American history

War on Terrorism (2001–present)

The War on Terrorism is a global effort by the governments of several countries (primarily the United States and its principal allies) to neutralize international groups it deems as terrorist (primarily radical Islamist terrorist groups, including al-Qaida) and ensure that rogue nations no longer support terrorist activities. It has been adopted as a consequence of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

1. Afghanistan

The invasion of Afghanistan in order to depose that country's Taliban government and destroy training camps associated with al-Qaida is understood to have been the opening, and in many ways defining, campaign of the broader war on terrorism. The emphasis on special forces, political negotiation with autonomous military units, and the use of proxy militaries marked a significant change from prior U.S. military approaches.

2. Iraq War

After the lengthy Iraq disarmament crisis culminated with an American demand that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein leave Iraq, which was refused, a coalition led by the United States and Great Britain fought the Iraqi army in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Approximately 250,000 United States troops, with support from 45,000 British, 2,000 Australian and 200 Polish combat forces, entered Iraq primarily through their staging area in Kuwait. (Turkey had refused to permit its territory to be used for an invasion from the north.)

Coalition forces also supported Iraqi Kurdish militia, estimated to number upwards of 50,000. After approximately three weeks of fighting, Hussein and the Ba'ath Party were forcibly removed, followed by an extended period of military occupation while civil government was re-established.

During the disarmament crisis, the US and its allies made their case for war based on a few main points, including human rights, violations of UN sanctions, and ties to terrorism, but the key casus belli was generally considered to be Saddam Hussein's refusal to cooperate with US demands for a full accounting of Iraq's program of weapons of mass destruction.

The intelligence services of a number of countries, including the US, UK, France and Russia, were on record as believing Iraq had a large clandestine program, constituting a threat to US national security, and it was with this assertion that US President George W. Bush made his case for pre-emptive war to Congress and the American people.

However, in the aftermath of the war, it quickly became apparent that Hussein had no such weapons program. Only a very few WMD components were found, none of which backed up the claim of a massive hidden program. Debate continues to rage in the US Congress and media over the failure of US intelligence to provide accurate reports before the war.

Many Americans, including prominent members of Congress, claim Bush and other administration officials lied or misled the country based on doctored intelligence reports. Others claim that the reports were wrong in the first place, that the case for war was made on the intelligence available at the time, and that the WMD concern was not the only reason for going to war. So far, no "smoking gun" evidence of a cover-up or conspiracy has been revealed.

The Bush administration also linked the invasion of Iraq to the War on Terrorism, claiming that Hussein was giving safe haven to and supporting terrorist groups. This claim resonated strongly in America after the September 11, 2001 attacks, with many believing that any state using terror means should be fought, regardless of whether the state had committed actions against the US.

However, the case for war was not based directly on the 9/11 attacks, and although the Bush administration strongly suggested this at some level between Hussein and Al-Qaeda, it did not accuse Hussein of complicity in the specific events of 9/11.