War on Terrorism

The "War on Terrorism" or "War on Terror" (in US foreign policy circles, the global war on terrorism or GWOT{{fn|1}} ) is a campaign by the United States and some of its allies to rid the world of terrorist groups and to end state sponsorship of terrorism. There is a de facto focus on stopping Islamist terrorism.

Historical usage of the phrase

Legal land warfare is characterized by uniformed combatants, deliberate avoidance of damage to noncombatants, and care for prisoners and enemy wounded. Combatants who do not abide by the rules of land warfare are illegal combatants. Actions which deliberately target noncombatants, with the intent to inspire widespread fear, are terrorist by definition.

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The phrase "War on Terrorism" was first widely used by the Western press to refer to the attempts by Russian and European governments, and eventually the U.S. government, to stop attacks by anarchists against international political leaders. (See, for example, New York Times, April 2 1881). Many of the anarchists described themselves as "terrorists," and the term had a positive valence for them at the time. When Russian anarchist Vera Zasulich shot and wounded a Russian police commander who was known to torture suspects on 24 January 1878, for example, she threw down her weapon without killing him, announcing, "I am a terrorist, not a killer."http://www.anthropoetics.ucla.edu/ap0801/terror.htm#n16

Related Topics:
Press - April 2 - 1881 - Vera Zasulich - 24 January - 1878

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The next time the phrase gained currency was its use to describe the efforts by the British colonial government to end a spate of Jewish terrorist attacks in the British Mandate of Palestine in the late 1940s. The British proclaimed a "War on Terrorism" and attempted to crack down on Irgun, Lehi, and anyone perceived to be cooperating with them. The Jewish attacks, Arab reprisals (while Jews considered their attacks themselves reprisals for what they saw as British complacency to Arab violence against Jews, and denial of Jewish rights), and the subsequent British crackdown hastened the British evacuation from Palestine.

Related Topics:
British Mandate of Palestine - 1940s - Irgun - Lehi

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A representative article from the period in (New York Times, August 5th, 1947, p. 16) reads:

Related Topics:
New York Times - August 5 - 1947

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: "The Palestine Government today arrested the mayors of several Jewish cities and townships along Palestine's coast, including Tel Aviv, Nathanya, and Ramat Gan. No reason for the arrests was immediately given, but it was believed that they indicated a new attack in the British war on terrorism. The bodies of the two British sergeants executed by the Irgun Zvai Leumi last week were found hanged near Nathanya."

Related Topics:
Tel Aviv - Nathanya - Ramat Gan - Irgun Zvai Leumi

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After the withdrawal of the British, the newly formed Israeli government began using the term "War on Terrorism" to refer to its efforts to crack down on Palestinian and Lebanese groups, both terrorist and otherwise, operating in Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East.

Related Topics:
Israel - Middle East

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The phrase "War on Terrorism" was used frequently by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. In his 1986 speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Reagan said:

Related Topics:
U.S. President - Ronald Reagan - 1980s - 1986 - U.N. General Assembly

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: "…the United States believes that the understandings reached by the seven industrial democracies at the Tokyo summit last May made a good start toward international accord in the war on terrorism."

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