World‘War on terror’: How 9/11 changed the language of conflict

The article argues that 9/11 produced a bureaucratic, precision-focused vocabulary that sanitised violence, including “enhanced interrogation”, “extraordinary rendition” and “enemy combatants”. The broad, undefined framework of a “war on terror” helped underpin the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, Guantanamo Bay detention and expanded surveillance powers, with its political legacy still evident today.

9/11 attackswar on terrorUS politicshuman rights

AAl Jazeera★★★★☆2026-09-12 05:26Original