War on Terror

The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), or War on Terror, is a campaign that the United States and some of its allies started in September 2001 to remove terrorist groups and to punish the states that sponsor islamic terrorism. It replaced the later War in Afghanistan and Iraq War. United States President George W. Bush argued that the countries like North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Libya (also known as the Axis of Evil) were a direct threat to the United States and its allies. The term was typically used with a particular focus on Taliban, Islamic State, and al-Qaeda.

War on terror
Photographs, clockwise from top left: Aftermath of the September 11 attacks; U.S. servicemen boarding an aircraft at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan; a U.S. soldier and Afghan interpreter in Zabul Province, Afghanistan; explosion of an Iraqi car bomb in Baghdad. Map: Countries with major military operations of the war on terror.
Date Main phase: 14 September 2001[1] – 30 August 2021[note 1] (19 years, 11 months, 2 weeks and 2 days)[note 2] Location Global Status Ongoing; major wars ended
Belligerents
Main countries:  United States  United Kingdom  France  Canada  Australia  Germany  Italy  Spain  Poland  Turkey  Israel	Main opponents: Al-Qaeda  Taliban Islamic State Iraq (until 2003)
Commanders and leaders
George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden	Osama bin Laden X Ayman al-Zawahiri X Saddam Hussein  Mullah Omar  # Hassan Dahir Aweys Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi X
Casualties and losses
4.5–4.6 million+ people killed[a] (937,000+ direct deaths, 3.6–3.7 million indirect deaths)[b] At least 38 million people displaced[c]

The Administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama used the term Overseas Contingency Operation.^[2]

See also

• Islamic State attacks on Israel
• War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
• Gulf War

Notes

1. The war on terror was also officially declared over in May 2010 and again in May 2013
2. Origins date back to the 1980s.