The History of the Term “War on Terror”

Immediately following and in response to the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack, the United States government announced its intentions to begin a "War on Terrorism" (or "War on Terror"), a protracted struggle against terrorists and states which aid terrorists. Many governments have pledged their support for the international initiative. The US has received military help from the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Australia, Japan, Pakistan, and France, among others. The "War on Terrorism" quickly became the dominant framework in which international relations were analyzed, supplanting the old Cold War and in some cases the War on Drugs. Many pre-existing disputes were re-cast in terms of the War on Terrorism, including Plan Colombia and the Colombian civil war; the United States' diplomatic and military disputes with Iraq, Iran, and North Korea; the war between Russia and Chechnya; and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Other, new conflicts, like the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, were created within the framework. Although many countries are involved, the war is overwhelmingly viewed as an American initiative, or even George W. Bush's personal war. Many groups and individuals from across the globe oppose the "War on Terrorism" in increasingly large numbers.

So far the main target has become Iraq and its political regime. The United States and Iraq have been involved in military and diplomatic disputes since the Gulf War in 1990-91, continuing through the remainder of George Bush, Sr.'s presidency, Bill Clinton's presidency and the beginning of George W. Bush's presidency. On September 4, 2002, George W. Bush announced the Bush Doctrine that the United States had the right to launch a preemptive military strike at any nation that could put weapons of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists. He sought and obtained congressional approval for a strike against Iraq. Intensive negotiations began with other members of the United Nations Security Council, especially the three permanent members of the Council with veto power, Russia, China, and France, which are known to have reservations about an invasion of Iraq. On November 8, 2002, The UN Security Council unanimously passed a new resolution. The resolution calls for Iraq to disarm or face tough consequences that didn’t make themselves wait long.

In October 2002 North Korea announced that it was running a nuclear weapon development program, in violation of treaties, and said they would be willing to negotiate a new position with the United States. The response from the United States government has been muted; they have stated that North Korea is not as great a danger as Iraq, and do not seem to be willing to pursue the interventionist policy they are advocating for in Iraq.

The next conflict that gave the opportunity for the USA to continue its War on Terror took place between Georgia and Russia. In February 2002, the U.S. sent approximately two hundred Special Operations Forces troops to the former Soviet republic of Georgia to train Georgian troops to fight rebels from the breakaway Russian province Chechnya, crossing the border for safe haven in their war with Russia. This move drew protests from many Russians, who believed that Georgia should remain within the Russian sphere of influence, and not the United States'. On March 1, 2002, over domestic outcry, Russian president Vladimir Putin met with Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze in Kazakhstan and pledged his support for the American military initiative.

At the same time the Bush administration continued keeping Al-Qaida in view. The Bush Administration approved sending about 100 Special Operations forces to Yemen, a power base for Al-Qaida. The Special Operations forces, along with the CIA, are engaged in targeted attacks on suspected Al-Qaida members, especially in the regions of Yemen bordering Saudi Arabia, which are not well-controlled by the central Yemeni authorities. Later two more countries felt on their own experience what the American War on Terror meant in practice. In January 2002, a force approximately 1,000 strong was sent to assist Philippine forces. About 600 troops, including 160 Special Operations forces, remain training forces in the Philippines to combat Abu Sayyaf on Basilan. On October 2, 2002, a bomb in Zamboanga killed a U.S. Army Special Forces master sergeant and two civilians. In October 2002 additional Zamboanga bombings killed six and wounded 200. Near the end of 2001, Congress relaxed restrictions put into place in 1999 against the U.S. training of Indonesian forces because of human rights abuses in East Timor. In October 2002 the Bali car bombing killed and wounded hundreds of foreign tourists.

The glorious War presupposes an all-embracing and constant control over the situation not only in other countries but in your own country. That’s why investigations are going on through many branches of many governments, pursuing tens of thousands of tips. Hundreds of people have being detained, arrested, and/or questioned so far. The Justice Department wishes to interview 5000 young men from the Middle East. $40 billion emergency bill was quickly been passed. A ~$20 billion bill to bail out the airline industry also passed. Laws are also being passed that would curtail civil liberties in the United States, to make it easier for the government to spy on what's happening within the country. USA PATRIOT Act passed. As part of the War on Terrorism, there was a reorganization of various government bureacracies which handled security and military functions. The Office of Homeland Security was created to coordinate "homeland security" efforts. 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. For the first time ever, the Bush administration implemented the Continuity of Operations Plan (or Continuity of Government) to create a shadow government to ensure the executive branch of the U.S. government would be able to continue in catastrophic circumstances.