Research any topic before you write.

Find related topics. | Discover entities. | See connections. | Build a topical map.

War on terror

The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is a global military campaign initiated by the United States in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001. A global conflict spanning multiple wars, some researchers and political scientists have argued that it replaced the Cold War.

Measurement, Etymology & Background

Use the mouse wheel or two fingers (on touchscreens) to zoom in and out of the map.

Research this topic

Explore the main themes, entities and connections around War on terror. Start with the topic map, then use the sections below for research and deeper semantic analysis.

Explore this topic

Start with a few of the strongest sections from the source topic. These are research directions, not a list of keywords you must use.

Key facts & relationships

High-confidence facts extracted from structured source data. Use them as anchors for further research.

Location
Global
Date
DateMain phase: 14 September 2001 – 30 August 2021[note 1] (19 years, 11 months, 2 weeks and 2 days)[note 2]LocationGlobalStatus Major wars ended, ongoing in small operations · Main phase: 14 September 2001 – 30 August 2021[note 1] (19 years, 11 months, 2 weeks and 2 days)[note 2]
Status
Major wars ended, ongoing in small operations

Topics to explore

Browse the full topic structure. Each item opens a new analysis centered on that subject.

Overview

Etymology

Background

American objectives

Operation Enduring Freedom

Afghanistan

Military operations by country

Pakistan

Yemen

Current phase: Islamic State, Iran, and focus on narcoterrorism (2021–present)

Other military operations

International military support

Domestic aspects

Extrajudicial detention

Major terrorist attacks and plots since 9/11

Casualties

Costs

Criticism

Advanced semantic analysis

Deeper signals for content research, entity SEO and topical coverage. The plain-language headings explain what each technical view is useful for.

Map overview Semantic statistics

War on terror

Nodes521
Edges520
Triples417
Avg. degree2
Density0.003839
Components1

How this topic connects Entity context

See the strongest relationship patterns around the current topic before diving into the raw triples.

War on terror

Top relations

related to Further reading · 90
War on terror → ABC-CLIO, Afghanistan, Africa, America's War, Anthony, Art, Ashgate Publishing, Assessing, Blindfolding America, Bush, CA, Catastrophic Failure, Cato Institute, Charles, Chronology, Conflict, Coughlin, Counter-Terrorism, Covarrubias, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
related to Current phase: Islamic State, Iran, and focus on narcoterrorism (2021–present) · 41
War on terror → Afghanistan, As, Assad, August, Ayman, CENTCOM, Central Asian, Crocus City Hall, December, During, Europe, For, Iran, Iraq, ISIS, January, Kabul, Kerman, Laden's, March
related to Anti-terror campaigns by other powers · 34
War on terror → Al-Qaeda, Although Israel, AQAP, Arabian Peninsula, As, Before, Both Al-Qaeda, Bush, Colombia, Colombian, George, Golan Heights, Hezbollah, In Saudi Arabia's, Iran, Iranian-backed, Iraq, Islamic State, Israel, Israeli
related to Casualties · 30
War on terror → According, Afghanistan, American University, Brown University's Watson Institute, Bush Administration, Costs, Global Survival, International, International Physicians, Iraq, Joshua Goldstein, Libya, Nuclear War, Pakistan, Philippines, Physicians, Prevention, Public Affairs, September, Social Responsibility
related to External links · 25
War on terror → April, Archived, At, CIA, Czech Academy, Defense, Department, July, Legacies Project, National Military Strategic Plan, PDF, Prague, Reflection, Report, Responsible Statecraft, Retrieved, Sciences, Terrorism, The, The Oriental Institute
related to Forced displacement · 24
War on terror → According, Afghanistan, Another, Cost, Costs, Critics, Geneva Declaration Secretariat's, Iraq, Islamophobia, Libya, Of, Pakistan, Philippines, Rather, Somalia, Syria, The, This, United States, US Treasury
related to Use of phrase and its development · 24
War on terror → America, Americans, Amnesty International, Both, Bush, But, Camp David, Congress, Crusades, George, George Bush, It, Muslim, Muslim-Christian, North American, On, Our, Qaeda, September, Terrorists
related to Decline of the phrase's usage by the US government · 23
War on terror → Barack Obama, Basic, British, Bush, Defense Department, Global War, In, In April, In March, January, Lady Eliza Manningham-Buller, MI5, Obama, OCO, Our, Overseas Contingency Operation, Pentagon, Qaeda, Reith, So
see also · 19
War on terror → Afghanistan, Attacks, Combat Terrorist Activities Within, Designated Global TerroristTargeted, DoctrineCold WarCulture, EuropeList, Foreign Terrorist Entry, Islam, KarachiAuthority, Military Force, Nation, Nuclear, States, United States, United StatesAxis, United StatesIran, United StatesRally, US, Use
related to Etymology · 16
War on terror → Bush's War, Cold War, India, Qaeda, Russia, Terror, The, The Forever War, The Global War, The Long War, The War, The War Against, United Kingdom, United States, World War III, World War IV

Important terminology Word statistics

Use these terms to understand the vocabulary surrounding the topic, not as a checklist for keyword stuffing.

Important terminology

war us terror afghanistan iraq military al-qaeda united states terrorism forces bush 2001 government pakistan 11 operations killed taliban operation

Entity relationships Subject–Predicate–Object triples

SubjectPredicateObjectConfidenceSrc
War on terrorDateDateMain phase: 14 September 2001 – 30 August 2021[note 1] (19 years, 11 months, 2 weeks and 2 days)[note 2]LocationGlobalStatus Major wars ended, ongoing in small operations1.00infobox
War on terrorDateMain phase: 14 September 2001 – 30 August 2021[note 1] (19 years, 11 months, 2 weeks and 2 days)[note 2]1.00infobox
War on terrorLocationGlobal1.00infobox
War on terrorStatusMajor wars ended, ongoing in small operations1.00infobox
al-Qaedainstance ofsome researchers and political scientists have argued that it replaced the Cold War.The main targets of the campaign were militant Islamist movements0.80text
the Talibaninstance ofsome researchers and political scientists have argued that it replaced the Cold War.The main targets of the campaign were militant Islamist movements0.80text
and their alliesinstance ofsome researchers and political scientists have argued that it replaced the Cold War.The main targets of the campaign were militant Islamist movements0.80text
those by Russiainstance ofand usually excludes other independent counter-terrorist operations and campaigns0.80text
Indiainstance ofand usually excludes other independent counter-terrorist operations and campaigns0.80text
Osama bin Ladeninstance ofDefeat terrorists0.80text
Abu Musab al-Zarqawiinstance ofDefeat terrorists0.80text
destroy their organizationsIdentifyinstance ofDefeat terrorists0.80text

Related concept clusters Concept neighborhoods

These clusters group vocabulary that occurs around closely connected concepts in the source material.

    Connections between topic areas Semantic bridges

    Bridges can reveal useful research angles that are easy to miss in a flat list of related terms.

    Min side: 3
    For writers, content strategists, SEOs, marketers and creators — from quick topic research to advanced semantic analysis.