War on terror

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The war on terror, or alternately, the global war on terror, is a phrase used by [[United States President [[George W. Bush, and is a phrase frequently used by officials of his Administration. It is consciously avoided by the [[Obama Administration.

He first used the phrase, in public, on September 20, 2001 — nine days after [[9/11 and [[al-Qaeda's attack on the [[World Trade Center and [[Pentagon Building — with the comment "Our war on terror begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there." in a address to Congress. [1]

A White House report, issued 100 days later, discussed progress in the program. [2] Five years later, President George W. Bush discussed means of adjudicating the status of terrorist suspects. [3] In a 2006 press conference, he spoke, as an aside, of the cooperation of the Iraqi government in the policy.[4]

Critics challenge the use of this phrase, as poorly defined, and as an appeal to listeners emotions, not their intellect. Francis Fukuyama wrote

The term “war on terrorism” is a misnomer, resulting in distorted ideas of the main threat facing Americans today. Terrorism is only a means to an end; in this respect, a “war on terror” makes no more sense than a war on submarines.[5]

Fukuyama criticized the concept for being too nebulous, for creating a climate of fear. He pointed out that a "war on terrorism" would imply the U.S. has a role in Chechnya, and in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While Fukuyama agreed there is benefit to intelligence sharing with Israel, the actual Palestinian problem is principally Israel's local problem. In like manner, [[Richard Clarke, the National Security Council counterterrorism coordinator, commented that in White House discussions on 9/12 and 9/12,

...was our war to be on terrorism in general or [[al-Qaeda in specific? If it was all terrorism we would fight, did we have to attack the anti-government forces in Colombia's jungles too? Gradually, the obvious prevailed: we would go to war with al-Qaeda and the [[Taliban, The compromise consensus, however, was the struggle against al-Qaeda and the Taliban would be the first stage in a broader war on [[terrorism. It was also clear there would be a second phase.[6]

References

  1. {{cite news | url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html | title=Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People | publisher=[[White House | author=[[George W. Bush | date=2001-09-20 | accessdate=2008-06-26 }}
  2. {{cite news | url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/12/100dayreport.html | title=The Global War on Terrorism: The First 100 Days | publisher=[[White House | author=[[George W. Bush | date=December 2001 | accessdate=2008-06-26 }}
  3. {{cite news | url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060906-3.html | title=President Discusses Creation of Military Commissions to Try Suspected Terrorists | publisher=[[White House | author=[[George W. Bush | date=2006-09-06 | accessdate=2008-06-26 }}
  4. {{cite news | url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060614.html | title=Press Conference of the President -- June 14, 2006 | publisher=[[White House | author=[[George W. Bush | date=2006-06-14 | accessdate=2008-06-26 }}
  5. Phase III in the War on Terrorism? Challenges and opportunities, Brookings Institution, 2003-05-14. Retrieved on 2008-06-26.
  6. Richard A. Clarke (2004), Against all Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror, Free Press, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0743260244, p. 31