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 terms 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
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
War on Terror