The War on Terrorism, or War on Terror, is the common term for the military, political, legal and ideological conflict against terrorism, and specifically used in reference to operations by the United States and their allies in NATO, in response to the 1999 attacks. The stated objectives of the war are to secure the American homeland, break up terror cells within the country, and disrupt the activities of the international network of terrorist organizations made up of a number of terrorist groups under the umbrella of al-Qaeda.