Guantanamo Bay detention campUnited States military prison in southeastern CubaThe Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in 2002 by President George W. Bush to hold terrorism suspects and "illegal enemy combatants" during the war on terror following the September 11 attacks.
Operation Sea SignalOperation Sea Signal was a United States Department of Defense operation in the Caribbean in response to an influx of Cuban and Haitian migrants attempting to gain asylum in the United States. As a result, the migrants became refugees at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. The operation took place from May 1994 to February 1996 under Joint Task Force 160. The task force processed over 50,000 refugees as part of the operation.
Camp X-RayCamp X-Ray was a temporary detention facility at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp of Joint Task Force 160 on board the United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. The first twenty detainees arrived at Guantanamo on 11 January 2002. It was named Camp X-Ray because various temporary camps used to house Cuban and Haitian migrants in the 1980s and 1990s on board the station were named using NATO phonetic alphabet.
Joint task forceA joint task force is a "joint" (multi-service) ad hocmilitary formation. The task force concept originated with the United States Navy in the 1920s and 1930s. "Combined" is the British-American military term for multi-national formations. CTF – Commander Task Force, sometimes Combined Task ForceCCTF – Commander Combined Task ForceCJTF – Combined Joint Task Force (multi-service and multi-national).
Guantanamo Bay Naval BaseGuantanamo Bay Naval Base (Spanish: Base Naval de la Bahía de Guantánamo), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by the U.S. military) is a United States military base located on 45 square miles (117 km) of land and water on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It has been de facto extraterritoriality of the U.S. since 1903 as a coaling station and naval base.
United States ArmyLand service branch of the U.S. militaryMilitary unitThe United States Army (U.S. Army) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is designated as the army of the United States in the United States Constitution. As a part of the United States Department of Defense, it is one of the six armed forces of the United States and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States.
Camp Delta (Guantanamo Bay)19°54′09″N75°05′57″W / 19.90250°N 75.09917°W / 19.90250; -75.09917Camp Delta is a permanent American detainment camp at Guantanamo Bay that replaced the temporary facilities of Camp X-Ray. Its first facilities were built between 27 February and mid-April 2002 by Navy Seabees, Marine Engineers, and workers from Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root.
United States Southern CommandCommand responsible for South American areaMilitary unitThe United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), located in Doral in Greater Miami, Florida, is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense.
United States Armed ForcesCombined military forces of the U.S.The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. United States federal law establishes six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard, each assigned specific roles and operational domains. With the exception of the Coast Guard, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in peacetime, the services are organized under the Department of Defense (DoD).Guantánamo BayGuantánamo Bay (Spanish: Bahía de Guantánamo, ) is a bay in Guantánamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and it is surrounded by steep hills which create an enclave that is cut off from its immediate hinterland. The United States assumed territorial control over the southern portion of Guantánamo Bay under the 1903 Lease.
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)BelligerentsInvasion (2001):United StatesNorthern AllianceUnited KingdomFranceCanadaItalyGermanyAustraliaNew ZealandIranInvasion (2001):Islamic Emirate of AfghanistanTalibanHaqqani networkNon-state allies:Al-Qaeda055 BrigadeIMUTNSMJTJISAF/RS phase (2001–2021):Islamic State of Afghanistan (2001–2002)Afghan Transitional Authority (2002–2004)Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021)ISAF (2001–2014; 51 countries) United States United Kingdom Canada Germany Australia Italy New Zealand FranceTurkeyGeorgia (country)JordanBulgariaPolandRomaniaSpainCzech RepublicNorth MacedoniaDenmarkArmeniaAzerbaijanFinlandCroatiaHungaryNorwayLithuaniaMongoliaUnited Arab EmiratesBelgiumPortugalSlovakiaNetherlandsMontenegroLatviaSwedenAlbaniaUkraineBosnia–HerzegovinaGreeceIrelandIcelandEstoniaAustriaMalaysiaSloveniaColombiaSwitzerlandBahrainEl SalvadorLuxembourgSouth KoreaTongaSingaporeResolute Support (2015–2021; 36 countries)High Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (allegedly; from 2015)Khost Protection Force and other pro-government paramilitariesISAF/RS phase (2001–2021):TalibanHaqqani network (from 2002)Al-QaedaAQISTJA Taliban splinter groups Dadullah Front (from 2012)Fidai Mahaz (from 2013)Other allies:Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin(intermittently until 2016)Islamic Jihad Union(from 2002)Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (until 2015)Turkistan Islamic PartyLashkar-e-JhangviPakistani TalibanLashkar-e-IslamRS phase (2015–2021):Islamic State (from 2015) ISIL–KPIMUCommanders and leadersListHamid KarzaiAshraf GhaniGeorge W. BushBarack ObamaDonald TrumpJoe BidenDonald RumsfeldRobert GatesLeon PanettaChuck HagelAsh CarterJim MattisMark EsperLloyd AustinTony BlairGordon BrownDavid CameronTheresa MayBoris JohnsonGeoff HoonJohn ReidDesmond BrowneJohn HuttonRobert AinsworthLiam FoxPhilip HammondMichael FallonGavin WilliamsonPenelope MordauntBen WallaceJean ChrétienPaul MartinStephen HarperJustin TrudeauGerhard SchröderAngela MerkelJohn HowardKevin RuddJulia GillardTony AbbottMalcolm TurnbullScott MorrisonSilvio BerlusconiRomano ProdiMario MontiEnrico LettaMatteo RenziPaolo GentiloniGiuseppe ConteMario DraghiHelen ClarkJohn KeyBill EnglishJacinda ArdernKenneth F. McKenzie Jr.John F. CampbellList of former ISAF CommandersList of former RS Commanders Nangialai † Abdul Manan Niazi †ListMullah Omar#Akhtar MansourXHibatullah AkhundzadaObaidullah Akhund(POW)#Jalaluddin Haqqani#Sirajuddin HaqqaniMullah YaqoobAbdul Ghani BaradarOsama bin LadenXAyman al-ZawahiriMohammed AtefXAsim Umar†Muhammad RasulHaji NajibullahShahab al-MuhajirHafiz Saeed Khan† Mawlavi Habib Ur Rahman Abdul Haseeb Logari†Abdul Rahman Ghaleb†† Abdullah Orokzai (POW)Qari Hekmat†Mufti Nemat Dawood Ahmad Sofi † Mohamed Zahran † Ishfaq Ahmed Sofi †StrengthISAF: 130,000+ (peak strength)ANDSF: 307,947 (peak strength; January 2021)Resolute Support: 17,178 (peak strength; October 2019)Defence contractors: 117,227 (peak strength; Q2 2012)HCIEA: 3,000–3,500Khost Protection Force: 3,000–10,000 (2018)Taliban: 58,000–100,000 (2021) Haqqani network: 4,000–15,000 (2009)HIG: 1,500–2,000+ (2014)al-Qaeda: c. 300 in 2016 (c. 3,000 in 2001)Fidai Mahaz: 8,000 (2013)ISIL–KP: 3,500–4,000 (2018, in Afghanistan)Casualties and lossesAfghan security forces:66,000–92,000 killedNorthern Alliance:200 killedCoalition:Dead: 3,579 United States: 2,420 United Kingdom: 457Canada: 159France: 90Germany: 62Italy: 53Others: 338Wounded: 23,536 United States: 20,093United Kingdom: 2,188Canada: 2,071ContractorsDead: 3,917Wounded: 15,000+Total killed: 73,696–99,696Taliban insurgents:52,893–80,000+ killed (2,000+ al-Qaeda fighters)ISIL–KP:2,400+ killedCivilians killed: 46,319 Total killed: 176,206 (per Costs of War Project)212,191+ (per UCDP)Total killed in related insurgency in Pakistan: 66,650 The continued list includes nations who have contributed fewer than 200 troops as of November 2014.
September 11 attacks2001 terror attacks in the U.S.The September 11 attacks, colloquially known as 9/11, were a coordinated series of suicide attacks perpetrated by the Islamic terrorist organization al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. A total of 19 hijackers commandeered four commercial passenger airliners.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.