domestic problems like the Balochistan
unrest. Pakistan has stated that India has been supporting terror groups within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan
with the aim of creating unrest within the country.
Lebanon
On May 20, 2007, a conflict began in north Lebanon
after fighting broke out between Fatah al-Islam
, an Islamist
militant organization, and the Lebanese Armed Forces
in Nahr al-Bared
, a Palestinian
refugee camp near Tripoli
. The conflict evolved mostly around the Siege of Nahr el-Bared, but minor clashes also occurred in the Ain al-Hilweh
refugee camp in southern Lebanon and several bombings took place in and around Lebanon's capital, Beirut
.
Fatah-al-Islam has been described as a militant mujahid movement that draws inspiration from al-Qaeda. The US provided military aid to the Lebanese government during the conflict. On September 7, 2007, Lebanese government forces captured the camp and declared victory.
Yemen
The United States has also conducted a series of military strikes on al-Qaeda militants
in Yemen
since the War on Terror began. Yemen has a weak central government and a powerful tribal system that leaves large lawless areas open for militant training and operations. Al-Qaida has a strong presence in the country.
The US, in an effort to support Yemeni counter-terrorism efforts, has increased their military aid package to Yemen from less than $11 million in 2006 to more than $70 million in 2009, as well as providing up to $121 million for development over the next three years.
Post 9/11 events inside the United States
In addition to military efforts abroad, in the aftermath of 9/11 the Bush Administration increased domestic efforts to prevent future attacks. Various government bureaucracies which handled security and military functions were reorganized. A new cabinet level agency called the United States Department of Homeland Securitywas created in November 2002 to lead and coordinate the largest reorganization of the US federal government since the consolidation of the armed forces into the Department of Defense.
The Justice Department launched a Special Registration
procedure for certain male non-citizens in the US, requiring them to register in person at offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service
.
The USA PATRIOT Act
of October 2001 dramatically reduces restrictions on law enforcement agencies' ability to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records; eases restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States; expands the Secretary of the Treasury’s authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals and entities; and broadens the discretion of law enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts. The act also expanded the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism, thus enlarging the number of activities to which the USA PATRIOT Act's expanded law enforcement powers could be applied. A new Terrorist Finance Tracking Program
monitored the movements of terrorists' financial resources (discontinued after being revealed by The New York Times
newspaper). Telecommunication usage by known and suspected terrorists was studied through the NSA electronic surveillance program
. The Patriot Act is still in effect.
Political interest groups have stated that these laws remove important restrictions on governmental authority, and are a dangerous encroachment on civil liberties, possible unconstitutional
violations of the Fourth Amendment
. On July 30, 2003, the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) filed the first legal challenge against Section 215 of the Patriot Act, claiming that it allows the FBI to violate a citizen's First Amendment
rights, Fourth Amendment
rights, and right to due process
, by granting the government the right to search a person's business, bookstore, and library records in a terrorist investigation, without disclosing to the individual that records were being searched. Also, governing bodies in a number of communities have passed symbolic resolutions against the act.
In a speech on June 9, 2005, Bush said that the USA PATRIOT Act had been used to bring charges against more than 400 suspects, more than half of whom had been convicted. Meanwhile the ACLU quoted Justice Department figures showing that 7,000 people have complained of abuse of the Act.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) began an initiative in early 2002 with the creation of the Total Information Awareness program, designed to promote information technologies that could be used in counter-terrorism. This program, facing criticism, has since been defunded by Congress.
By 2003, 12 major conventions and protocols were designed to combat terrorism. These were adopted and ratified by a number of states. These conventions require states to co-operate on principal issues regarding unlawful seizure of aircraft, the physical protection of nuclear materials, and the freezing of assets of militant networks.
In 2005 the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1624
concerning incitement to commit acts of terrorism and the obligations of countries to comply with international human rights
laws. Although both resolutions require mandatory annual reports on counter-terrorism
activities by adopting nations, the United States and Israel
have both declined to submit reports. In the same year, the United States Department of Defense
and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
issued a planning document, by the name "National Military Strategic Plan for the War on Terrorism" which stated that it constituted the "comprehensive military plan to prosecute the Global War on Terror for the Armed Forces of the United States
...including the findings and recommendations of the 9/11 Commission
and a rigorous examination with the Department of Defense".
On January 9, 2007, the House of Representatives passed a bill, by a vote of 299–128, enacting many of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission The bill passed in the US Senate, by a vote of 60–38, on March 13, 2007 and it was signed into law on August 3, 2007 by President Bush. It became Public Law 110-53.
The Office of Strategic Influence
was secretly created after 9/11 for the purpose of coordinating propaganda efforts, but was closed soon after being discovered. The Bush administration implemented the Continuity of Operations Plan
(or Continuity of Government) to ensure that US government would be able to continue in catastrophic circumstances.
Since 9/11, extremists made various attempts to attack the US homeland, with varying levels of organization and skill. For example, vigilant passengers aboard a transatlantic flight prevented Richard Reid
, in 2001, and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
, in 2009, from detonating an explosive device.
Other terrorist plots have been stopped by federal agencies using new legal powers and investigative tools, sometimes in cooperation with foreign governments.
Such thwarted attacks include:
- The 2001 shoe bomb plot
- A plan to crash airplanes into the US Bank Tower (aka Library Tower) in Los Angeles
- The 2003 plot by Iyman FarisIyman FarisIyman Faris is a Pakistani American former truck driver from Columbus, Ohio who was convicted of providing material support to Al Qaeda, for his role in a plot to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge...
to blow up the Brooklyn BridgeBrooklyn BridgeThe Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
in New York City - The 2004 Financial buildings plot2004 Financial buildings plotThe 2004 financial buildings plot was a plan led by Dhiren Barot to attack a number of targets in the U.S. and the United Kingdom which is believed to have been approved by al-Qaeda....
which targeted the International Monetary FundInternational Monetary FundThe International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
and World BankWorld BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
buildings in Washington, DC, the New York Stock ExchangeNew York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
and other financial institutions - The 2004 Columbus Shopping Mall Bombing PlotColumbus Shopping Mall Bombing PlotThe Columbus Shopping Mall Bombing Plot was a plan to blow up an unnamed shopping mall in the city of Columbus in the American state of Ohio. The plot was disclosed by federal authorities on June 14, 2004 when an indictment against Nuradin Abdi was unsealed by the local United States district court...
- The 2006 Sears Tower plot
- The 2007 Fort Dix attack plot2007 Fort Dix attack plotThe 2007 Fort Dix attack plot involved a group of six radical Islamist men who conspired to stage an attack against U.S. Military personnel stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The alleged aim of the group was to "kill as many soldiers as possible"....
- The 2007 John F. Kennedy International Airport attack plot2007 John F. Kennedy International Airport attack plotThe 2007 John F. Kennedy International Airport attack plot was an alleged Islamist terrorist plot to blow up a system of jet fuel supply tanks and pipelines that feed fuel to John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York. These pipelines travel throughout the undergrounds of New York...
- The New York Subway Bombing PlotNajibullah ZaziNajibullah Zazi is an Afghan-American who was arrested in September 2009 as part of the 2009 U.S. Al Qaeda group accused of planning suicide bombings on the New York City subway system, and has pled guilty as have two other defendants. U.S...
and 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt2010 Times Square car bombing attemptThe attempted car bombing of Times Square on May 1, 2010, was a planned terrorist attack that was foiled when two street vendors discovered the car bomb and alerted a NYPD Patrolman to the car bomb threat after they spotted smoke coming from a vehicle...
The Obama administration has promised the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, increased the number of troops in Afghanistan, and promised the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq.
Casualties
The Global War of Terror has seen fewer war deaths than any other decade in the past century.There is no widely agreed on figure for the number of people that have been killed so far in the War on Terror as it has been defined by the Bush Administration to include the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, and operations elsewhere. Some estimates include the following:
- Iraq: 62,570 to 1,124,000
- Opinion Research Business (ORB) pollORB survey of Iraq War casualtiesOn Friday, 14 September 2007, ORB , an independent polling agency located in London, published estimates of the total war casualties in Iraq since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. At over 1.2 million deaths , this estimate is the highest number published so far...
conducted August 12–19, 2007 estimated 1,033,000 violent deaths due to the Iraq War. The range given was 946,000 to 1,120,000 deaths. A nationally representative sample of approximately 2,000 Iraqi adults answered whether any members of their household (living under their roof) were killed due to the Iraq War. 22% of the respondents had lost one or more household members. ORB reported that "48% died from a gunshot wound, 20% from the impact of a car bomb, 9% from aerial bombardment, 6% as a result of an accident and 6% from another blast/ordnance." - Between 392,979 and 942,636 estimated Iraqi (655,000 with a confidence interval of 95%), civilian and combatant, according to the second Lancet survey of mortality.
- A minimum of 62,570 civilian deaths reported in the mass media up to 28 April 2007 according to Iraq Body Count projectIraq Body Count projectIraq Body Count project is a web-based effort to record civilian deaths resulting from the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq. Included are deaths attributable to coalition and insurgent military action, sectarian violence and criminal violence, which refers to excess civilian deaths caused by criminal...
. - 4410 US military dead. 31,844 wounded in action, of which 13,954 were unable to return to duty within 72 hours.
- Afghanistan: between 10,960 and 49,600
- According to Marc W. Herold's extensive database, between 3,100 and 3,600 civilians were directly killed by US Operation Enduring Freedom bombing and Special Forces attacks between October 7, 2001 and June 3, 2003. This estimate counts only "impact deaths"—deaths that occurred in the immediate aftermath of an explosion or shooting—and does not count deaths that occurred later as a result of injuries sustained, or deaths that occurred as an indirect consequence of the US airstrikes and invasion.
- In an opinion article published in August 2002 in the magazine The Weekly StandardThe Weekly StandardThe Weekly Standard is an American neoconservative opinion magazine published 48 times per year. Its founding publisher, News Corporation, debuted the title September 18, 1995. Currently edited by founder William Kristol and Fred Barnes, the Standard has been described as a "redoubt of...
, Joshua MuravchikJoshua MuravchikJoshua Muravchik is a scholar formerly at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research and now a fellow at the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University....
of the American Enterprise InstituteAmerican Enterprise InstituteThe American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
, questioned Professor Herold's study entirely on the basis of one single incident that involved 25–93 deaths. He did not provide any estimate his own.
- In a pair of January 2002 studies, Carl Conetta of the Project on Defense Alternatives estimates that "at least" 4,200–4,500 civilians were killed by mid-January 2002 as a result of the US war and airstrikes, both directly as casualties of the aerial bombing campaign, and indirectly in the resulting humanitarian crisis.
- His first study, "Operation Enduring Freedom: Why a Higher Rate of Civilian Bombing Casualties?", released January 18, 2002, estimates that, at the low end, "at least" 1,000–1,300 civilians were directly killed in the aerial bombing campaign in just the 3 months between October 7, 2001 to January 1, 2002. The author found it impossible to provide an upper-end estimate to direct civilian casualties from the Operation Enduring Freedom bombing campaign that he noted as having an increased use of cluster bombs. In this lower-end estimate, only Western press sources were used for hard numbers, while heavy "reduction factors" were applied to Afghan government reports so that their estimates were reduced by as much as 75%.
- In his companion study, "Strange Victory: A critical appraisal of Operation Enduring Freedom and the Afghanistan war", released January 30, 2002, Conetta estimates that "at least" 3,200 more Afghans died by mid-January 2002, of "starvation, exposure, associated illnesses, or injury sustained while in flight from war zones", as a result of the US war and airstrikes.
- In similar numbers, a Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
review of US, British, and Pakistani newspapers and international wire services found that between 1,067 and 1,201 direct civilian deaths were reported by those news organizations during the five months from October 7, 2001 to February 28, 2002. This review excluded all civilian deaths in Afghanistan that did not get reported by US, British, or Pakistani news, excluded 497 deaths that did get reported in US, British, and Pakistani news but that were not specifically identified as civilian or military, and excluded 754 civilian deaths that were reported by the Taliban but not independently confirmed.
- According to Jonathan SteeleJonathan SteeleJonathan Steele is a British journalist, author of several books on international affairs.Jonathan Steele was educated at King's College, Cambridge and Yale University . He has reported on Afghanistan, Russia, Iraq, and other countries. He was Washington Bureau Chief, Moscow Bureau Chief, and...
of The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
between 20,000 and 49,600 people may have died of the consequences of the invasion by the spring of 2002.
- Pakistan: between 1467 and 2334 killed in U.S. drone attacks as of May 6, 2011
- Yemen
- Germany
- Two Airmen were killed, another two were wounded at Frankfurt AirportFrankfurt AirportFrankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...
by Arid Uka; they were en route to deployment to Afghanistan. - Somalia: 7,000+
- In December 2007, The Elman Peace and Human Rights Organization said it had verified 6,500 civilian deaths, 8,516 people wounded, and 1.5 million displaced from homes in MogadishuMogadishuMogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
alone during the year 2007. - USA
- Two radicals, John Allen MuhammadJohn Allen MuhammadJohn Allen Muhammad was a spree killer from the United States. He, along with his younger partner, Lee Boyd Malvo, carried out the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks, killing at least 10 people. Muhammad and Malvo were arrested in connection with the attacks on October 24, 2002, following tips from alert...
and Lee Boyd MalvoLee Boyd MalvoLee Boyd Malvo , is a spree killer convicted, along with John Allen Muhammad, of murders in connection with the Beltway sniper attacks, which took place in the Washington Metropolitan Area over a three-week period in October 2002...
, conducted sniper attacks in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and VirginiaBeltway sniper attacksThe Washington sniper attacks took place during three weeks in October 2002 in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Ten people were killed and three others critically injured in various locations throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area and along Interstate 95 in Virginia...
in October 2002. Ten people were killed and three others were critically wounded in those shootings. - June 1, 2009, Pvt. William Andrew Long was shot and killed by Abdulhakim Muhammad, while standing unarmed outside a recruiting facility in Little Rock AR.
- On November 5, 2009, Nidal Malik HasanNidal Malik HasanNidal Malik Hasan, USA is a United States Army officer and sole suspect in the November 5, 2009, Fort Hood shooting, which occurred less than a month before he would have deployed to Afghanistan....
, an Islamic extremist, shot and killed 13 people and wounded 30 others in Fort Hood, TexasFort Hood shootingThe Fort Hood shooting was a mass shooting that took place on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, the most populous U.S. military installation in the world, located just outside Killeen, Texas. In the course of the shooting, a single gunman killed 13 people and wounded 29 others...
.
Total American casualties from the War on Terror
(this includes fighting throughout the world
):
US Military Military A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g... killed |
5,921 |
US Military wounded Wounded in action Wounded in action describes soldiers who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during war time, but have not been killed. Typically it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing to fight.... |
42,673 |
US Civilians killed (includes 9/11 and after) | 3,000 + |
US Civilians wounded/injured | 6,000 + |
Total Americans killed (military and civilian) | 8,800 + |
Total Americans wounded/injured | 46,000 + |
Total American casualties | 54,800 + |
Costs
A March 2011 Congressional Research Service report, “The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11," analyzed the financial outlays that have been made for the conflicts during this nearly decade-long period. The report focuses on expenditures related to Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Afghanistan and other counter terror operations; Operation Noble Eagle (ONE), providing enhanced security at military bases; and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). The report’s total does not include supplementary economic, food and military aid to Pakistan or assistance to several countries in Africa. The report states that the price tag through fiscal year 2011 for such purposes as military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans’ health care will be $1.283 trillion. If the fiscal year budget for 2012 is approved, the total global security and conflict-related costs will be $1.415 trillion. If deployed troop levels come down to 45,000 by 2015 and stay there through 2021, the total two-decade cost is estimated to be $1.8 trillion.Criticism

, and infringe upon human rights
. Some argue that the term war is not appropriate in this context, since they believe there is no identifiable enemy, and that it is unlikely international terrorism can be brought to an end by military means. The Director of Public Prosecutions
and head of the Crown Prosecution Service
in the United Kingdom, Ken McDonald has stated that those responsible for acts of terror such as the 7 July 2005 London bombings
are not "soldiers" in a war, but "inadequates" who should be dealt with by the criminal justice system. Other critics, such as Francis Fukuyama
, note that "terrorism
" is not an enemy but a tactic; calling it a "war on terror" obscures differences between conflicts.
The term terrorism has been characterized as unacceptably vague. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
stated that there is lack of agreement on a definition of terrorism and that has proven to be an obstacle to meaningful international countermeasures. It proceeds to declare that "Some have often commented that one state's 'terrorist' is another state's 'freedom fighter'". Governments in Iran
, Lebanon
, and Venezuela
consistently use the term "terrorism" to describe actions taken by the United States. The use of state terrorism by the US and the inherent hypocrisy of the term have been commented upon by Americans as well, including 3 star general William Odom, formerly President Reagan's NSA
Director, who wrote:
"As many critics have pointed out, terrorism is not an enemy. It is a tactic. Because the United States itself has a long record of supporting terrorists and
using terrorist tactics, the slogans of today's war on terrorism merely makes the United States look hypocritical to the rest of the world. A prudent American president would end the present policy of "sustained hysteria" over potential terrorist attacks..treat terrorism as a serious but not a strategic problem, encourage Americans to regain their confidence, and refuse to let al Qaeda keep us in a state of fright."
Further criticism maintains that the War on Terror provides a framework for perpetual war
; the announcement of such open-ended goals produces a state of endless conflict, since "terrorist groups" can continue to arise indefinitely. George W. Bush pledged that the War on Terror "will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, and defeated". During a July 2007 visit to the United States, newly appointed British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
defined the War on Terror, specifically the element involving conflict with al-Qaeda, as "a generational battle".
The War on Terror has been criticized as inefficient, with a number of security experts, politicians, and policy organizations having claimed that the War on Terror has been counterproductive, that it has consolidated opposition to the US, aided terrorist recruitment, and increased the likelihood of attacks against the US and its allies. In a 2005 briefing paper, the Oxford Research Group
reported that "Al-Qaida and its affiliates remain active and effective, with a stronger support base and a higher intensity of attacks than before 9/11. ...Far from winning the 'war on terror', the second George W. Bush administration
is maintaining policies that are not curbing paramilitary movements and are actually increasing violent anti-Americanism." On September 19, 2008, the RAND
Corporation presented the results of a comprehensive study for "Defeating Terrorist Groups" before the United States House Armed Services Committees, which said that "by far the most effective strategy against religious groups has been the use of local police and intelligence services, which were responsible for the end of 73 percent of [terrorist] groups since 1968." The RAND Corporation recommended "[The US military] should generally resist being drawn into combat operations in Muslim countries where its presence is likely to increase terrorist recruitment." They stated that "moving away from military references would indicate that there was no battlefield solution to countering terrorism."
Others have criticized the US for double standard
s in its dealings with key allies that are also known to support terrorist groups, such as Pakistan
. Afghan
President Hamid Karzai
has repeatedly stated that in the "war against terrorism," “the central front is Pakistan"; Pakistan has also been alleged to provide Taliban operatives with covert support via the ISI
. These accusations of double dealing apply to civil liberties and human rights as well as terrorism. According to the Federation of American Scientists
, "[i]n its haste to strengthen the "frontline" states' ability to confront transnational terrorist threats on their soil, and to gain the cooperation of regimes of geostrategic significance to the next phases of the "War on Terrorism", the administration is disregarding normative restrictions on US aid to human rights abusers."
Amnesty International
has argued that the Patriot Act gives the US government free rein to violate the constitutional rights of citizens. The Bush administration's use of torture and alleged use of extraordinary rendition
and secret prisons have all fueled opposition to the War on Terror.

, international support of the War on Terror has also faced a substantial decline, both in public opinion and by foreign state officials. In 2002, strong majorities supported the US-led War on Terror in Britain, France
, Germany
, Japan
, India
, and Russia
. By 2006, supporters of the effort were in the minority in Britain (49%), France (43%), Germany (47%), and Japan (26%). Although a majority of Russians still supported the War on Terror, that majority had decreased by 21%. Whereas 63% of the Spanish population supported the War on Terror in 2003, only 19% of the population indicated support in 2006. 19% of the Chinese population supports the War on Terror, and less than a fifth of the populations of Turkey
, Egypt
, and Jordan
support the effort. The report of the Pew Research Center also indicates that the Indian public support for the War on Terror has been stable. Andrew Kohut, speaking to the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, noted that, according to the Pew Research Center
polls conducted in 2004, "majorities or pluralities in seven of the nine countries surveyed said the US-led war on terror was not really a sincere effort to reduce international terrorism. This was true not only in Muslim countries such as Morocco and Turkey, but in France and Germany as well. The true purpose of the war on terror, according to the people surveyed, is American control of Middle East oil and US domination of the world."
Stella Rimington
, former head of the British intelligence service MI5
, has criticized the war on terror as a "huge overreaction", and had decried the militarization and politicization of the US efforts as being the wrong approach to terrorism. In January 2009, the British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband
, wrote that "ultimately, the notion is misleading and mistaken" and later said "Historians will judge whether [the notion] has done more harm than good".
Role of US media
Researchers in the area of communication studies and political science have found that American understanding of the war on terror is directly shaped by how the mainstream news media reports events associated with the war on terror. In Bush’s War: Media Bias and Justifications for War in a Terrorist Agepolitical communication researcher Jim A. Kuypers
illustrated "how the press failed America in its coverage on the War on Terror." In each comparison, Kuypers "detected massive bias on the part of the press." The researcher called the mainstream news media an "anti-democratic institution" in his conclusion. The findings of the research suggest that the public is misinformed about government justification and plans concerning the war on terror.
Others have also suggested that press coverage has contributed to a public confused and misinformed on both the nature and level of the threat to the US posed by terrorism. In his book Trapped in the War on Terror
political scientist Ian S. Lustick states "the media have given constant attention to possible terrorist-initiated catastrophes and to the failures and weaknesses of the government's response." Lustick alleged that the War on Terror is disconnected from the real but remote threat terrorism poses, and that the generalized War on Terror began as part of the justification for invading Iraq, but then took on a life of its own, fueled by media coverage.
Media researcher Stephen D. Cooper’s analysis of media criticism Watching the Watchdog: Bloggers As the Fifth Estate
contains many examples of controversies concerning mainstream reporting of the War on Terror. Cooper found that bloggers' criticisms of factual inaccuracies in news stories or bloggers’ discovery of the mainstream press's failure to adequately check facts before publication caused many news organizations to retract or change news stories.
David Barstow
won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting
by connecting the Department of Defense to over 75 retired generals supporting the Iraq War on TV and radio networks. The Department of Defense recruited the retired generals to sell the war to the American public. Barstow also discovered undisclosed links between some retired generals and defense contractors. Barstow reported "the Bush administration used its control over access of information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse."
See also
- Axis of evilAxis of evil"Axis of evil" is a term initially used by the former United States President George W. Bush in his State of the Union Address on January 29, 2002 and often repeated throughout his presidency, describing governments that he accused of helping terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction...
- Black siteBlack siteIn military terminology, a black site is a location at which an unacknowledged black project is conducted. Recently, the term has gained notoriety in describing secret prisons operated by the United States Central Intelligence Agency , generally outside of U.S. territory and legal jurisdiction. It...
s (CIA secret detention centers) - Bush DoctrineBush DoctrineThe Bush Doctrine is a phrase used to describe various related foreign policy principles of former United States president George W. Bush. The phrase was first used by Charles Krauthammer in June 2001 to describe the Bush Administration's unilateral withdrawals from the ABM treaty and the Kyoto...
- Foreign policy of the United States
- Pakistan – United States relationsPakistan – United States relationsPakistan – United States relations refers to the bilateral relationship between the Pakistan and the United States. The United States first established diplomatic relations with Pakistan on 20 October 1947. The relationship since then was based primarily on U.S. economic and military assistance to...
- State Sponsors of Terrorism
- Timeline of United States military operations
- Targeted killingTargeted killingTargeted killing is the deliberate, specific targeting and killing, by a government or its agents, of a supposed terrorist or of a supposed "unlawful combatant" who is not in that government's custody...