War on Terrorism

The war on terrorism is the term used to describe the American-led global counterterrorism campaign launched in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In its scope, expenditure, and impact on international relations, the war on terrorism is comparable to the Cold War; it represents the beginning of a new phase in global political relations and has important consequences for security, human rights, international law, cooperation, and governance.

The war on terrorism is a multidimensional campaign of almost limitless scope. Its military dimension has thus far involved major wars against Afghanistan and Iraq; covert operations in Yemen, the Philippines, and elsewhere; large-scale military assistance programs to cooperative regimes; and major increases in military spending. Its intelligence dimension has comprised institutional reorganization and considerable increases in the funding of America's intelligence-gathering capabilities, a global program of capturing terrorist suspects and interning them at Guantanamo Bay, expanded cooperation with foreign intelligence agencies, and the tracking and interception of terrorist financing. Its diplomatic dimension includes continuing efforts to construct and maintain a global coalition of partner states and organizations and an extensive public diplomacy campaign to counter anti-Americanism in the Middle East. The domestic dimension of America's war on terrorism has entailed new anti-terrorism legislation, such as the USA Patriot Act; new security institutions like the Department of Homeland Security; the preventive detainment of thousands of suspects; surveillance and intelligence-gathering programs by the FBI and local authorities; the strengthening of emergency response procedures; and increased security measures for airports, borders, and public events.

The successes of the first three years of the war on terrorism include the arrest of hundreds of terrorist suspects around the world, the prevention of further large-scale terrorist attacks on the American mainland, the toppling of the Taliban regime and subsequent closure of terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, the capture or elimination of many of Al-Qaeda's senior members, and increased levels of international cooperation in global counterterrorism efforts.

However, critics argue that the failures of America's counterterrorism campaign outweigh its successes. They contend that the war in Afghanistan not only failed in its primary goal of capturing Osama bin Laden, but effectively scattered the Al-Qaeda network, thereby making it even harder to counteract. The attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq increased anti-Americanism among the world's Muslims, amplifying the message of militant Islam and uniting disparate groups in a common cause. The pattern of terrorist attacks since the fall of the Taliban suggests that Islamic militants are now acting autonomously of Al-Qaeda's leadership; at the same time, the ongoing [Page 1016]violence in occupied Iraq is providing a focus for militant struggle. These developments have arguably increased the risk of terrorism. Other critics allege that the war on terrorism is a contrived smokescreen for the pursuit of an American neoconservative geopolitics that includes controlling global oil reserves, increasing defense spending, expanding international military presence, and countering the strategic challenge posed by various regional powers.

The long-term effects of the war on terrorism are not yet clear but may include: widespread rearmament and a new global arms race; the erosion of civil liberties and human rights across the globe; the corrosion of the international legal order through the rewriting of the laws of war; increased regional instability in the Middle East, the Caucasus, and parts of Asia; political damage to the institutions of global governance; and the distraction of the international community from dealing with issues such as poverty, disease, and environmental change.

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