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The War on Terror, also known as the Global War on Terrorism, is an international military campaign that was launched by the United States government after the September 11 attacks against the United States. The naming of the campaign uses a metaphor of war to refer to a variety of actions that do not constitute a specific war as traditionally defined. U.S. president George W. Bush first used the term war on terrorism on 16 September 2001, and then war on terror a few days later in a formal speech to Congress. In the latter speech, George Bush stated, Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them. The term was originally used with a particular focus on countries associated with al-Qaeda. The term was immediately criticised by such people as Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and more nuanced ones subsequently came to be used by the Bush administration to publicly define the international campaign led by the U.S.; it was never used as a formal designation of U.S. operations in internal government documentation.U.S. President Barack Obama announced on 23 May 2013 that the Global War on Terror is over, saying the military and intelligence agencies will not wage war against a tactic but will instead focus on a specific group of networks determined to destroy the U.S. On 28 December 2014, the Obama administration announced the end of the combat role of the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan. However, the unexpected rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terror group led to a new operation against terror in the Middle East and South Asia, Operation Inherent Resolve. Criticism of the War on Terror focused on morality, efficiency, economics; some, including later president Barack Obama, objected to the phrase itself as a misnomer. The notion of a war against terrorism has proven contentious, with critics charging that it has been exploited by participating governments to pursue long-standing policy/military objectives, reduce civil liberties, and infringe upon human rights. Critics also assert that the term war is not appropriate in this context since there is no identifiable enemy and it is unlikely that international terrorism can be brought to an end by military means.
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