Foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration

This article is part of a series about George W. Bush
Political positions Electoral history Early life Professional life Family Public image Honors 46th Governor of Texas Governorship 43rd President of the United States Presidency timeline Transition Inaugurations first second Policies Domestic Economic Foreign Bush Doctrine international trips Space Climate change Legislation and programs Pardons Appointments Cabinet Judiciary Roberts Miers Alito First term September 11 attacks War on terror War in Afghanistan Patriot Act No Child Left Behind Act Invasion of Iraq Iraq and weapons of mass destruction Timeline '01 '02 '03 '04 Second term Hurricane Katrina Iraq War 2007 Iraq surge Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy Email controversy Great Recession Economic Stimulus Act Efforts to impeach Timeline '05 '06 '07 '08–'09 Presidential campaigns 2000 primaries convention debates election Florida recount Bush v. Gore 2004 primaries convention debates election Post-presidency Presidential library Bibliography Clinton Bush Haiti Fund One America Appeal
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The main event by far shaping the foreign policy of the United States during the presidency of George W. Bush (2001–2009) was the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, and the subsequent war on terror. There was massive domestic and international support for destroying the attackers. With UN approval, US and NATO forces quickly invaded the attackers' base in Afghanistan and drove them out and the Taliban government that harbored them. It was the start of a 20-year quagmire that finally ended in failure with the withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan.

Other interactions with foreign nations during this period included diplomatic and military initiatives in the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere. Important economic developments that occurred during Bush's presidency include the several free-trade agreements.

The chief advisors of the president were Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, and Vice President Dick Cheney.