[235]
Dissent and criticism of Bush's leadership in the War on Terror increased as the war in Iraq continued.[236][237][238] In 2006, a National Intelligence Estimate concluded that the Iraq War had become the "cause célèbre for jihadists".[239][240]

Afghanistan invasion
Main article: War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
President Bush and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan in Kabul, March 1, 2006
On October 7, 2001, U.S. and British forces initiated bombing campaigns that led to the arrival of Northern Alliance troops in Kabul on November 13. The main goals of the war were to defeat the Taliban, drive al-Qaeda out of Afghanistan, and capture key al-Qaeda leaders. In December 2001, the Pentagon reported that the Taliban had been defeated,[241] but cautioned that the war would go on to continue weakening Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders.[241] Later that month the UN had installed the Afghan Transitional Administration chaired by Hamid Karzai.[242][243]
Efforts to kill or capture al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden failed as he escaped a battle in December 2001 in the mountainous region of Tora Bora, which the Bush Administration later acknowledged to have resulted from a failure to commit enough U.S. ground troops.