War on terror

War on Terrorism
File:Army.mil-2006-12-21-110829.jpg Soldiers patrol the streets of Adhamiya, a neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq.
Date October 7, 2001 - (conflict still ongoing) Location Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, more... Result Conflict ongoing
Belligerents
Participants in Operations: United States United Kingdom Turkey South Korea Australia Canada Israel Spain Pakistan Afghanistan Italy Philippines Jordan Saudi Arabia NATO Iraq Kurdish forces Ethiopia Transitional Federal Parliament and others	Targets of Operations: al-Qaeda Taliban Ba'athist Iraq Ba'ath Loyalists Iraqi insurgency File:Flag of Hezbollah.svg Hezbollah Waziristan File:Somalia Islamic Courts Flag.svg Islamic Courts Union Mahdi Army Jemaah Islamiyah Abu Sayyaf

The War on Terrorism, War on Terror or Long War can refer to several distinct conflicts, but it is most recently the name given by the United States of America and its allies[28] to an ongoing campaign with the stated goal of "ending international terrorism," launched in direct response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., for which al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.

The campaign's stated goals include preventing those groups identified as "terrorist" by the United States (largely focused on militant Islamist groups such as al Qaeda and its affiliates) from carrying out attacks and posing a threat to America and its allies; "spreading freedom" and liberal democracy; and putting an end to state sponsorship of terrorism in so-called rogue and failed states, beginning with Operation Active Endeavor, NATO's anti-terrorism response to the trafficking of weapons. It was followed with the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, which had sheltered elements of al Qaeda including its leader, Osama Bin Laden.

The War on Terrorism was launched by U.S. President George W. Bush, with support from NATO and other allies. The "War on Terror" has taken many forms, such as diplomacy, going after "terrorist financing", domestic provisions aiming to prevent future attacks, and joint training and peacekeeping operations with a wide variety of nations.

The phrase Global War on Terrorism (or GWOT) is the official name used by the U.S. military for operations designated as part of the campaign. Thus, the "War on Terror" as defined by this article is largely a military effort, and has been compared in both its unspecified, continuing duration and its multiple theaters of operation, to the Cold War. The war is also characterized as an ideological struggle, "involving both a battle of arms and a battle of ideas," and some have characterized it as a "clash of civilizations". Although the U.S.-led coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003 and toppled President Saddam Hussein was made up of allies in the "War on Terror", the current Iraq war and its alleged links to the larger campaign against terrorism have been highly controversial. The Bush Administration has been accused of acting in violation of international law, human rights, and the U.S. Constitution in its execution of the campaign, particularly with regard to the internment of prisoners of war (or "illegal combatants") in its military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

The U.S. government's articulation of military doctrines such as pre-emptive war and "regime change" as part of the War on Terror, as well as Bush and Blair's justifications for the war, have also been controversial. Both the larger concept of a "War on Terrorism", and the specific tactics used, have been subject to widespread criticism outside of the United States, and world opinion polls have shown limited support even in some nations whose governments and militaries are supportive. In addition, according to the U.S. government's own measures, international terrorist incidents have been on the rise since the campaign began. However, the U.S. and allies have claimed victories, such as democratic elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the capture of alleged 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The War on Terrorism has resulted in high military casualties on both sides, as well as high civilian casualties, although very few United States civilians have been killed other than those who died on 9/11, and is a "long war" whose planners expect it to continue for the foreseeable future.

In 2006, the British Foreign Office advised the government to stop using the phrase "War on Terror". A spokesperson for the department said the government wanted to "avoid reinforcing and giving succour to the terrorists' narrative by using language that, taken out of context, could be counter-productive".[29]

Overview

See also: Terrorism and List of terrorist incidents

Terrorist organizations had carried out attacks on the US and its allies throughout the latter part of the 20th century, prompting occasional responses. Following the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, United States President Bill Clinton launched Operation Infinite Reach, a bombing campaign in Sudan and Afghanistan against targets associated with Al-Qaeda. In October of 2000 the USS Cole bombing occurred, followed by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The latter attacks created an immediate demand throughout the United States for a decisive response. It has, however, been argued that the "decisive response" caused still more deaths through collateral damage. There are two notable absences in the war on terror, that of Russia and China, who are not officially working with the United States and its allies.

Historical usage of phrase

The phrase "War on Terrorism" was first widely used by the Western press to refer to the attempts by Russian and European governments, and eventually the U.S. government, to stop attacks by anarchists against international political leaders. (See, for example, New York Times, April 2 1881.) Many of the anarchists described themselves as "terrorists", and the term had a positive valence for them at the time. When Russian Marxist Vera Zasulich shot and wounded a Russian police commander who was known to torture suspects on 24 January 1878, for example, she threw down her weapon without killing him, announcing, "I am a terrorist, not a killer".

The next time the phrase gained currency was when it was used to describe the efforts by the British colonial government to end a spate of Jewish attacks in the British Mandate of Palestine in the late 1940s. The British proclaimed a "War on Terrorism" and attempted to crack down on Irgun, Lehi, and anyone perceived to be cooperating with them. The Jewish attacks, Arab attacks and revolts, and the subsequent British crackdown hastened the British evacuation from Palestine. The phrase was also used frequently by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.

Operative definition in U.S. foreign policy

The United States has defined terrorism under the Federal Criminal Code. Chapter 113B of Part I of Title 18 of the Code defines terrorism and lists the crimes associated with it. In Section 2331 of Chapter 113b, terrorism is defined as:

"..activities that involve violent... <or life-threatening acts>... that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State and... appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and ...<if domestic>...(C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States...<if international>...(C) occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States..."

With respect to defining his policy known as the War on Terror, President Bush has stated that:

"...today's war on terror is like the Cold War. It is an ideological struggle with an enemy that despises freedom and pursues totalitarian aims....I vowed then that I would use all assets of our power to win the war on terror. And so I said we were going to stay on the offense two ways: one, hunt down the enemy and bring them to justice, and take threats seriously; and two, spread freedom".

Objective and strategies

The United States has based its counterterrorism strategy on several steps:

1. Defeat terrorists and their organizations.
2. Identify, locate and destroy terrorists along with their organizations.
3. Deny sponsorship, support and sanctuary to terrorists.
   1. End the state sponsorship of terrorism.
   2. Establish and maintain an international standard of accountability with regard to combating terrorism.
   3. Strengthen and sustain the international effort to fight terrorism.
   4. :Working with willing and able states.
   5. :Enabling weak states.
   6. :Persuading reluctant states.
   7. :Compelling unwilling states.
   8. Interdict and disrupt material support for terrorists.
   9. Eliminate terrorist sanctuaries and havens.
4. Diminishing the underlying conditions that terrorists seek to exploit.
   1. Partner with the international community to strengthen weak states and prevent (re)emergence of terrorism.
   2. Win the war of ideals.
5. Defend U.S. citizens and interests at home and abroad.
   1. Implement the Nation Strategy for Homeland Security
   2. Attain domain awareness
   3. Enhance measures to ensure the integrity, reliability, and availability of critical physical and information-based infrastructures at home and abroad.
   4. Integrate measures to protect U.S. citizens abroad.
   5. Ensure an integrated incident management capability.

Campaigns and theatres of operations

Main article: War on Terrorism - Theaters of operation

Africa

Horn of Africa

Main article: Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of Africa

Main article: War in Somalia (2006–present)

File:Dragunov on range.jpg

Combined Joint Task Force training in Ethiopia.

This extension of Operation Enduring Freedom, titled OEF-HOA, was initiated in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Unlike other operations contained in Operation Enduring Freedom, OEF-HOA does not have a specific terrorist organization as a target. OEF-HOA instead focuses its efforts to disrupt and detect terrorist activities in the region and to work with host nations to prevent the reemergence of terrorist cells and activities.

In October 2002, the Combined Joint Task Force, Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) was established in Djibouti at Camp Le Monier. It contains approximately 2,000 personnel including U.S. military and Special Operations Forces (SOF) and coalition force members, Coalition Task Force 150 (CTF-150). The coalition force members consist of ships from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Pakistan, New Zealand, Spain 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 areas of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Included in the operation is the training of selected armed forces units of the countries of Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency tactics. Humanitarian efforts conducted by CJTF-HOA include rebuilding of schools and medical clinics as well as providing medical services to those countries whose forces are being trained. The program expands as part of the Trans-Saharan Counter Terrorism Initiative as CJTF personnel also assist in training the forces of Chad, Niger, Mauritania and Mali. However, the War on Terror does not include Sudan, where over 400,000 have died due to state-sponsored terrorism.

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 states that his 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 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 20th, 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 26th, the Islamic Courts Union went into a "tactical retreat" towards Mogadishu, before again retreating as TFG/Ethiopian troops neared, leading them to take Mogadishu with no resistance. The ICU then fled to Kismayo, where they are currently fighting Ethiopian/TFG forces in the Battle of Jilib. The Prime Minister of Somalia claims that 3 terror suspects from the 1998 Embassy Bombings are being sheltered in Kismayo. [30]

Europe

Main article: Operation Active Endeavour

Beginning in October 2001, Operation Active Endeavour is a naval operation of NATO started in response to the 9/11 attacks. It operates in the Mediterranean Sea and is designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction as well as to enhance the security of shipping in general. The operation has also assisted Greece with the prevention of illegal immigration.

Middle East

Iraq

Main articles: Iraq War and 2003 invasion of Iraq

Iraq had been listed as a State Sponsor of Terror by the United States since 1990, and maintained poor relations with the United States since the Gulf War. Tensions were high throughout the 1990's, with the United States launching Operation Desert Fox against Iraq in 1998 after it failed to meet demands of "unconditional cooperation" in weapons inspections. After the September 11 attacks, the U.S. government claimed that Iraq was a threat to the United States because Iraq could begin to use its alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction to aid terrorist groups. Iraq had no role in the September 11 attacks and had no known history of a significant working relationship with Al Qaeda. The George W. Bush administration called for the United Nations Security Council to send weapons inspectors to Iraq to find and destroy alleged weapons of mass destruction and 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, thus Resolution 1441 had no effect on the UN Charter's prohibition on the use of force by member states against fellow member states. Saddam Hussein subsequently allowed UN inspectors to access Iraqi sites, while the U.S. government continued to assert that Iraq was being obstructionist. [31] In October 2002, 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, the United States assembled a "Coalition of the Willing" composed of nations who pledged support for a war against Iraq. On March 20th, 2003, the invasion of Iraq was launched in what the Bush Administration said were the "serious consequences" spoken of in UNSC Resolution 1441.

US Soldiers patrol the streets of a civilian neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq.

Training Iraqi Police - a Staff Sgt. congratulates an Iraqi police officer on his marksmanship at the Camp Rustamiyah range.

Saddam Hussein's regime was quickly toppled and on May 1, 2003, George W. Bush stated major combat operations in Iraq had ended and claimed victory in Iraq. [32] But the war continued on as an insurgency against the U.S.-led coalition forces and the Iraqi police units and governing structures they installed. Elements of the insurgency are led by Sunni loyalists, who are Iraqi nationalists and pan-arabists. Some insurgency leaders are strict Muslims and see themselves as fighting a religious war to liberate Iraq of foreign non-Muslim occupiers and their Iraqi collaborators. [33] Nearly 3,000 soldiers from the coalition have been killed, with an estimated 67,000 Insurgents killed or detained. [34] Several estimates of the number of civilians killed as a result of the conflict exist. A published Johns Hopkins University Study estimates approximately 650,000 Iraqi "excess" deaths as of July 2006 because of the war and the upheaval caused by the war. See, Casualties of the conflict in Iraq since 2003. In a classified memo (dated November 6, 2006) to President Bush, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld revealed that he felt the military strategy in Iraq was ineffective and needed change.. At a news conference with the British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Washington on 6 December 2006, President George W. Bush commented the Iraq Study Group's report and admitted for the first time that a "new approach" is needed in Iraq, that the situation in Iraq is "bad there" and that the task ahead was "daunting". Mr Bush said he would not accept every recommendation by the ISG panel but promised that he would take the report seriously. Mr Bush is expected to wait for three other studies from the Pentagon, the US State Department and the National Security Council before charting the new course on Iraq.

Lebanon

Main article: 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

In July 2006, following the killing of three Israeli soldiers and the taking prisoner of two more by Hezbollah, Israel invaded southern Lebanon, intent on the destruction of Hezbollah. The conflict lasted over a month and caused the deaths of between 845 and 1300 Lebanese and 163 Israelis (119 military and 44 civilian) and wounding thousands more Israelis and Lebanese. Both the Lebanese government (including Hezbollah) and the Israeli government have agreed to the terms of the ceasefire agreement created by the United Nations that began at 0500 on August 14, 2006. While the conflict is associated with the longer running Arab-Israeli conflict, prior to the declaration of the ceasefire, Israel stated it was fighting a war against terror, the US government stated the conflict was also a front in the "War on Terrorism" and President Bush reiterated it in a speech the day the ceasefire came into effect.

Saudi Arabia

Main article: Insurgency in Saudi Arabia

South Asia

Afghanistan

Main article: 2001 war in Afghanistan

Soldiers in south-eastern Afghanistan check their coordinates during a combat patrol.

In October 2001, in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, the US and some of its allies invaded the country of Afghanistan to remove al-Qaeda forces and oust the Taliban regime which had control of the country. On September 20, 2001 George W. Bush delivered an ultimatum to the Taliban regime to turn over Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda leaders operating in the country. The Taliban demanded evidence of bin Laden's link to the September 11th attacks and, if such evidence warranted a trial, they offered to handle such trial in an Islamic Court. On October 7, 2001 the official invasion began with British and American forces conducting aerial bombing campaigns.

Pakistan

The Saudi born Zayn al-Abidn Muhammed Hasayn Abu Zubaydah was arrested by Pakistani officials during a series of joint US and Pakistan raids during the week of March 23, 2002. During the raid the suspect was shot three times while trying to escape capture by military personnel. Zubaydah is said to be a high-ranking al-Qaeda official with the title of operations chief and in charge of running al-Qaeda training camps.[35] Later that year on September 14, 2002, Ramzi Binalshibh was arrested in Pakistan after a three-hour gunfight with police forces. Binalshibh is known to have shared a room with Mohammad Atta in Hamburg, Germany and to be a financial backer of al-Qaeda operations. It is said Binalshibh was supposed to be another hijacker, however the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rejected his visa application three times, leaving him to the role of financier. The trail of money transferred by Binalshibh from Germany to the United States links both Mohammad Atta and Zacarias Moussaoui.[36]

On March 1, 2003, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was arrested during CIA-led raids on the suburb of Rawalpindi, nine miles outside of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. Mohammed 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 11th attacks. Escaping capture the week before during a previous raid, the Pakistani government was able to use information gathered from other suspects captured to locate and detain Mohammed. Mohammed was indicted in 1996 by the United States government for links to the Oplan Bojinka, a plot to bomb a series of U.S. civilian airliners. Other events Mohammed has been linked to include: ordering the killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, the USS Cole bombing, Richard Reid's attempt to blow up a civilian airliner with a shoe bomb, and the terrorist attack at the El Ghriba synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed has described himself as the head of the al-Qaeda military committee[37].

Amidst all this, Pakistan has been accused by NATO commanding officers of aiding and abetting the Taliban in Afghanistan. India, meanwhile continues to accuse Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence of planning several terrorist attacks in Kashmir and elsewhere in India, including the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings. Many other countries like Afghanistan and the UK have also accused Pakistan of State-sponsored terrorism and financing terrorism.

Waziristan

Main article: Waziristan War

In 2004 the Pakistani 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 Shaikh Mohammed, wanted for his involvement in the USS Cole bombing, Oplan Bojinka plot and the killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. However, the Taliban resistance still operates in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas under the control of Haji Omar.

Southeast Asia

Indonesia

Main articles: 2002 Bali bombing, 2004 Jakarta embassy bombing, and 2005 Bali bombing

File:Australian embassy bombing flag.jpg

Australian Embassy in Jakarta after September 9, 2004 suicide bombing.

In 2002 and again in 2005, the Indonesian island of Bali has been struck by suicide and car bombings that killed over 200 people and injured over 300. The 2002 attack consisted of a bomb hidden in a backpack exploding inside of "Padds's Bar", a remote controlled car bomb exploding in front of the "Sari Club" and a third explosion in front of the American consulate in Bali. The 2005 attack consisted of 2 suicide bombings, the first near a food court in Jimbaran, the second in the main square of Kuta. The group Jemaah Islamiyah is suspected by Indonesian authorities of carrying out both attacks.

On September 9, 2004 a car bomb exploded outside of the Australian embassy in Jakarta, killing 10 Indonesians and injuring over 140 others; despite conflicting initial reports there were no Australian casualties. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer reported that a mobile phone text message was sent to Indonesian authorities before the bombing warning of attacks if Abu Bakar Bashir was not released from prison. Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was imprisoned on charged of treason for his support of the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings. Currently Jemaah Islamiyah is suspected of carrying out the attacks and Noordin Mohammed Top is a prime suspect. Top is a bomb maker and explosions expert for Jemaah Islamiyah.

Philippines

Main article: Operation Enduring Freedom - Philippines

In January 2002 the United States Special Operations Command, Pacific deployed to the Philippines to advise and assist the Armed Forces of the Philippines in combating terrorism. 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 United States military has reported that they have removed over 80% of the Abu Sayyaf Group members from the region. 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 to prevent the ability for members of the terrorist groups to reestablish themselves.

International support

On September 12, 2001, less than 24 hours after the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, 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 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.

The invasion of Afghanistan is seen as the first action of this war, and initially involved forces from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Afghani Northern Alliance. Since the initial invasion period, these forces have been augmented by troops from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway. It was announced on January 27 2006 in the British Parliament that a NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) would be replacing the U.S troops in the province as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The British 16th Air Assault Brigade would be the core of the force in Southern Afghanistan, along with troops and helicopters from Australia, Canada and the Netherlands. The force will consist of roughly 3,300 British, 2,000 Canadian, 1,400 from the Netherlands and 240 from Australia. Canada also supported coalition efforts in Operation Archer, Operation Apollo, Operation Altair, and Operation Athena as part of the ongoing support for Operation Enduring Freedom. The Canadian government however, does not recognize Iraq as part of the informal network of support for the attacks of 9/11 and as such, has declined to send Forces to that theatre of operations, although scores of them are on assignment to US Forces - mostly assisting in AWACS operations. See the article Afghanistan War order of battle for the current disposition of coalition forces in Afghanistan.

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 U.S.-led military action have sent troops to Afghanistan, particular neighbouring Pakistan, which has disowned its earlier support for the Taliban and contributed tens of thousands of soldiers to the conflict. Pakistan is also currently engaged in the Waziristan War. Supported by US intelligence, Pakistan is attempting to remove the Taliban insurgency and al-Qaeda element from the northern tribal areas.

U.S. domestic initiatives

United States Customs and Border Protection officers.

Further information: [[:Detentions following the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack]]

A $40 billion emergency spending bill was passed by the United States Congress, and an additional $20 billion bail-out of the airline industry was also passed.

Investigations have been started through many branches of many governments, pursuing tens of thousands of tips. Thousands of people have been detained, arrested, or questioned.

The Justice Department launched a Special Registration procedure for certain male non-citizens in the U.S., requiring them to register in person at offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Several laws were passed to increase the investigative powers of law enforcement agencies in the United States, notably the USA PATRIOT Act. Many civil liberties groups have alleged that these laws remove important restrictions on governmental authority, and are a dangerous encroachment on civil liberties, possible unconstitutional violations of the Fourth Amendment. No official legal challenges have been started as of 2004, but 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 American Civil Liberties Union quoted Justice Department figures showing that 7,000 people have complained of abuse of the Act. The ACLU also maintains that many others do not know they have been subjected to a search because the law requires that searches be kept secret.

DARPA began an initiative in early 2002 with the creation of the Terrorism Information Awareness program, designed to promote information technologies that could be used to counter transnational threats to national security. This program, facing criticism, has since been defunded by Congress.

Various government bureaucracies which handled security and military functions were reorganized. Most notably, the Department of Homeland Security was created to coordinate "homeland security" efforts in the largest reorganization of the U.S. federal government since the consolidation of the armed forces into the Department of Defense. There was a proposal to create an Office of Strategic Influence for the purpose of coordinating propaganda efforts, but it was cancelled due to negative reactions. The Bush administration implemented the Continuity of Operations Plan (or Continuity of Government) to ensure that U.S. government would be able to continue in catastrophic circumstances.

U.S. media influences

One area often ignored concerning the understanding Americans have about the war on terror involves the role the mainstream news media plays. In Bush’s War: Media Bias and Justifications for War in a Terrorist Age Political Communication researcher Jim A. Kuypers illustrates “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.” In fact, this researcher called the mainstream news media an “anti-democratic institution” in his conclusion. “What has essentially happened since 9/11 has been that Bush has repeated the same themes, and framed those themes the same whenever discussing the War on Terror,” said Kuypers. “Immediately following 9/11, the mainstream news media (represented by CBS, ABC, NBC, USA Today, New York Times, and Washington Post) did echo Bush, but within eight weeks it began to intentionally ignore certain information the president was sharing, and instead reframed the president's themes or intentionally introduced new material to shift the focus.”

This goes beyond reporting alternate points of view, which is an important function of the press. “In short,” Kuypers explained, “if someone were relying only on the mainstream media for information, they would have no idea what the president actually said. It was as if the press were reporting on a different speech.” The study is essentially a “comparative framing analysis.” Overall, Kuypers examined themes about 9/11 and the War on Terror that the President used, and compared them to the themes that the press used when reporting on what the President said.

“Framing is a process whereby communicators, consciously or unconsciously, act to construct a point of view that encourages the facts of a given situation to be interpreted by others in a particular manner,” wrote Kuypers. At the core of the book are these questions: What did President Bush talk about, and how did he want us to think about it? What did the mainstream news media talk about following President Bush’s speeches, and how did they want us to think about it? The answers to such questions lead one to consider the role the mainstream news played in developing Americans’ understanding of the war on terror. For example, in his November 2005 commemoration of Veteran’s Day, the President publicly attacked his Democrat critics over their remarks on the War on Terror. However, the President also laid out his administration's specific plans for Iraq and the War on Terror in this speech. Americans would not know this, however, unless they actually listened to or read the President’s speech; the press failed to mention that portion of the speech (roughly 85% of the entire speech). Additionally, in the coverage that followed this speech, the press demanded the very information war plans that the President had shared in the speech.

Military decorations

Since 2002, the United States military, has created several military awards and decorations related to the "War on Terrorism" including:

• "Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal"
• "Afghanistan Campaign Medal"
• "Iraq Campaign Medal"
• "Global War on Terrorism Service Medal"

The US Department of Transportation created two awards related to the "War on Terrorism" which are authorized to be worn on U.S. military uniforms:

• "9-11 Medal"
• "9-11 Ribbon"

NATO has also created military decorations related to the "War on Terrorism":

• Article 5 NATO Medal
• Non-Article 5 ISAF NATO Medal

Criticisms of the "War on Terrorism"

Main article: Criticisms of the War on Terrorism

Some have criticized the name "War on Terrorism," by arguing you cannot have a war against a tactic — you can only have a war with a country or an entity[38] (such as against Germany in World War Two, or possibly against an organisation such as al Qaeda). In addition, since "terrorism" is difficult to define (for example, the United Nations still has not reached consensus on a definition of "terrorism") a "War Against Terrorism" has no uncontroversial meaning. Further, this criticism that the title is a misnomer is linked to the argument that "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". It has also been noted that by openly declaring "war" on terrorism, this could be read as entitling any terrorists to engage in militant or offensive acts of war with some legitimacy.

It should be noted that, since the 1960s the United States government has declared several "wars" on intangible concepts. There was, or is, the War on Poverty, the War on Drugs, the "War on Inflation" (better known as the Whip Inflation Now Campaign), Richard Nixon's declared "War on Cancer", and a general "War on Crime". These programs have met with varying success although, particularly in the case of drugs, have led to a great increase in federal law enforcement activities.

Others have criticized the War on Terrorism as counterproductive. British Liberal Democrat politician Shirley Williams writes that the American and United Kingdom governments "must stop to think whether it is sowing the kind of resentment which is the seedbed of future terrorism". The United Kingdom ambassador to Italy, Ivor Roberts, said that U.S. President Bush is "the best recruiting sergeant ever for al Qaeda". Brigitte L. Nacos has published research indicating a correlation between increases in terrorism alert levels and increases in Bush's poll ratings. Referring to her study of terrorism alerts, media coverage and Bush's popularity, journalist Matthew Stannard wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle that "The media will repeat the president's remarks. Public fear of terrorism will increase. And the president's poll numbers will rise." [39]

The very premise that the War on Terrorism intends to reduce or eliminate acts of terrorism is rejected by some who claim it is an artifice that can be evoked when it is politically desirable and ignored otherwise. For instance, critics point out that many terror "suspects" are targeted without evidence while known anti-Cuba terrorists such as Luis Posada Carriles and Roberto Ferro are spared.

Civilian deaths caused by United States and Coalition military action have been criticized. Estimates of civilian deaths vary greatly. Within Iraq, these estimates are between 4,000 to 655,000. The United States Department of Defense claims that it does not record the deaths of non-Coalition persons, a so-called "body count". Estimates prominently cited have come from IraqBodyCount, a database of deaths reported on the mass media; the Iraqi Ministry of Health; and the two independent reports both entitled "Mortality before and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq" in The Lancet. In any estimate, non-Coalition civilian deaths exceed those of the United States in the attacks of September 11 2001 from which the "war on terrorism" began.

U.S. President George W. Bush articulated the goals of the "War on Terrorism" in a September 20, 2001 speech, in which he said it "will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated". Critics argue that such goals create a state of perpetual war, and that "terrorist groups" could continue to arise indefinitely. Ira Chernus, professor at the University of Colorado, argues that the ideology underlying the war on terrorism inevitably leads to a state of perpetual war, because it is based on Bush's domestic crusade against sin and evil. Giorgio Agamben, the Italian philosopher, has also offered a critique of the logic of pre-emptive war.

Others have criticized the double standards of the US when dealing with countries known to support terrorism, but are yet key allies, like Pakistan. Apart from India and several states like UK stating that Pakistan is involved in state sponsored terrorism in Kashmir, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly stated that in the war against terrorism, “the central front is Pakistan”, and several eminent authors stating that Pakistan was covertly supporting the Taliban via the ISI.

In December 2006 it was reported that the British Foreign Office had asked British government ministers to abandon the phrase "War on Terror" because of its perceived role in increasing tensions with the Islamic world.

Use of the term "Global War on Terror" might also be a euphemism or diversion from calling the conflict a "World War on Terrorism," which is alleged by those who assert that the current conflict of the powerful western states against radical Islamists, or more broadly anti-western terrorist organizations comprises World War IV. Many people have also feared that this war could esculate into a third world war (World War III) of sorts. Though recents events have shown this to be unlikely.

Casualties

Killed in the war on terrorism

There is no widely agreed on figure for the number of people that have been killed so far in the war on terrorism:

• Iraq - between 396,185 and 945,842

• 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 51,071 civilian deaths reported in the mass media up to 13 December 2006 according to IraqBodyCount.
• 100,000 to 150,000 estimated civilian deaths in hospitals according to the Iraqi Health Ministry in November 2006, based on extrapolating current rate of death back to March 2003.
• 3,000 US military dead. 22,401 wounded in action, of which 10,050 were unable to return to duty within 72 hours. 6,640 non-hostile injuries and 18,183 diseases (both requiring medical air transport).
• 249 Coalition military dead. Breakdown: Australia 2. Bulgaria 13. Denmark 6. El Salvador 5. Estonia 2. Hungary 1. Italy 33. Kazakhstan 1. Latvia 3. Netherlands 2. Poland 18. Romania 2. Slovakia 4. Spain 11. Thailand 2. Ukraine 18. United Kingdom 126.

• Afghanistan - between 1,300 and 49,600

• According to Marc W. Herold, up to 3,600 civilians were killed as a result of US bombing.
• Joshua Muravchik of the American Enterprise Institute and Carl Conetta of the Project on Defense Alternatives question Herold's heavy use of the Afghan Islamic Press, "suspicious" tallies of other news agencies, and statistical errors in Herold's study [40]. Conetta's study puts total civilian casualties between 1000 and 1300
• A Los Angeles Times study put the number of collateral dead between 1,067 and 1,201.
• According to Jonathan Steele of The Guardian between 20,000 and 49,600 people may have died of the consequences of the invasion.

• Turkey - 1,474
• Lebanon - 1,347
• Philippines - 1,158
• Indonesia - 620

Further reading

• Kuypers, Jim A. Bush’s War: Media Bias and Justifications for War in a Terrorist Age, ISBN 0-7425-3653-X
• Brian Michael Jenkins, Unconquerable Nation, RAND Corporation, Fall 2006, ISBN 0-8330-3893-1 and 0833038915
• Igmade (Stephan Trüby et al., eds.), 5 Codes: Architecture, Paranoia and Risk in Times of Terror, Birkhäuser; 2006, ISBN 3-7643-7598-1
• Richard Clarke, Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror, Free Press; 2004, ISBN 0-7432-6024-4
• Ira Chernus. Monsters To Destroy: The Neoconservative War on Terror and Sin. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2006 ISBN 1-59451-276-0
• Michael Scheuer, Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror, ISBN 1-57488-849-8
• FROM 'COLD WAR' TO 'FULL-SPECTRUM DOMINANCE', on the MagMa Report
• Michelle Malkin, In Defense Of Internment: The Case for Racial Profiling in World War II and the War on terror, September, 2004, National Book Network, hardcover, 416 pages, ISBN 0-89526-051-4
• Steven Emerson (2002), American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us, Free Press; 2003 paperback edition, ISBN 0-7432-3435-9
• Lyal S. Sunga, (2002) US Anti-Terrorism Policy and Asia’s Options, in Johannen, Smith and Gomez, (eds.) September 11 & Political Freedoms: Asian Perspectives (Select) 242-264, ISBN 981-4022-24-1
• Marina Ottoway, et al., Democratic Mirage in the Middle East, Carnegie Endowment for Ethics and International Peace, Policy Brief 20, (October 20 2002). Internet, available online at: www.ceip.org/files/publications/HTMLBriefs-WP/20_October_2002_Policy_Brief/20009536v01.html
• Marina Ottoway and Thomas Carothers, Think Again: Middle East Democracy,Foreign Policy (Nov./Dec. 2004). Internet, available online at: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=2705&print=1
• Chris Zambelis, The Strategic Implications of Political Liberalization and Democratization in the Middle East, Parameters, (Autumn 2005). Internet, available online at: http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/05autumn/zambelis.htm
• Adnan M. Hayajneh, The U.S. Strategy: Democracy and Internal Stability in the Arab World,Alternatives (Volume 3, No. 2 & 3, Summer/Fall 2004). Internet, available online at: http://www.alternativesjournal.net/volume3/number2/adnan.htm
• Gary Gambill, Jumpstarting Arab Reform: The Bush Administration's Greater Middle East Initiative, Middle East Intelligence Bulletin (Vol. 6, No. 6-7, June/July 2004). Internet, available online at: http://www.meib.org/articles/0407_me2.htm
• Remarks by the President at the 20th Anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy, United States Chamber of Commerce, Washington, D.C., President Bush Discusses Freedom in Iraq and Middle East, (November 6 2003). Internet, available online at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/11/20031106-2.html
• Hans Köchler, Terrorism and National Liberation. Proceedings of the International Conference on the Question of Terrorism. Frankfurt a.M:/Bern/New York: Peter Lang, 1988, ISBN 3-8204-1217-4
• Hans Köchler, Manila Lectures 2002. Terrorism and the Quest for a Just World Order. Quezon City (Manila): FSJ Book World, 2002, ISBN 3-211-83091-X
• Hans Köchler, The War on Terror, its Impact on the Sovereignty of Nations, and its Implications on Human Rights and Civil Liberties, Manila, September 2002
• Hans Köchler, The United Nations and International Terrorism : Challenges to Collective Security, Shanghai, November 2002
• Robert Blecher, Free People Will Set the Course of History: Intellectuals, Democracy and American Empire, Middle East Report (March 2003). Internet, available online at: http://www.merip.org/mero/interventions/blecher_interv.html
• Robert Fisk, What Does Democracy Really Mean In The Middle East? Whatever The West Decides, The London Independent (August 8 2005). Internet, available online at: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9888.htm
• Fawaz Gergez, Is Democracy in the Middle East a Pipedream?,Yale Global Online (April 25 2005). Internet, available online at: http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=5622
• Donald Rumsfeld, Bureaucracy to Battlefield Speech, (September 10 2001) Internet, available online at: http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/2001/s20010910-secdef.html
• Leon Hadar, The Green Peril: Creating the Islamic Fundamentalist Threat, (August 27 1992) Internet, available online at: http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-177.html
• George W. Bush, A Period of Consequences, (September 23 1999) Internet, available online at: http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/program/news99/92399_defense.htm
• George W. Bush, A Distinctly American Internationalism, (November 19 1999) Internet, available online at: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/bush/wspeech.htm
• Nicholas Lemann, Dreaming About War, (July 16 2001) The New Yorker, Internet available online at: http://www.comw.org/qdr/0107lemann.html
• James Der Derian, The Illusion of a Grand Strategy, (May 25 2001) The New York Times, Internet available online at: http://www.comw.org/qdr/0105DerDerian1.html
• Paul Wolfowitz, Briefing on the Defense Planning Guidance, (August 16 2001), Internet, available online at: http://www.comw.org/qdr/fulltext/010816Wolfowitz.html
• Henry Shelton, Change, Troops and Transformation, (August 28 2001), Internet, available online at: http://www.hqusareur.army.mil/htmlinks/Press_Releases/2001/Aug/20010828-1.htm
• Project for the New American Century, Rebuilding America's Defenses, (September 2000), Internet, available online at: http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf
• Foreign Policy in Focus, The Bush Administration's Strategic Defense Review, (May 2001), Internet, online at: http://www.fpif.org/presentations/0105briefingbook/index_body.html
• Col. Daniel Smith and others, Reforging the Sword: Forces for the 21st Century Security Strategy, Center for Defense Information, (September 2001), Internet, online at: http://www.cdi.org/mrp/reforging-full.pdf
• BBC News, Stumbling towards Pentagon reform: Ambitious agenda, (August 16 2001), Internet, online at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1495340.stm
• Philip Gold, Savaging Donald Rumsfeld, The Washington Times, (August 28 2001), Internet, online at: http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&program=Defense&id=1045
• Condoleezza Rice, Life after the Cold War, Council on Foreign Relations, (September 2000), Internet, online at: web.archive.org
• Ashton Carter and William Perry, Preventive Defense, A New Security Strategy for America, Brooking Institution, (1999), Internet, online at: http://brookings.nap.edu/books/081571307X/html/R1.html
• Steven Metz, Asymmetry and U.S. Military Strategy: Definition, Background, and Strategic Concepts, US Army War College, (January 2001), Internet, online at: web.archive.org
• Kenneth McKenzie, The Revenge of the Melians: Asymmetric Threats and the next QDR, National Defense University, (November 2000), Internet, online at: http://www.ndu.edu/inss/McNair/mcnair62/m62cvr.html
• L. Ali Khan, A Theory of International Terrorism (2006) & The Essentialist Terrorist (2006)

See also

• Axis of evil
• Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2005
• Black sites (CIA secret detention centers)
• Crusade (modern)
• Criticisms of the "War on Terrorism"
• Department of Anti-terrorism Strategic Studies, an Italian "parallel police" under investigations since July 2005
• Executive Order 12333
• Extraordinary rendition
• Guantánamo Bay
• Long War (21st century)
• McCain Detainee Amendment
• Operation Enduring Freedom
• NSA warrantless surveillance controversy
• Proactive and Preemptive Operations Group
• Terrorist surveillance program
• Unlawful combatant
• US-Pakistan relations
• US anti-terror legislation:
  • USA Patriot Act
  • Ohio Patriot Act
• UK anti-terror legislation:
  • Terrorism Act 2006
  • Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (UK)

External links

Official sites by governments and international organizations

• FBI Most Wanted Terrorists
• Rewards for Justice - Most Wanted Terrorists
• Whitehouse FAQ about the "War on Terrorism"
• U.S. Dept. of Defense News on the "War on Terrorism"
• NATO and the scourge of terrorism
• UN action against terrorism

General "war on terrorism" news

• The Terrorism Index - The first comprehensive and regularly updated report card on the war on terrorism. Developed by Foreign Policy Magazine and the Center for American Progress
• The Guardian - Gunned down to impress America
• Killed in the name of Terror - Ansar Burney to sue Macedonian govt for killing 6 Pakistanis
• BBC News In Depth: Investigating al-Qaeda
• The Washington Post "War on terrorism" coverage
• This war on terrorism is bogus by Michael Meacher

Primary legal documents

• Findlaw Special Coverage "War on Terrorism" (court documents in .pdf)
• Authorization For Use of Military Force Against September 11 terrorists (AUMF) US Public Law 107-40, September 18 2001, 115 Stat. 224
• Report on Strategic Communication (pdf) Defense Science Board Task Force, September 2004

Specific articles

• Counteracting Terrorism, LNTV, August 13 2006
• "Pakistanis Arrest Qaeda Figure Seen as Planner of 9/11", The New York Times, March 2 2003

Other

• Documenting and fighting torture used in the "War on Terror".
• Read Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding the "War on Terrorism"
• And the Gloves Came Off Douglas C. McNabb and Matthew R. McNabb,The European Lawyer, October 2005.
• The Power of Nightmares; A three-part BBC documentary
• Extraordinary renditions: the playwright and the president; Jeff Sommers, Khaled Diab and Charles Woolfson explore the dynamics between playwright and president as America's 'war on terror' stands in the dock.
• Richard Clarke Speech on Streaming Video; Speech by Richard Clarke, a former member of the National Security Council, US Department of State official, March 8 2005
• Seminar on the Global "War On Terrorism" by the Chairman of the Cold War Veterans Association - Vince Milum
• The Quadrennial Defense Review of 2001 by the Project for Defense Alternatives
• The War on Terror Board Game

Video

• The Dark Side – After 9/11 Vice President Cheney initiated an expansion of executive power, took on George Tenet's CIA for control over intelligence and brought the War on Terrorism to Iraq.
• Macedonia Killings Video - 2002 confrontation at the US embassy in Macedonia
• The Long War - Colbert highlights the new name for "war on terror" that the pentagon is now using.
• The Power of Nightmares

Recent events

• NPR Coverage
• Newspaper Article describing video and photographs

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