This week marks 25 years since the 9/11 attacks, which tragically killed many innocent civilians in the U.S. In response, the U.S. government used the attacks of 9/11 as an excuse to flaunt the power and domination of the U.S. empire, and launch their so-called “War on Terror.” They wanted to show the world they could disregard international norms and invade, destroy, and occupy countries of their choosing, with little consequence.
First, the U.S. invaded and occupied Afghanistan for two decades, installing a puppet government, and establishing major military bases there. The U.S. occupation did nothing to help the Afghan people, and helped push the country into a permanent war zone.
After Afghanistan, the U.S. government, under President George W. Bush, fabricated intelligence in order to invade and occupy Iraq. They announced false links between the 9/11 attacks and the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, and falsely claimed that his regime had weapons of mass destruction, posing an imminent threat. The U.S. got rid of Saddam Hussein, established permanent military bases in Iraq, and tried unsuccessfully to install a new government that would do the bidding of the U.S.
Through their “War on Terror,” the U.S. unleashed an unimaginable level of devastation on the region, completely destroying infrastructure, schools, and communities to the point where these regions have never recovered. According to the “Cost of War Project,” U.S. wars in these regions since 2001, have resulted in the death of about 4.6 million people, displaced at least 38 million people, and cost U.S. taxpayers at least $8 trillion dollars.
The so-called U.S. War on Terror has never stopped, it has only expanded. It has been the excuse for a steady rise in military spending, increasing with every administration since 9/11. And today, the U.S. continues to use the excuse of “terrorism” to expand its power and domination around the world, and to repress anyone who speaks out against them. Under the guise of fighting terrorism, the U.S., under both Biden and Trump, has continued to fully fund and support the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza carried out by the Israeli military.
Since returning to power, Trump has focused on asserting U.S. economic and military dominance in South America in the face of growing competition from China. With no evidence, the U.S. claimed Venezuela was run by “narco-terrorists” and invaded and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela sits atop the largest proven oil reserves on Earth, much of it barely developed. The U.S. is now working with former members of Maduro’s government to give U.S. companies access to this oil and the massive profits that will come with it.
And just eight weeks after kidnapping Maduro, the U.S. along with Israel, launched its war on Iran. Since then, some 6,000 or more Iranians have been killed and tens of thousands injured, alongside major destruction of Iran’s nuclear energy, military and civilian infrastructure. The war has cost the U.S. an estimated $113 billion, and has driven oil prices up by over 40%, squeezing household budgets and pushing up inflation across the U.S. and much of the world. More than six months into this war, there is still no clear end in sight, with constant threats of escalation coming from the Trump administration. Despite being a war intended to show the power of the U.S. military to dominate the Middle East, this war has shown its weakness, as Iran has continued to attack U.S. allies and military bases and has maintained control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 25% of global oil shipments pass.
In addition to their wars of terror abroad, the Trump administration is carrying out another war of terror on the population, and anyone who speaks out against them. As ICE terrorizes immigrants and invades our communities, ordinary citizens who try to oppose ICE and protect their communities are being labeled as “domestic terrorists.” Students and workers who stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine are called “terrorist sympathizers” and have lost their jobs, visas, and faced deportation. And those who organize to oppose data centers in their communities — which drain power and water resources, increase energy prices, and pollute cities — are now being labeled terrorists as well. The administration labels those who oppose them as terrorists in order to intimidate people into silence.
So this week, when we are bombarded by the media about 9/11, let’s be clear on who the real terrorists in our world are: the U.S. military, backed by both Democratic and Republican politicians, serving corporations and their profits, which has unleashed misery on the people of the Middle East and the world for the last 25 years and counting. Their whole system is nothing but a reign of terror on the entire world.
