The event leading up to America's invasion of Afghanistan was the terrorist attacks that took place in the United States on September 11th. (also known as 9/11) This assault was categorized by a string of four coordinated strikes carried out by Al Qaeda operatives, members of a militant group of non-state actors whose origin can be traced to Afghanistan. These individuals hijacked four commercial airplanes and used them as guided missiles, by crashing them into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Southern Pennsylvania. This assault resulted in nearly 3,000 casualties that caused lasting devastation to permeate throughout the nation. The night of the attacks President Bush vowed to "win the war against terrorism," and in a subsequent address to the Joint session of the 107th Congress he demand that the Taliban "deliver to United States authorities all the leaders of al Qaeda who hide in your land...Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated." This speech previewed the establishment of a new cabinet: the Department of Homeland Security, and marked the beginning of the United States' campaign against terrorism known as the Global War on Terror. On September 18, 2001, just a week after the attacks, President Bush signed a joint resolution that sanctioned military action against the perpetrators of the calculated strike on American soil. On October 7, 2001 the United States invaded Afghanistan and commenced Operation Enduring Freedom, which initially comprised air-strikes on Taliban and Al Qaeda forces, and a small group of special operations forces.