Abstract
The progress of the global war on terror in the four years since the 9 September 2001 attack on New York and Washington is surveyed, with particular reference to its objective of curtailing the activities of al-Qaida, the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the threat to the United States from the ‘axis of evil’. It is suggested that the US is unlikely to withdraw from Iraq in particular because of its dependency upon access to Middle East oil in the foreseeable future, and accordingly that the global war on terror is likely to continue for several years at least.