War on Terrorism

The War on Terrorism, or War on Terror, is a campaign that the United States and some of its allies started to remove terrorist groups and to punish the states that sponsor terrorism. It replaced the Cold War. The former United States President Bush's argument was 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 militant Islamists 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 – 30 August 2021 (19 years, 11 months, 2 weeks and 2 days) Location Global Status Ongoing; major wars ended
Belligerents
Main countries: United States United Kingdom France Canada Australia Italy Spain Poland Turkey	Main opponents: Al-Qaeda Taliban Iraqi Ba'athist insurgents Islamic Courts Union Islamic State
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 (937,000+ direct deaths, 3.6–3.7 million indirect deaths) At least 38 million people displaced

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

Other websites

• Media related to War on terror at Wikimedia Commons