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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 his supporters.<ref name=WhiteHouse20010920>
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.
{{cite news
 
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. <ref name=WhiteHouse20010920> {{cite news
| url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html
| url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html
| title=Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People
| title=Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People
| publisher=[[The White House]]
| publisher=White House
| author=[[George W. Bush]]
| author=George W. Bush
| date=2001-09-20
| date=2001-09-20
| accessdate=2008-06-26
| accessdate=2008-06-26
| quote=Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there.  It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.
}}</ref>  
}}</ref><ref name=WhiteHouse20011207>
 
A White House report, issued 100 days later, discussed progress in the program. <ref name=WhiteHouse20011207>
{{cite news
{{cite news
| url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/12/100dayreport.html
| url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/12/100dayreport.html
| title=The Global War on Terrorism: The First 100 Days  
| title=The Global War on Terrorism: The First 100 Days  
| publisher=[[The White House]]
| publisher=White House
| author=[[George W. Bush]]
| author=George W. Bush
| date=December 2001
| date=December 2001
| accessdate=2008-06-26
| accessdate=2008-06-26  
| quote=The President fired the first shot in the war on terrorism with the stroke of his pen to seize terrorist financial assets and disrupt their fundraising pipelines. The world financial community is moving to starve the terrorists of their financial support. 196 countries support the financial war on terror; 142 countries have acted to freeze terrorist assets; in the U.S. alone, the assets of 153 known terrorists, terrorist organizations, and terrorist financial centers have been frozen; and major terrorist financial networks have been closed down.  
}}</ref> Five years later, President George W. Bush discussed means of adjudicating the status of terrorist suspects. <ref name=WhiteHouse20060906>
}}</ref><ref name=WhiteHouse20060906>
{{cite news
{{cite news
| url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060906-3.html
| url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060906-3.html
| title=President Discusses Creation of Military Commissions to Try Suspected Terrorists  
| title=President Discusses Creation of Military Commissions to Try Suspected Terrorists  
| publisher=[[The White House]]
| publisher=White House
| author=[[George W. Bush]]
| author=George W. Bush
| date=2006-09-06
| date=2006-09-06
| accessdate=2008-06-26
| accessdate=2008-06-26
| quote=To win the war on terror, we must be able to detain, question, and, when appropriate, prosecute terrorists captured here in America, and on the battlefields around the world.  
}}</ref> In a 2006 press conference, he spoke, as an aside, of the cooperation of the Iraqi government in the policy.<ref name=WhiteHouse20060614>
}}</ref><ref name=WhiteHouse20060614>
{{cite news
{{cite news
| url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060614.html
| url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060614.html
| title=Press Conference of the President -- June 14, 2006  
| title=Press Conference of the President -- June 14, 2006  
| publisher=[[The White House]]
| publisher=White House
| author=[[George W. Bush]]
| author=George W. Bush
| date=2006-06-14
| date=2006-06-14
| accessdate=2008-06-26
| accessdate=2008-06-26
| quote=See, Iraq is a part of the global war on terror. It's not "the" global war on terror, it's a theater in the global war on terror. And if we fail in Iraq, it's going to embolden al Qaeda types. It will weaken the resolve of moderate nations to stand up to the Islamic fascists. It will cause people to lose their nerve and not stay strong.
}}</ref>
}}</ref>
President Bush used the phrase as early as September 20, 2001 -- nine days after [[al Qaeda]]'s attack on the [[World Trade Center]] and [[the Pentagon]], on September 11, 2001.  Over six thousand documents generated by [[the White House]] use this phrase.<ref>[http://www.google.ca/search?num=100&hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=jcq&q=%22war+on+terror%22+site%3Awhitehouse.gov+2001&btnG=Search&meta= web search for speeches, press releases, and other white house documents that mention the phrase "war on terror"]</ref>


Critics challenge the use of this phrase, as poorly defined, and as an appeal to listeners emotions, not their intellect.  Francis Fukuyama wrote<ref name=Brookings20030514>
Critics challenge the use of this phrase, as poorly defined, and as an appeal to listeners emotions, not their intellect.  Francis Fukuyama wrote
<blockquote>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.<ref name=Brookings20030514>
{{cite news
{{cite news
| url=http://www.brookings.edu/comm/events/summary20030514.pdf
| url=http://www.brookings.edu/comm/events/summary20030514.pdf
| title=Phase III in the War on Terrorism?  Challenges and opportunities
| title=Phase III in the War on Terrorism?  Challenges and opportunities
| publisher=[[Brookings Institute]]
| publisher=Brookings Institution
| date=2003-05-14
| date=2003-05-14
| accessdate=2008-06-26
| accessdate=2008-06-26
| quote=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. The United States is not attacking terrorism generically; the concept of a war on “terrorism” in general implies that the United States has a stake in local battles such as Russia’s war in Chechnya, when in fact it does not. Similarly, the United States should provide support to Israel through shared intelligence, but Palestinian terrorism in Israel remains essentially Israel’s problem.
}}</ref></blockquote>
}}</ref>:
 
{{quotation|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.}}
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, <blockquote>...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.<ref name=Clarke>{{citation
| title = Against all Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror
| author = Richard A. Clarke
| publisher = Free Press, Simon & Schuster | year = 2004
| isbn = 0743260244
}}, p. 31</ref></blockquote>


==References==
==References==
<references/>
{{reflist|2}}
 
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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. ↑ George W. Bush. Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People, White House, 2001-09-20. Retrieved on 2008-06-26.
  2. ↑ George W. Bush. The Global War on Terrorism: The First 100 Days, White House, December 2001. Retrieved on 2008-06-26.
  3. ↑ George W. Bush. President Discusses Creation of Military Commissions to Try Suspected Terrorists, White House, 2006-09-06. Retrieved on 2008-06-26.
  4. ↑ George W. Bush. Press Conference of the President -- June 14, 2006, White House, 2006-06-14. Retrieved on 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
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