War on Terrorism (President McCain)

War on Terror" redirects here. For the strategic board game, see War on Terror (game). War on Terrorism

U.S. Soldiers boarding a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan during Operation Anaconda in the Shahi-Kot Valley and Arma Mountains southeast of Zormat. Date 	October 7, 2001[1] -present Location 	Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Horn of Africa, United States, United Kingdom, Europe, more... Result 	Conflict ongoing Belligerents Anti-terrorist Forces:

* United States[2] * United Kingdom * Multinational force in Iraq * NATO - ISAF * Operation Enduring Freedom Allies

Terrorist Groups:

* al-Qaeda * Fatah al-Islam * al Qaeda in Iraq * Flag of Afghanistan Taliban * Islamic Courts Union[3] * Jemaah Islamiyah * Abu Sayyaf[4] Moro Islamic Liberation Front[5] * Flag of Iraq Iraqi Insurgents * Muslim Brotherhood * East Turkestan Islamic Movement

Commanders Flag of the United States Gen. Tommy Franks (CENTCOM commander 2000 – 2003), Flag of the United States Gen. John Abizaid (CENTCOM commander 2003 – 2007), Flag of the United States Adm. William J. Fallon (CENTCOM commander 2007 – 2008), Flag of the United States Ltg. Martin Dempsey (acting CENTCOM commander), Flag of the United StatesGen. David Petraeus (incoming CENTCOM commander). Flag of the United Kingdom Adm. Sir Michael Boyce (Chief of the Defence Staff 2001 – 2003), Flag of the United Kingdom Gen. Sir Michael Walker (Chief of the Defence Staff 2003 – 2006), Flag of the United Kingdom ACM Sir Jock Stirrup (Chief of the Defence Staff 2006 –	Osama bin Laden Flag of Afghanistan Mohammed Omar Casualties and losses Military casualties ~28,450 dead ~51,600+ Injured More... 	Civilian casualties Exact number unclear. [show] v • d • e Campaigns of the

War on Terrorism Afghanistan – Philippines – Horn of Africa – Mediterranean – Colombia – Maghreb – Iraq – Saudi Arabia – Pakistan – Thailand – 1st Somalia – Israel and Lebanon – Palestinian Territories – 2nd Somalia – Xinjiang – North Lebanon – Lebanon Terrorism Definitions History International conventions Anti-terrorism legislation Counter-terrorism War on Terrorism Red Terror White Terror By ideology Communist Eco-terrorism Narcoterrorism Nationalist Racist Religious (Christian • Islamic • Jewish) Types and tactics Agro-terrorism Bioterrorism Car bombing Environmental Aircraft hijacking Nuclear Propaganda of the deed Proxy bomb Suicide attack State involvement State terrorism State sponsorship Configurations Fronts Lone wolf Lists Designated organizations Incidents v • d • e

The War on Terrorism (also known as the War on Terror) is the common term for the military, political and legal, and ideological conflict, and specifically for U.S. operations in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The stated objectives of the war are to secure the American homeland, break up terror cells within the country, and disrupt the activities of the international network of terrorist organizations made up of a number of terrorist groups under the umbrella of al-Qaeda.[1][6]

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. RAND's testimony began with the thesis statement "the United States cannot continue conducting an effective counter-terrorism campaign against al Qa’ida without understanding how terrorist groups end." Their conclusions included strong proposals for strategic policy changes. "[The U.S. military] should generally resist being drawn into combat operations in Muslim countries where its presence is likely to increase terrorist recruitment." and recommended, "ending the notion of a 'war' on terrorism" and "Moving away from military references would indicate that there was no battlefield solution to countering terrorism." In conclusion the RAND study advised: "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."[7] Contents [hide]

* 1 War on Terrorism o 1.1 Historical usage of phrase o 1.2 Operative definition in U.S. foreign policy o 1.3 British objections to the phrase "war on terrorism" * 2 Stated U.S. objectives * 3 Timeline * 4 Campaigns and theaters of operation o 4.1 Africa + 4.1.1 Horn of Africa o 4.2 Europe o 4.3 Middle East + 4.3.1 Iraq + 4.3.2 Lebanon + 4.3.3 Saudi Arabia + 4.3.4 Gaza Strip/ West Bank o 4.4 Central Asia/South Asia + 4.4.1 India + 4.4.2 Afghanistan + 4.4.3 Pakistan # 4.4.3.1 Waziristan o 4.5 Southeast Asia + 4.5.1 Indonesia + 4.5.2 Philippines o 4.6 North America + 4.6.1 United States of America o 4.7 South America + 4.7.1 Colombia * 5 International military support o 5.1 The International Security Assistance Force * 6 Criticisms of U.S. objectives and strategies o 6.1 The War on Terrorism as indefinite and indeterminate o 6.2 The War on Terrorism as counterproductive o 6.3 Double standards o 6.4 Decreasing international support o 6.5 Abuse of power * 7 Role of U.S. media * 8 Military decorations * 9 Casualties * 10 See also * 11 References * 12 Further reading * 13 External links