War on Terrorism - Theaters of operation
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[edit] Military/diplomatic campaigns
The campaign War on Terrorism is taking place in the following theaters of operation.
[edit] Afghanistan
- See also: Operation Enduring Freedom
Following the September 11th attacks, the USA demanded that Afghanistan's Taliban government extradite Osama bin Laden. The Taliban initially responded by asking to see proof that bin Laden was behind the attacks. When the United States refused and threatened military action, the Taliban offered to extradite him to Pakistan, where he could be tried under Islamic law. This offer was also rejected.
The United States and other Western nations used air support and special forces to help local warlords and the Northern Alliance overthrow the Taliban.
Hamid Karzai became Afghanistan's first democratically elected president on October 9, 2004, and the situation in the country appears to be reaching a new equilibrium. However, Karzai's authority is thin outside of the capital Kabul. With a weak central government, well-armed warlords and, in some areas, continuing support for the Taliban, Afghanistan remains an unstable country.
As of 2005, Osama bin Laden has not been found but messages from him have been received by Arabic media outlets.
Coalition partners have expressed concern about a resurgence of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. On July 13, 2005, the Australian Government announced that a squadron of Australian Special Air Service Regiment(SAS) troops would be sent to the country.
[edit] Iraq
- See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq
- See also: Iraq War
The current and ongoing Iraq War began as a part of the campaign, but its necessity has been highly controversial. Claims of Iraq having ties to Al Qaeda date back to published reports in Newsweek in January, 1999 and in other newspapers around the globe in December, 1998. President Bill Clinton ordered Operation Infinite Reach in 1998 striking what was claimed to be a chemical weapons-related facility in Sudan with connections to al-Qaeda. Iraq had also been on the list of state sponsors of terror since 1990, and had known ties to Palestinian terrorist groups.
Neither evidence of a link to Al Qaeda nor stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction have been found by inspectors, both pre- and post-invasion.
[edit] Iran
The United States State Department refers to the Islamic Republic of Iran as the world's "most active state sponsor of terrorism."
Iran provides funding, weapons, and training to terrorist groups based in the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. Iran funding of Islamic terrorist groups include Hezbollah (founded with help of Iran), Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Kurdistan Workers Party (among others).
Iran was involved with Hezbollah's attempt to smuggle arms to the Palestinian Authority in January 2002.
[edit] Pakistan
- See also: Waziristan War
In the aftermath of the 9/11 terror bombing, Pakistan agreed to support the US in its war against terrorism. It gave the US the use of three air bases for the invasion of Afghanistan and the air campaign that preceded it. Some of the top Taliban leaders had studied in madrassas (religious seminaries) in the rugged semi-autonomous tribal belt along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. In alliance with the US, Pakistan sent troops into the tribal areas - for the first time in its history - to flush out the remnants of the Taliban who had gone into hiding there and the guerrilla Waziristan War started.
On March 2, 2003, authorities in Pakistan announced the capture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the September 11 attacks.
[edit] Pankisi Gorge (Georgia)
In February 2002, the U.S. sent approximately 200 Special Operations Forces soldiers to the former Soviet republic of Georgia to train Georgian troops to fight rebels from the breakaway Russian province Chechnya, crossing the border for safe haven in their war with Russia. This move drew protests from many Russians, who believed that Georgia should remain within the Russian sphere of influence, and not the United States'. On March 1, 2002, over domestic outcry, Russian president Vladimir Putin met with Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze in Kazakhstan and pledged his support for the American military initiative.
[edit] Yemen
The Bush Administration approved sending about 100 Special Operations soldiers to Yemen, a power base for Al-Qaida. The Special Operations forces, along with the CIA, are engaged in targeted attacks on suspected Al-Qaida members, especially in the regions of Yemen bordering Saudi Arabia, which are not well-controlled by the central Yemeni authorities.
[edit] Philippines
In January 2002, a U.S. force approximately 1,000 strong was sent to assist Philippine forces. About 600 troops, including 160 Special Operations soldiers, remain training forces in the Philippines to combat Abu Sayyaf on Basilan. On October 2, 2002, a bomb in Zamboanga killed a U.S. Army Special Forces master sergeant and two civilians. In October 2002 additional Zamboanga bombings killed six and wounded 200. In February 2003, the U.S. sent approximately 1,700 soldiers to the Philippines to engage in active combat against Abu Sayyaf, as opposed to training.
[edit] Indonesia
Near the end of 2001, the United States Congress relaxed restrictions put into place in 1999 against the U.S. training of Indonesian forces because of human rights abuses in East Timor. In October 2002 the Bali car bombing killed and wounded hundreds of civilians, the majority of whom were foreign tourists. The Islamic extremist movement Jemaah Islamiyah, suspected of carrying out that attack, was classified as a terrorist organization in November 2001.
[edit] Syria and Lebanon
Syria and Lebanon are hosting the headquarters of several terrorist organizations (according to the State Department list and the EU list) such as Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The White House declared it holds Syria accountable for supporting terrorism and officially implemented sanctions on May 11, 2004.
The situation got even more tense with the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri by a bomb in downtown Beirut, Lebanon's capital, on February 14, 2005. Although exactly who ordered the assassination remains unclear (an obscure militant group claimed responsibility), protests erupted in Beirut demanding that the Syrian troops stationed in Lebanon leave. President Bush, Europe, and Saudi Arabia also put pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad to honor his promises according to the 1989 Taif Agreement and pull out of Lebanon. The Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah is the largest political party in Lebanon, but has been declared by the U.S. State Department to be a terrorist organization with ties to Iran. Hezbollah organized a huge demonstration against the U.S. and seems poised to exploit a future vacuum as the Syrians depart.
[edit] Libya
The United States and Libya have been involved in diplomatic and military disputes stemming from Libya's activities since 1969. The United Nations imposed sanctions against Libya in 1992 following the Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie disaster. The sanctions were lifted on September 12, 2003, after Libya agreed to accept responsibility and make payment of US $2.7 billion to the families of those who died in the bombing. In the same vein, on February 26, 2004, the United States lifted their 23-year travel ban to Libya, although many other restrictions currently remain in place, such as economic sanctions and the ban on flights by U.S. airlines to Libya.
On December 19, 2003, Libya admitted having had a weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program and simultaneously announced its intention to end it and dismantle all existing WMD to be verified by unconditional inspections. Libya also agreed to limit its long range missiles to 300 km. Some of the WMD included mustard gas, which was hidden in a turkey farm. The announcement came after clandestine diplomatic negotiations with the United Kingdom and United States since March 2003. On March 7, 2004, the White House confirmed that the last of Libya's nuclear weapons-related equipment had been sent to the United States.
About that same time, Libya was also caught secretly passing nuclear technology which originated in North Korea on to other countries. Furthermore, Pakistan and China were mentioned as contributors to the programs.
[edit] Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip
Both Israel and the USA define the following organisations as terrorist groups: Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the PFLP, the PDLF and the Popular Resistance Committees[citation needed].
The USA called on the Palestinian Authority to dismantle the Palestinian alleged terrorist groups who target Israeli civilians. The U.S. government expressed great concern about the suicide bombers, which became popular among other Muslim terror groups such as Al-Qaeda[citation needed]. The Palestinians refuse to dismantle those groups and claim they are legitimate political factions who fight against occupation.
The Israeli Defence Forces conducted many counter-terrorism operations in order to thwart suicide bombings. U.S. Army officers studied Israeli operations and methods and even held joint training exercises. However, these alleged "counter terrorism" operations are viewed by the international community as collective punishment against the Palestinian people and are often a cover for land grabs by the state of Israel. The U.S. Army adopted some of the Israeli methods such as targeted missile-strike on terror leaders, the use of armoured bulldozers in urban warfare and new techniques for gathering military intelligence.
In addition to agreed-upon terrorist organizations, the U.S. also includes Kach, a Jewish ultra-nationalist outlawed in Israel on its official list of terrorist organizations, and recently added support of their Web sites to be an act of supporting terrorism.
The USA also has a political involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and acts as a negotiator between the two parties, in an attempt to solve the conflict in a peaceful manner.
On December 29, 2004, the Israeli Knesset passed a law against terrorism and against support of terrorism. The law prohibits funding terrorists, families of terrorists and institutes inciting terrorism. The law gives Israel the right to confiscate property and funds of terrorist organization, even if they do not target Israel or Israelis. The law is part of the legal war against terrorism and was approved definitely by 62-6. (Haaretz)
