Post Tagged with: "War on Terror"

Adding Indirect Deaths, Total Death Toll in the ‘War on Terror’ is 4.5 Million

Adding Indirect Deaths, Total Death Toll in the ‘War on Terror’ is 4.5 Million

When the Brown University (USA) based Costs of War project had estimated the direct deaths resulting from violence (actual fighting, bombing etc.) caused by the USA’s post 9/11 ‘War on Terror’ at about 920,000 (a little less than a million, or 0.9 million) then many people were shocked by this. However even at that time the project researchers had cautioned[Read More…]

by 21/05/2023 Comments are Disabled World
A man grieves during a mass funeral for members of a family was killed in a U.S. drone airstrike, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Photo: Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times)

High Costs of US War on Terror Have Not Led to Basic Corrective Actions

The terrible 9/11 attacks led the USA military and foreign policy establishment to launch a prolonged series of military actions in many countries with the stated aim of curbing terrorism and terror. These have been collectively called the war on terror or terrorism, the global war on terror and the 9/11 wars. Although there have been criticisms and debates linked[Read More…]

by 21/04/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Fault Lines Which Ruined the War on Terror Are Still Scary

Fault Lines Which Ruined the War on Terror Are Still Scary

As the war on terror stands struck in the ruins of Afghanistan, more attention will be given hopefully to  repairing  the fault lines which caused the debacle. Ominously , however, many factors which led to terrible mistakes in the war on terror continue to retain a scary presence. US authorities must realize that their discourse on this and related issues[Read More…]

by 14/10/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
A Parable of (All-American) Violence – Accountability and the War of Terror

A Parable of (All-American) Violence – Accountability and the War of Terror

As a religious studies professor, I know a parable when I see one. Consider the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and the final events in this country’s war in Afghanistan as just such a parable taken directly from the history of our moment. The heart-wrenching last days of that war amounted to a cautionary tale about the nature of[Read More…]

by 23/09/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
      Baz Ratner/Reuters US troops in Afghanistan, June 2011

How Corporations Won the War on Terror

The costs and consequences of America’s twenty-first-century wars have by now been well-documented — a staggering $8 trillion in expenditures and more than 380,000 civilian deaths, as calculated by Brown University’s Costs of War project. The question of who has benefited most from such an orgy of military spending has, unfortunately, received far less attention. Corporations large and small have left the[Read More…]

by 21/09/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
Messianic Failure: Pursuing the GWOT Jabberwock

Messianic Failure: Pursuing the GWOT Jabberwock

Anniversaries can provide occasions for reflection and deep consideration.  Past errors and misjudgements can be considered soberly; historical distance provides perspective.  Mature reflections may be permitted.  But they can also serve the opposite purpose: to cake, cloak and mask the record. The gooey name GWOT, otherwise known as the Global War on Terrorism, is some two decades old, and it[Read More…]

by 11/09/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Terrorism: A False Threat

Terrorism: A False Threat

Twenty years after the events of 9/11, 2001, and in the midst of the messy withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan, it seems apropriate to question the validity of the so-called “War on Terror”.  The Costs of War project estimates the America’s 20-years of wars,  initiated with the supposed intention of fighting terrorism, have killed almost a million peoiple,[Read More…]

by 10/09/2021 Comments are Disabled World
A man grieves during a mass funeral for members of a family was killed in a U.S. drone airstrike, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Photo: Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times)

Estimated Cost of Post-9/11 US Wars Hits $8 Trillion With Nearly a Million People Dead

With the final U.S. soldiers leaving Afghanistan earlier this week after nearly 20 years of occupation and war, a new analysis released Wednesday shows the United States will ultimately spend upwards of $8 trillion and that nearly one million people have lost their lives so far in the so-called “global war on terror” that was launched after the attacks of September[Read More…]

by 01/09/2021 1 comment World
Moving on from the War on Terror?

Moving on from the War on Terror?

In the first two months of Joe Biden’s presidency, you could feel the country holding its breath. Sheltered in place, hidden behind masks, unsure about whether to trust in a safe-from-pandemic future, we are nonetheless beginning to open our eyes collectively. As part of this reemergence, a wider array of issues — those beyond Covid-19 — are once again starting[Read More…]

by 25/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
The 20th Anniversary of the War on Terror Arrives

The 20th Anniversary of the War on Terror Arrives

“This is a different kind of war, which we will wage aggressively and methodically to disrupt and destroy terrorist activity,” President George W. Bush announced a little more than two weeks after the 9/11 attacks.  “Some victories will be won outside of public view, in tragedies avoided and threats eliminated. Other victories will be clear to all.” This year will mark the[Read More…]

by 08/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism