Since September 11, President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell have built a worldwide coalition for the war against terrorism. The coalition is stronger than ever and continues to grow.
Since September 11, President Bush has met with leaders from at least 51 different countries to help build support for the war against terrorism.
136 countries have offered a range of military assistance.
The U.S. has received 46 multilateral declarations of support from organizations.
The U.N. General Assembly and Security Council condemned the attacks on September 12.
NATO, OAS and ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand and the U.S.) quickly invoked their treaty obligations to support the United States. Our NATO allies are assisting directly in the defense of American territory.
142 countries have issued orders freezing the assets of suspected terrorists and organizations.
89 countries have granted over-flight authority for U.S. military aircraft.
76 countries have granted landing rights for U.S. military aircraft.
23 countries have agreed to host U.S. forces involved in offensive operations.
Through intelligence cooperation with many nations, we are acquiring evidence against those responsible for the attacks of September 11 and we are better able to prevent future attacks.
With U.S. leadership and with international support, Afghans have put aside long-standing ethnic and political differences to form a new interim government, naming a president and 29 ministers with portfolio. The new government will also include women, who have been oppressed by the Taliban regime.
On December 11, more than 120 nations around the world answered President Bushs call to reject terrorism and commemorate the victims of the September 11 attacks by holding remembrance ceremonies.
The United States and several other allies have reopened embassies in Kabul.
The President was joined by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on November 11 for a memorial service honoring the citizens of all the countries killed in the World Trade Center.
Terrorist Finances
"We put the world's financial institutions on notice: if you do business with terrorists, if you support them or sponsor them, you will not do business with the United States of America."
--President George W. Bush, 11/7/01
Terrorists need money to carry out their evil deeds. The Presidents first strike in the war against terror was not with a gun or a missile the Presidents first strike was with his pen as he took action to freeze terrorist finances and disrupt their pipelines for raising and moving money in the future.
The world's financial institutions have been put on notice -- if you support, sponsor, or do business with terrorists, you will not do business with the United States. Denying terrorists access to funds is a very real success in the war on terrorism. Since September 11, the United States and its allies in the war on terrorism have been winning the war on the financial front:
President Bush launched the first offensive in the war on terrorism on September 23 by signing an Executive Order freezing the U.S.-based assets of those individuals and organizations involved with terrorism.
196 countries and jurisdictions have expressed their support for the financial war on terror.
142 countries have issued orders freezing terrorist assets, and others have requested U.S. help in improving their legal and regulatory systems so they can more effectively block terrorist funds.
The assets of at least 153 known terrorists, terrorist organizations, and terrorist financial centers have now been frozen in the U.S. financial system.
Since September 11, the U.S. has blocked more than $33 million in assets of terrorist organizations. Other nations have also blocked another $33 million.
On November 7, the U.S. and its allies closed down operations of two major financial networks al-Barakaat and al-Taqwa both of which were used by al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden as sources of income and mechanisms to transfer funds.
On December 4, President Bush froze the assets of a U.S.-based foundation The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development -- that has been funneling money to the terrorist organization Hamas.
The U.S. government created three new organizations -- the Foreign Terrorist Asset Tracking Center (FTAT), Operation Green Quest and the Terrorist Financing Task Force. These new organizations will help facilitate information sharing between intelligence and law enforcement agencies and encourage other countries to identify, disrupt, and defeat terrorist financing networks.
International organizations are key partners in the war on financial terrorism. On September 28, the United Nations Security Council passed resolution 1373 that requires all nations to keep their financial systems free of terrorist funds.
The Financial Action Task Force -- a 29-nation group promoting policies to combat money laundering -- adopted strict new standards to deny terrorist access to the world financial system.
The G-20 and IMF member countries have agreed to make public the list of terrorists whose assets are subject to freezing, and the amount of assets frozen.
The Military Campaign
"I said to the Taliban, turn them over, destroy the camps, free people you're unjustly holding. I said, you've got time to do it. But they didn't listen. They didn't respond, and now they're paying a price. They are learning that anyone who strikes America will hear from our military, and they're not going to like what they hear. In choosing their enemy, the evildoers and those who harbor them have chosen their fate."
--President George W. Bush, 10/17/01
Operation Enduring Freedom, the military phase, began October 7, 2001. Since then, coalition forces have liberated the Afghan people from the repressive and violent Taliban regime. As President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld have said, this is a different kind of war against a different kind of enemy. The enemy is not a nation -- the enemy is terrorist networks that threaten the way of life of all peaceful people.
The war against terrorism is the first war of the 21st Century -- and it requires a 21st Century military strategy. Secretary Rumsfeld has worked with our coalition allies and the courageous men and women of the U.S. military to craft a cutting-edge military strategy that minimizes civilian casualties, partners with local forces, and brings destruction to the oppressive Taliban who supported the al-Qaeda terrorist network.
The coalition has achieved broad military success while putting fewer than 3,000 U.S. ground troops on the ground in Afghanistan. And Secretary Rumsfeld and the U.S. military have also shown a lightning quick ability to adapt to a distant, harsh and ever-changing battlefield. In some cases, U.S. troops are conquering terrorists by welding together 21st Century technology with 19th Century tactics. Troops have chased terrorists on horseback while using mobile phones and global positioning systems to pinpoint targets for the Air Force. Bombers today use 21st Century targeting technology, and laser-guided and GPS guided smart bombs to destroy specific targets, including centuries-old caves used as terrorist headquarters.
While weve achieved a great deal of military success, much dangerous and difficult work remains to be done before the war on terrorism is won. A few key military successes thus far in the war on terrorism include:
In just weeks the military essentially destroyed al-Qaedas grip on Afghanistan by driving the Taliban from power.
Taliban leaders have surrendered major cities to opposition forces, including Kandahar, Kabul, Kunduz, and Mazar-e-Sharif.
The military has destroyed at least 11 terrorist training camps and 39 Taliban command and control sites. The Wall Street Journal reported on December 13 that as many as 50,000 terrorists from more than 50 countries may have received training in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan in recent years.
About 2.5 million humanitarian rations have been dropped to aid the people of Afghanistan.
U.S. Marines have established a military base at Kandahar airport.
Routes are being blocked to try to prevent the escape of al-Qaeda and Taliban members.
Senior al-Qaeda and Taliban officials have either been captured or killed.
The U.S. military rescued two American Christian aid workers who were being held as prisoners by the Taliban.
Friendship Bridge between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan was reopened to transport humanitarian aid by land.
Minefields and roads are being cleared to ensure delivery of aid and freedom of movement.
Leaflet drops and radio broadcasts continue daily to convey our determination, provide truthful information, and encourage the capture of Osama bin Laden.
The military action in Afghanistan represents a global coalition effort. In addition to the United States, military assets are being deployed from many other nations, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Russia and Turkey.
