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A U.S. Army Soldier from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team kicks in the door of a building during a cordon and search in Buhriz, Iraq, March 14, 2007. (Photo: Flickr / U.S. Air Force photo / Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall)
In the 17 years since the events of Sept. 11 2001, after which the United States declared a "global war on terror," there has not been a terrorist attack of similar size or magnitude on American soil.
However, according to findings in a new congressionally mandated report by the United States Institute of Peace--authored by members of a federal task force focused on extremism--nations around the world have suffered a five-fold increase in terrorist attacks following the post-9/11 policies unleashed by the U.S. and its allies.
The focus of the report--titled Beyond the Homeland: Protecting America from Extremism in Fragile States--maintains a very U.S.-centric worldview. And while it does little or nothing to critically challenge the widely criticized policies pursued by the Bush, Obama, or Trump presidencies, its tabulation of the dramatic rise in destablized states and growing terrorist violence throughout the regions where the U.S. military has been most active since 2001--namely, the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa--is nonetheless revealing.

That the so-called "global war on terror" is, in fact, creating more terrorists than it eliminates is not news. Even the CIA has admitted that.
But 17 years after that fateful and horrifying day--and with the people of Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Chad, Yemen, and many other countries still being forced to suffer the consequences of a nearly borderless, limitless war--it remains important to once more document the futility of violence as being a solution to... violence.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
In the 17 years since the events of Sept. 11 2001, after which the United States declared a "global war on terror," there has not been a terrorist attack of similar size or magnitude on American soil.
However, according to findings in a new congressionally mandated report by the United States Institute of Peace--authored by members of a federal task force focused on extremism--nations around the world have suffered a five-fold increase in terrorist attacks following the post-9/11 policies unleashed by the U.S. and its allies.
The focus of the report--titled Beyond the Homeland: Protecting America from Extremism in Fragile States--maintains a very U.S.-centric worldview. And while it does little or nothing to critically challenge the widely criticized policies pursued by the Bush, Obama, or Trump presidencies, its tabulation of the dramatic rise in destablized states and growing terrorist violence throughout the regions where the U.S. military has been most active since 2001--namely, the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa--is nonetheless revealing.

That the so-called "global war on terror" is, in fact, creating more terrorists than it eliminates is not news. Even the CIA has admitted that.
But 17 years after that fateful and horrifying day--and with the people of Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Chad, Yemen, and many other countries still being forced to suffer the consequences of a nearly borderless, limitless war--it remains important to once more document the futility of violence as being a solution to... violence.
In the 17 years since the events of Sept. 11 2001, after which the United States declared a "global war on terror," there has not been a terrorist attack of similar size or magnitude on American soil.
However, according to findings in a new congressionally mandated report by the United States Institute of Peace--authored by members of a federal task force focused on extremism--nations around the world have suffered a five-fold increase in terrorist attacks following the post-9/11 policies unleashed by the U.S. and its allies.
The focus of the report--titled Beyond the Homeland: Protecting America from Extremism in Fragile States--maintains a very U.S.-centric worldview. And while it does little or nothing to critically challenge the widely criticized policies pursued by the Bush, Obama, or Trump presidencies, its tabulation of the dramatic rise in destablized states and growing terrorist violence throughout the regions where the U.S. military has been most active since 2001--namely, the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa--is nonetheless revealing.

That the so-called "global war on terror" is, in fact, creating more terrorists than it eliminates is not news. Even the CIA has admitted that.
But 17 years after that fateful and horrifying day--and with the people of Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Chad, Yemen, and many other countries still being forced to suffer the consequences of a nearly borderless, limitless war--it remains important to once more document the futility of violence as being a solution to... violence.