War on Terrorism

The War on Terror, also known as the Global War on Terrorism, is an international military campaign that was launched by the U.S. government after the September 11 attacks in the U.S. in 2001. The naming of the campaign uses a metaphor of war to refer to a variety of actions that do not constitute a specific war as traditionally defined. U.S. president George W. Bush first used the term "war on terrorism" on 16 September 2001, and then "war on terror" a few days later in a formal speech to Congress. In the latter speech, George Bush stated, "Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them." The term was originally used with a particular focus on countries associated with al-Qaeda. The term was immediately criticised by such people as Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and more nuanced ones subsequently came to be used by the Bush administration to publicly define the international campaign led by the U.S.; it was never used as a formal designation of U.S. operations in internal government documentation.

U.S. president Barack Obama and his administration (2009–2017) on a number of occasions expressly rejected the term "War on Terror", as well as the qualifier global, as being inaccurate and misleading. President Barack Obama announced on 23 May 2013 that the Global War on Terror is over, saying the military and intelligence agencies will not wage war against a tactic but will instead focus on a specific group of networks determined to destroy the U.S. On 28 December 2014, the Obama administration announced the end of the combat role of the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan. However, with the unexpected rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terror group earlier that year, a new operation against terror in the Middle East and South Asia was announced – the Operation Inherent Resolve.

List of incidents

 * 25 August 2010: A Singaporean man who attacked on Facebook the ruling party and urged people to "burn" a cabinet minister has been arrested on charges of inciting violence, police said Wednesday. In a statement, police said they had arrested a "man in his late 20s" on Tuesday "in connection with investigations into offences related to incitement of violence". The statement did not name the man or give details of the offence, but said he was released on bail pending further investigation. Local media identified him as Abdul Malik Ghazali, 27, who posted a series of comments on the social networking site critical of how Singapore is hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG). One of his postings highlighted recent floods in Singapore, the escape of detained terror suspect Mas Selamat Kastari, the amount of money spent to host the games and reports of the poor standard of food served for games volunteers. He said it was time to "burn" the sports minister and the PAP. Later on, Cameron Bell was arrested for burning a cabinet minister had been arrested for inciting violence as well. The man who was arrested for his online comments during the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) last year has been let off on 27 February 2011.
 * May 2011: Authorities arrest a 24-year-old man after he allegedly posted on an internet forum that a fighter jet had crashed, resulting in many casualties. In a statement, the police say that he is being investigated under Section 45 of the Telecommunications Act, which states that any person who is found guilty of transmitting a false or fabricated message is liable to be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years, or a fine, or with both.