Theaters of operation for the War on Terrorism

Military/diplomatic campaigns
The campaign War on Terrorism is taking place in the following theaters of operation.
Afghanistan
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.
From January 2006, a NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) started to replace the U.S. troops of Operation Enduring Freedom in southern Afghanistan. US focus moved back to the east of Afghanistan. The British 16th Air Assault Brigade (later reinforced by Royal Marines) formed the core of the force in Southern Afghanistan, along with troops and helicopters from Australia, Canada and the Netherlands. The initial force consisted of roughly 3,300 British, 2,300 Canadian, 1,963 from the Netherlands, 300 from Australia, 290 from Denmark, and 150 from Estonia . Air support was provided by US, British, Dutch, Norwegian and French combat aircraft and helicopters.
As of 2008, Osama bin Laden has not been found but messages from him have been received by Arabic media outlets.
Spain and Mediterranean
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.
Georgia
Iraq
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 terrorism 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.
Saudi Arabia
Pakistan
In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist 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.
Thailand
Lebanon
In July 2006, following the killing of three Israeli soldiers and the taking prisoner of two more by Hezbollah, Israel invaded southern Lebanon, intent on the destruction of Hezbollah. The conflict lasted over a month and caused the deaths of between 845 and 1300 Lebanese and 163 Israelis (119 military and 44 civilian) and wounding thousands more Israelis and Lebanese. Both the Lebanese government (including Hezbollah) and the Israeli government have agreed to the terms of the ceasefire agreement created by the United Nations that began at 0500 on August 14, 2006. While the conflict is associated with the longer running Arab-Israeli conflict, prior to the declaration of the ceasefire, Israel stated it was fighting a war against terrorism, the U.S. government stated the conflict was also a front in the "War on Terrorism" and President Bush reiterated it in a speech the day the ceasefire came into effect.
In 2007 a conflict began in northern Lebanon after fighting broke out between Fatah al-Islam, an Islamist militant organization, and the Lebanese Armed Forces on May 20, 2007 in Nahr al-Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli. The conflict evolved mostly around the Siege of Nahr el-Bared, but minor clashes had also occurred in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in southern Lebanon and several terrorist bombings took place in and around Lebanon's capital Beirut. The terrorist group has been described as a militant jihadist movement that draws inspiration from al-Qaeda., and the Islamic Courts Union re-established Sharia law, while the Transitional Somali Government fled to Djibouti. In January 2009, the Islamic Courts Union and the Transitional Federal Government reached a power-sharing agreement, and the Transitional Federal Government returned to Mogadishu, Somalia, from exile in Djibouti. Under the new government, Islam became the official religion of Somalia, and Sharia was implemented. A small force of African Union peacekeepers remains to support the new government, and the International community has provided material support for its Armed Forces. The Government is waging a military campaign against the Islamist groups Al Shabab and Hizbul Islam who demand the complete withdrawal of all foreign forces from Somalia. However, these two groups have since fought amongst themselves.
Algeria
Korean Peninsula
The U.S. Military has maintained a presence on the Korean Peninsula since the signing of the Korean Armistice, which abruptly ended the Korean War in a stalemate. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was (up until October 11, 2008) on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, which is maintained by the United States Department of State.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has since stated she is considering renaming North Korea on the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism.

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