War on Terror

The War on Terror, also known as the Global War on Terrorism, was a United States initiative to combat worldwide terrorism following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. On that day, attackers associated with the al-Qaeda network boarded four domestic flights on the American East Coast. After overtaking the crews, attackers crashed two of the planes into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center. The third crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in a southwestern Pennsylvania field before it could reach its target. In all, at least 2,750 people were killed in New York, 184 at the Pentagon and 40 in Pennsylvania.

President George W. Bush announced the Global War on Terrorism shortly after the attacks. A month later, the United States began airstrikes in Afghanistan. By 2003, United States military forces had taken Baghdad, Iraq. The United States had a military presence in both countries for years before withdrawing. While attacks on United States soil were rare in the 20 years following the beginning of the War on Terror, some critics said US tactics created more enemies and bred more violence. Twenty years later, terrorist networks still exist in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. By 2021, the number of attacks and victims worldwide were three to five times higher annually than in 2001. The combined campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan cost the United States $2 trillion in direct costs and possibly another $2 trillion in caring for war survivors and other indirect costs.

Background

September 11 Terrorist Attacks. On September 11, 2001, the United States experienced a series of airline hijackings and suicide attacks by nineteen men associated with al-Qaeda, an Islamic extremist group led by Osama bin Laden. The attacks were the deadliest terrorist attacks on US soil. At least 2,750 people were killed in New York, 184 at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and another 40 in Pennsylvania. All nineteen terrorists died.

On September 11, attackers boarded four domestic flights at three separate airports on the East Coast. Soon after takeoff, they disabled the crews. Some crew members were stabbed by box cutters. The hijackers then took control of the aircraft. At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines flight 11 from Boston crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. This was initially believed to be an accident involving a small commuter plane. The second plane, United Airlines flight 175, also from Boston, hit the south tower seventeen minutes later. The impact of the planes caused the buildings to erupt into flames. Many office workers became trapped above the points of impact. By 9:59 a.m., the World Trade Center’s south tower collapsed and the north tower followed twenty-nine minutes later. Adjacent buildings suffered serious damage, and fires at the site went on for months following the event. The United States began rescue efforts almost immediately. Included in the death toll for New York City were more than four hundred police officers and firefighters performing rescue duties at the World Trade Center site.

A third plane, American Airlines flight 77 from Washington D.C., struck the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. In response to the three crashes, the Federal Aviation Authority ordered all air traffic in the country grounded at 10:03 a.m. Meanwhile, the fourth airplane, United Airlines flight 93, crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to overpower the terrorists.

President George W. Bush was at a grade school in Florida when he was informed about the attacks. He was taken via Air Force One and eventually landed in Washington, D.C., that evening. He addressed the nation at 8:30 p.m., saying, “We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.” The president visited the World Trade Center site, later known as Ground Zero, on September 14. He addressed rescue workers, who continued to search for survivors. When one said that they could not hear him, he famously stated, “I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear from all of us soon.”

United States Response. The Global War on Terrorism was launched by the American government following the September 11 attacks. President Bush announced a plan to seek out and stop terrorists around the world. On September 20, 2001, the president demanded that the Taliban stop protecting al-Qaeda members, and stated that the Global War on Terror would not end until terrorism came to an end. In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, he said Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign including, “dramatic strikes, visible on TV, and covert operations, secret even in success.” He vowed to “starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest.” He also gave other nations across the world the message, “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime."

A few days later, on September 24, the president signed an executive order to freeze the assets of groups or organizations that funded terrorist activity. He announced a foreign terrorist asset tracking center at the Department of Treasury that would identify and investigate international terrorist networks. On October 7, President Bush announced that the United States had begun military action in Afghanistan, where al-Qaeda was headquartered. The goal was to attack al-Qaeda training camps and Taliban military installations. Bush also announced that the United States and allies would provide humanitarian aid to Afghan citizens.

As the Global War on Terror continued, the United States used a military facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as a detention center for terrorists. Bush then focused on what he called dangerous regimes as an “axis of evil” that included Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. In 2002 and early 2003, the United States began putting pressure on Iraq to improve human rights, release prisoners, break ties with terrorists and destroy weapons of mass destruction. Both the president and Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the nations regarding Saddam Hussein’s regime. Though there was no evidence that Hussein’s government had collaborated with al-Qaeda in the September 11 attacks, the United States invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003, as part of the War on Terror. Within three weeks, the United States controlled Baghdad. Hussein was captured in December 2003 and executed ion 2006. The War on Terror also included covert operations in other countries including Yemen, large-scale military assistance programs for cooperative regimes, and major increases in military spending.

Impact

Within the first one-hundred days of launching the War on Terror, the US Department of State declared several victories, including disrupting al-Qaeda’s global operations and terrorist financing networks and helping Afghans form a new interim government that represented all citizens. The department reported the destruction of eleven terrorist training camps and thirty-nine Taliban command and control sites. The United States increased its aid to Afghan people by providing $187 million and launching America’s Fund for Afghan Children.

Bush’s War on Terror received applause from some groups, but criticism from others. A 2001 article in Brookings compared it to the fight against Soviet communism, calling it “likely to be nasty, brutish, and long.” The same article pointed out missteps in the first few weeks of the campaign, saying that although American and British forces quickly destroyed obvious Taliban and al-Qaeda targets, it also hit several civilian sites. By the last years of Bush’s presidency, public opinion was strongly negative on the president’s handling of the Iraq War. When President Barack Obama took office in 2009, his administration ceased use of the expression “war on terrorism” in official communications. Under Obama, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wound down, with Obama marking the end of combat operations in Afghanistan in 2014. However, more than ten thousand US forces remained past the end of his presidency in 2016. The Obama administration greatly expanded targeted killings carried out by drones. Special operations forces were expanded and deployed to conduct low-profile military operations abroad. One of those military operations resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US forces on May 2, 2011. The last US troops were pulled from Afghanistan in August 2021, putting an official end to that phase of the war. As the US troops left, the Taliban once again seized control of the country.

The Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University also pointed out the human costs of the war. According to the institute, more than 929,000 people have died in direct fighting and collateral violence related to the War on Terror. Of those, 387,000 were civilians, but the number also includes armed forces, contractors, journalists, and humanitarian workers. The combined fight against terrorism also led to 38 million war refugees and displaced persons. The institute also said the wars have been accompanied by human rights and civil liberties violations in the United States and abroad. In all, the War on Terror has cost the United States at least $8 trillion, and more than 7,050 American soldiers have been lost as of September 2021.

Further, critics say that the War on Terror feeds on fear and repression, creating enemies and inciting more violence, instead of stopping acts of terror and strengthening security. Many critics said that the failures of the War on Terror have outweighed its successes. They claimed that the war in Afghanistan merely scattered the al-Qaeda network, making it even harder to counteract. They also claimed that the attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq increased anti-American sentiments among Muslims worldwide. This, they said, strengthened the message of militant Islam and helped unite groups for a common cause. Yet other critics asserted that the War on Terror was just an excuse for a United States power grab to control global oil reserves, increase defense spending, expand international military presence and counter various regional powers worldwide.

Twenty years after the beginning of the War on Terror, terrorism endured in places like the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. By 2021, the number of attacks and victims worldwide were three to five times higher annually than in 2001. The combined campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan cost the United States $2 trillion in direct costs and possibly another $2 trillion in costs of caring for war survivors and other indirect costs.

According to Michael E. O’Hanlon, director of research at The Brookings Institution, the War on Terror succeeded in protecting American soil and American citizens from attack. Only about 100 Americans have died in attacks by al-Qaeda, ISIS, and related terrorist organizations since 9/11, he said. He credits this success largely to military and intelligence operations, and domestic policy. A slew of attacks occurred from 2009-2017. These included a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, that killed thirteen people, but by and large, the two decades following 9/11 saw a limited amount of Islamic terrorist violence in the United States.

Bibliography

“Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People.” The White House, Sept. 20, 2001, georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html. Accessed 16 Sept. 2022.

Daalder, Ivo H., and Lindsay, James M. “Nasty, Brutish and Long: America’s War on Terrorism.” Brookings, Dec. 1, 2001, www.brookings.edu/articles/nasty-brutish-and-long-americas-war-on-terrorism/. Accessed 16 Sept. 2022.

“Global War on Terror.” George W. Bush Presidential Library, 2022, www.georgewbushlibrary.gov/research/topic-guides/global-war-terror. Accessed 16 Sept. 2022.

“The Global War on Terrorism: The First 100 Days.” U.S. Department of State, Jan. 20, 2001-Jan. 20, 2009, 2001-2009.state.gov/s/ct/rls/wh/6947.htm. Accessed 16 Sept. 2022.

“9/11 FAQs.” National September 11 Memorial & Museum, 2022, www.911memorial.org/911-faqs. Accessed 16 Sept. 2022.

“A Timeline of the U.S.-Led War on Terror.” History.com, 5 May 2020, www.history.com/topics/21st-century/war-on-terror-timeline. Accessed 16 Sept. 2022.

“War on Terrorism.” Global Policy Forum, https://archive.globalpolicy.org/war-on-terrorism.html. Accessed 16 Sept. 2022.

O’Hanlon, Michael E., and Windholz, Lily. “Do Not Take the War On Terror’s Big Success for Granted.” Brookings, Aug. 27, 2021, www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/08/27/do-not-take-the-war-on-terrors-big-success-for-granted/. Accessed 16 Sept. 2022.