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.

U.S. domestic initiatives

A $40 billion emergency spending bill was quickly passed by the United States legislature, and an additional $20 billion bail-out of the airline industry was also passed.

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Investigations have been started through many branches of many governments, pursuing tens of thousands of tips. Thousands of people have been detained, arrested, or questioned. Many of those targeted by the Bush administration have been secretly detained, and have been denied access to an attorney. Among those secretly detained are U.S. citizens.

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For more information, see detentions following the September 11 2001 attack. The Justice Department launched a Special Registration procedure for certain male non-citizens in the U.S., requiring them to register in person at offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Related Topics:
Detentions following the September 11 2001 attack - Special Registration

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Several laws were passed to increase the investigative powers of law enforcement agencies in the United States, notably the USA Patriot Act. Many civil liberties groups have alleged that these laws remove important restrictions on governmental authority, and are a dangerous encroachment on civil liberties, possible unconstitutional violations of the Fourth Amendment. No official legal challenges have been started as of 2004, but governing bodies in a number of communities have passed symbolic resolutions against the act.

Related Topics:
USA Patriot Act - Unconstitutional - Fourth Amendment - As of 2004

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In a speech on June 9, 2005, Bush claimed that the Patriot Act had been used to bring charges against more than 400 suspects, more than half of whom had been convicted. Meanwhile the American Civil Liberties Union quoted Justice Department figures that show that 7,000 people have complained of abuse of the act. The ACLU also maintains that many others don't know they've been subjected to a search because the law requires that searches be kept secret. http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/06/09/bush.patriot.ap/index.html

Related Topics:
June 9 - 2005 - American Civil Liberties Union

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The Bush administration began an unprecedented and sweeping initiative in early 2002 with the creation of the Information Awareness Office, designed to collect, index, and consolidate all available information on everyone in a central repository for perusal by the United States government.

Related Topics:
2002 - Information Awareness Office

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Various government bureaucracies which handled security and military functions were reorganized. Most notably, the Department of Homeland Security was created to coordinate "homeland security" efforts in the largest reorganization of the U.S. federal government since the creation of the Pentagon. There was a proposal to create an Office of Strategic Influence for the purpose of coordinating propaganda efforts, but it was cancelled due to negative reactions. For the first time ever, the Bush administration implemented the Continuity of Operations Plan (or Continuity of Government) to create a shadow government to ensure the executive branch of the U.S. government would be able to continue in catastrophic circumstances.

Related Topics:
Department of Homeland Security - Office of Strategic Influence - Continuity of Operations Plan

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