The War on Terror was declared in 2001 by President George W. Bush , following the September 11 attacks . However , though President Bush 's coined term of the " War on Terror " is argued to not be the beginning of a war , rather apart of a longer lasting war apart of a wider and deeper issue . In 1996 , Osama bin Laden of Al-Qaeda made a threat to the United States , by making a declaration of war . The growing tensions of the Middle East are suggested by Laurence Andrew Dobrot , to be very wide cultural misunderstandings and faults of the West is not making peace with the Middle East . As the Deputy Director for the Missile Defense Agency 's Airborne Laser Program , Dobrot , examines the hostility which has been continuous not only since 2001 , but since the birth of Wahhabism
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Perpetual war