Welcome to the Toeg Effect Plus. This is your host, Toeg. Today we take a look at the financial, social and political burden of the current American foreign policy. Today we sum up the cost effect of this policy since 9/11. Today, we discuss:
WHAT COST THIS WAR ON TERROR?
The attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in September, 2001, changed the US foreign policy substantially and irreversibly. According to President Bush, the US suddenly faced a new and much more menacing foe than it had faced in its history. Even during the great conflicts of the 20th Century, including the first and second world wars, the Korean War and the Vietnam War the US was never attacked as frighteningly as it was on September 11, 2001. In a matter of two hours, nearly 3,000 people, mainly Americans, lay beneath the rubble at the World Trade Center and inside the Pentagon.
While the origins of the attacks themselves are still hotly debated in intellectual circles and think tanks around the globe, the results of the attacks are unmistakable. Immediately following the attacks from that fateful day, the US reformulated its foreign policy, shaping it around this new and powerful enemy, terrorism. Surprisingly enough, while nearly every hijacker aboard those fateful planes that day were from Saudi Arabia, the US decided to name other countries as the leading sponsor of this growing menace. President Bush promptly pointed his finger to the new axis of evil, Iraq, North Korea, Afghanistan and Iran. He stated emphatically that the US had entered into a new war, a war on terror.
Within a month the US invaded Afghanistan, ostensibly to rid the country of the ruling faction, the Taliban, as well as to remove all terrorist training camps as well as to capture and put on trial the supposed mastermind of the events of September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden. Within a year after those events, the US stepped up its bellicose rhetoric towards another member of this axis of evil, Iraq. Claiming that their President Saddam Hussein was involved with terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda, had mass quantities of weapons of mass destruction, was in the process of obtaining nuclear weapons grade material and was an immediate threat to the United States and its allies, the US formed a quickly assembled coalition of some 30-odd countries, most of them small islands and tiny nations. The US, and the few allies who remain with the US, have been confronting terrorism head on since the events on 9/11. This report will discuss the effectual ramifications of that confrontation and their cost in monetary, social and human terms.
THE INCREASE OF TERRORIST ACTS WORLDWIDE
According to the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, the number of terrorist incidents worldwide in 1999 amounted to a total of 25. The following year, 2000, it rose to 48, but in 2001 the number was reduced back to a total of 25. Therefore, that was no significant change in the overall terrorist levels between 1999 and 2001. Furthermore, most of the increase in 2000 occurred in Asia and the Middle East, but had subsided by the end of the year 2001. In fact, most of these terrorist incidents occurred over protests by people either for or against abortion.
Even the following year, 2002, did not show a significant change in the number of terrorist incidents. Only 23 recorded incidents occurred that year, even though the US had already entered into the first of its two major Middle Eastern conflicts. But by the end of 2003, according to the Washington Post article dated April 27, 2005, terrorist incidents had increased to 175. That’s more than a 760% increase over the previous year. Thus, while the Bush administration claimed it had entered Iraq to ultimately reduce terrorism around the world, we can see that after less than one year in Iraq, and two years in Afghanistan, worldwide terrorism had risen by over 700%.
By the end of 2004 that figure had more than tripled to 655. Again we see that Bush’s so-called War on Terrorism was producing the exact opposite effect. With a 374% increase from the previous year, Bush’s oft-touted war was sending the world farther and farther into the chasm of guerilla warfare and underground, subversive interventions. This horrific trend would continue to worsen. By the end of 2005, the number of terrorist attacks worldwide rose to a mind-numbing figure of 11,111 according to a Washington Post article dated April 29, 2006. This represents an overall increase of 1,700% over 2004. Clearly the great majority of these attacks were occurring in Afghanistan and Iraq, the two countries the US invaded illegally and without agreement from the UN or any other major international institution. According to official sources, the year 2006 ended with nearly 15,000 terrorist attacks worldwide, an increase of over 25% from the year before.
To recap then in 1999 there were 25 terrorist incidents worldwide. By the end of 2006 the number had risen to nearly 15,000. Bush’s supposed war on terror was and is having the exact opposite effect from the stated goals he has been touting for the past six years. Clearly Bush’s war on terrorism has benefited terrorists more than any other singular group. Without Bush’s illegal intervention into Afghanistan and Iraq, the number of terrorist incidents would have more than likely hovered around the 25 or so, the number of incidents that occurred in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002.
In conclusion, Bush’s War on Terror has increased terrorism around the world by 60,000% since the year 2002.
But wait, there’s more.
THE RISING COST OF THE WAR ON TERROR
The rise in terrorism around the globe is but one part in Bush’s War on Terrorism. There is also the monetary cost of such an endeavor. The US military budget rose from $289 billion in 1998 to $643.9 billion in fiscal year 2008. This is an increase of 122.8% over the span of eleven years. Clearly the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have received the bulk of this money. In fact, just the Iraqi conflict by itself had cost US taxpayers over $510 billion and is expected to top $700 billion by the end of 2008.
And this does not include the cost of running Homeland Security. Between 2001 and 2005, the Department of Homeland Security’s budget nearly doubled from $56 billion in 2001 to $99.5 billion in 2005. But as evidenced by the devastating destruction of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, one of the chief components of the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, was completely inept at handling such a crisis. Millions of dollars of foreign aid sat rotting for months while lawlessness, looting, burglary and murder went rampant through the streets of New Orleans and elsewhere. The recent tornado that devastated the town of Greensburg, Kansas, found that much of the state’s National Guard were actually serving overseas along with most of the heavy equipment that will be needed to rebuild the town. When Kansas turned to its neighboring states, the response was the same. No one had any spare equipment to send to Kansas to help the state in this time of need. Their men and equipment were likewise sent to Iraq to help with the fight.
In recent articles from the mass media the amount of money required to bring New Orleans and the surrounding parishes and neighboring states could easily top $200 billion. And that sum is merely what is required to bring the area back to what it was before the events of late August, 2005. At that time, New Orleans had one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation with rundown ghettos being more of the norm than the exception. Today the area better resembles an old war zone with devastated houses, vast areas littered with debris and homelessness rampant on nearly every street corner. As disaster after disaster amasses across the US, the realization that our first line of defense is not there. This well-regulated militia with tactical equipment, adequate sheltering and sufficient provisions, which could normally be summoned at a moment’s notice to relieve the strain of Mother Nature’s fury, is no longer available. These men, women and services are now in Iraq or Afghanistan fighting Bush’s war on terror.
Another aspect to consider about the US deficit is the vast holdings of this debt by foreign nations. According to a US Treasury report dated April 23, 2007, the three largest holders of US Treasury Securities are Japan, with over $600 billion; China; with over $400 billion and the United Kingdom over $100 billion. Should these countries decide to divest themselves of the US dollar, the Bush government would not have enough gold or other currency to pay them all. An act of this magnitude would surely cripple the US economy for decades to come.
While the Bush administration has consistently reduced federal spending on education, welfare, medical costs, and infrastructure, it has increased just as consistently military costs, and tax cuts for the top 1% of Americans. The result is a current budget deficit that hovers very close to the debt ceiling of $9 trillion. In his six years in office, President Bush has increased the debt ceiling of the United States five times. The debt ceiling is the upper limit of spending allowed by the government. Bush had had to do so in order to finance his war on terror, because nearly every other area of the economy has seen their spending cut in those same years. In fiscal year 2007 Congress will be obligated to raise the debt ceiling once again. The current fiscal debt now stands a just a few tens of billions of dollars shy of the current debt ceiling and it is safe to assume that the new budget, while continuing to suppress such programs for education, health and welfare of the nation, will need to increase in order to continue to fight Bush’s war on terror.
There are over 120,000 American civilians working in Iraq alone. These people are there for the most part to perform tasks and duties normally doled out to the soldiers already fighting there. These tasks include the washing of laundry, where Halliburton charges $100 for every load of wash; mundane clerical work such as data entry and filing. Across Iraq over a hundred thousand American civilians are performing tasks normally apportioned to the military, and they are doing so at the American taxpayer’s expense.
In conclusion, Bush’s war on terror, and his insistence on the privatization of the same, has forced the US to record levels of debt, increasing its debt ceiling five times in the six years of his presidency. Much of this debt is foreign owned, and should just a few nation balk at further debt extension, nations like China, Japan, Great Britain, and others, the US economy would crumble under the massive weight of having to pay back their holdings. The US dollar, already slated to fall a great deal this year, would plummet to depths not seen since the Deutschmark crashed in the 1920s. Americans are responsible for 80% of the debt incurred by individuals worldwide. Should the dollar collapse, there will be no safety net for these people who would see all their assets vanish literally overnight. The US and its great military would be left without a viable source of income and would be forced to abandon all hegemonic hopes of world empire it enjoys today.
THE HUMAN COST OF THE WAR ON TERROR
But by far, the greatest tragedy of Bush’s so-called war on terror is its human cost. When the World Trade Center fell, the Pentagon buckled and flight 93 crashed, a total of less than 3,000 people died. While we should all lament the loss of a single soul under any such circumstances, the death toll from the two conflicts now far outweigh this sum in every aspect. When the Lancet study came out in October of 2006 the world was shocked at its findings. Over 650,000 had died in Iraq alone as a result of the US-led invasion in 2003. While many dispute these numbers, no one has come up with a better, or more scientific, study to disprove its facts.
The number of Afghani dead now approaches 50,000. The number of Coalition forces who died don’ sound as bad in comparison, less than 4,000, but again one soul lost is to be lamented. Though the tragic events on September 11, 2001, saw the deaths of nearly 3,000 people, the US reaction to this sad event was unwarranted and unnecessary. Everyday in Iraq dozens if not hundreds of people lose their lives. Over 90% of these are innocent people, mainly women and children, whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
With sectarian violence raging in Iraq and a resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, there will surely be much more blood-letting before the US pulls out of both countries for good. But the effect of Bush’s war on terror has permeated worldwide, causing attacks on nearly every continent on Earth. From London’s infamous July 7, 2005, to the attempted attack on Fort Dix earlier this month, there is a steady and growing amount of attacks occurring that focuses their attention on attacking the very same war on terror. The growing tide of people around the globe against Bush’s wars indicates that these attacks will simply continue to rise until the US is out of both Iraq and Afghanistan.
In conclusion, Bush’s war on terror has cost the lives of nearly ¾ of a million people, has increased hatred for all things American, and has caused an escalation of violence around the world.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The bottom line of Bush’s war on terror has been to promote the very thing he claims to be against. Terrorist attacks have increased over a thousand fold since his declaration. His war has altered US priorities tremendously. The monies normally given to education, welfare, infrastructure and social services such as health care, disaster relief and aid to minorities, are now going directly to fund the illegal interventions in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Finally, bush’s fantasy has caused the deaths of over 700,000 people in both countries with no end in site. If these trends continue, Bush’s war on terror will top one million dead by the end of 2009. Even if one combines all of the terrorist attacks worldwide since 1968, they would still not approach one seventh of the total dead since 9/11.
Clearly Bush’s war has done nothing to stop terrorism around the world. In fact, it has increased it. His war has resulted in the greatest US deficit ever with the potential ramification of a total collapse of the dollar. His war has killed more people since its inception than all those killed by terrorists since 1968. In other words, Bush has done exactly the opposite of what his stated plans had promised. His war on terror is not just a miserable failure, but a costly and deadly one, one that someday may in fact bring down the entire US economy. All this in the name of War on Terror.
For the Toeg Effect Plus, this is toeg.
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