War on Terrorism

Led by Osama Bin Laden, a radical Islamist trained by the US during the 1980s to conduct guerilla attacks against the Soviet Army in Afghanistan , Al-Qaeda formed a large base of operations in Afghanistan, which had been ruled by the Islamist extremist regime of the Taliban since 1996.

Following the bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, U.S. President Bill Clintonlaunched Operation Infinite Reach, a bombing campaign in Sudan and Afghanistan against targets the US asserted were associated with al-Qaeda. Although others have questioned the Sudan plant's use as a chemical warfare plant The strikes failed to kill al-Qaeda'a leaders or their Taliban supporters (targets included a civilian pharmaceutical plant in Sudan that produced much of the region's malariadrugs and around 50% of Sudan's pharmaceutical needs ).

Next came the 2000 millennium attack plots which included an attempted bombing of Los Angeles International Airport. In October 2000 the USS Cole bombingoccurred, followed in 2001 by the September 11 attacks.

By 2003, 12 major conventions and protocols were designed to combat terrorism. These were as well, adopted and ratified by a number of states to becomeinternational law. These conventions require states to co-operate on principal issues regarding unlawful seisure of aircraft for example, the physical protection of nuclear materials and freezing assets of militant networks.

In 2005 the Security Council also adopted resolution 1624 concerning incitement to commit acts of terrorism and the obligations of countries to comply with international human rights laws. Although both resolutions require mandatory annual reports on counterterrorism activities by adopting nations, the United States and Israel have both declined to submit reports.

Historical usage of phrase
The phrase "War on Terrorism" was first widely used by the Western press to refer to the attempts by European governments, and eventually the US government, to stop attacks by anarchists against leaders and officials. (See, for example, The New York Times, April 2, 1881.)

For example, on 24 January 1878, Russian Marxist Vera Zasulich shot and wounded a Russian police commander who was known to torture suspects. She threw down her weapon without killing him, announcing;"I am a terrorist, not a killer."

The phrase "war on terrorism" gained currency when it was used to describe the efforts by the British colonial government to end a spate of attacks by Zionist Jews in the British Mandate of Palestine in the late 1940s. The British proclaimed a "War on Terrorism" against Zionist groups such as Irgun and Lehi, and anyone perceived to be cooperating with them.

The Zionist attacks, Arab attacks and revolts, and the subsequent British crackdown hastened the British evacuation from Palestine. The phrase was also used frequently by US President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, to describe his campaigns against Libya and Nicaragua.

On September 20, 2001, during a televised address to a joint session of congress, President George W. Bush launched his war on terror when he said, "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." Bush did not say when he expected this would be achieved. (Previous to this usage, after stepping off the presidential helicopter on Sunday, September 16, 2001, Bush stated in an unscripted and controversial comment: "This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while." Bush later apologized for this remark due to the negative connotations the word crusade has to people of Muslim faith. The word crusade was not used again).

US President Barack Obama has rarely used the term, but in his inaugural address on January 20, 2009, he stated "Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred." It is likely that the phrase will fall into disuse, as one referring to failed concepts and strategies of his predecessor. In March 2009 the Defense Department officially changed the name of operations from "Global War on Terror" to "Overseas Contingency Operation" (OCO).