War On Terror

The War on Terror (also known as the Global War on Terror or the War on Terrorism) is the campaign launched by the United States of America, under the Presidency of George W. Bush, with the support of the United Kingdom, NATO and other countries. The campaign was launched in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks and had the stated objective of eliminating international terrorism.

The phrase War on Terror was used frequently by former 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.

The administration of President Barack Obama has discontinued use of the term "War on Terror" and instead uses the term "Overseas Contingency Operation". However, President Obama has stated that the U.S. is at war with al-Qaeda.

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.

The George W. Bush administration defined the following objectives in the War on Terror:

• Defeat terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi 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 Security
  • 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