Al Qaeda Network Exord is a classified order that allows the U.S. military to direct operations against al-Qaeda in 15 to 20 countries around the world, including those not at war with the United States.[1] It was approved by U.S. President George W. Bush and signed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in the spring of 2004, and came in response to a desire on the part of the Secretary of Defense to use the military against targets outside of Afghanistan and Iraq; the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had been given similar authority in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attacks.[1]