War on Terror

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  Italy  Spain  Poland  Turkey	Main opponents: Al-Qaeda  Taliban Iraq 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[a] (937,000+ direct deaths, 3.6–3.7 million indirect deaths)[b] At least 38 million people displaced[c]

The Global War on Terrorism, 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 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.

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

1. ↑ "Video: Pres. Bush Declares War on Terror". ABC News archives. September 15, 2001.
2. ↑ Obama Scraps 'Global War on Terror' for 'Overseas Contingency Operation'.