The Cost of the 'War on Terror': 500,000+ Killed and Climbing

The Cost of War Project reports the death toll from the "War on Terror" is at about half a million people. This estimate is based on people killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan alone during the past 17 years of the U.S. effort to chase around ""terrorists".

_{Shock and Awe Bombing of Iraq - Source}

Those unfamiliar with the reality of the global war on terror might think these are "terrorists" being killed by the honorable U.S. armed forces and their allies. But most are innocent collateral damage of a global invasion force that is wreaking havoc and spreading destruction and chaos where ever it goes. Neta C. Crawford, co-director from the Costs of War Project at Brown University's Watson Institute says:

One might also think that the cost of this "war" are justified, and that things are getting better. But according to co-director of the project, Stephanie Savell:

"This new body count signals that, far from diminishing, the war is only intensifying."

The report estimates that wars initiated by the U.S. post-9/11 have resulted in the killing of 480,000 and 507,000 people. Again, that's just for Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It doesn't account for the 500,000 dead from the ongoing conflict the U.S. has joined in Syria, nor Libya, or other locations where the hunt for terrorists and "evil-doers" has led Western powers to attack. It also doesn't include indirect deaths or those killed by the impact of a war, such as for limited food, water, shelter, electricity, hospitals or sanitation.

The half million killed that make up the report come from "direct deaths". These are from the "U.S. military, contractors, and DoD employees; national military and police as well as other allied troops; opposition fighters; civilians; journalists; and aid workers". Iraq has the largest number, making up nearly 300,000 of the total. And over 200,000 of them are civilians who've been killed in this perpetual war that masquerades in the name of "freedom".

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This is a stark contrast to the U.S. military deaths at about 4,550 for invading Iraq. People want to celebrate the military "heroes", and morn their loss, while they are experiencing a 2% loss for attacking and invading countries and killing others. Meanwhile those that are killed in the "war on terror" and attempt to "liberate" the people of those countries suffer 45 times more losses, and they are just civilians. So much for the "fight for freedom" of the people in those lands.

The Cost of War Project launched in 2011, and provides a contrast to the often underreported costs of waging war given by the U.S. government. Co-director Savell thinks the Democrat-win of the House of representatives in the past midterm elections will result in "House Democrats will try to advance a national security strategy emphasizing restraint and accountability for the costs of the War on Terror." Whether that is true or not, remains to be seen. It may just be political bias, as nothing really changed during the previous Democrat rule of the U.S. forces under President Obama.

Reporting civilian deaths may help to put pressure on the government to reevaluate it's actions though, as the U.S.s supported war on Yemen being covered int he media seems to have brought pressure to call on the Saudis to ceasefire. Savell said:

"Research shows that governments become more careful when civilian deaths from "collateral damage" are reported on. A wave of Democrats now in control of the House plan to push for just that. Representative Ro Khannasays he wants to hold as many as three days of hearings with Trump's national security team to "justify, for the American people, what our mission is, what the costs are, what the risks are, and why we're there." Representative Adam Smith, poised to become chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, plans to increase oversight of the military, and others led by Representative Barbara Lee hope to end the war in Afghanistan."

Whether the Democrats actually bring more accountability or not, informing people of the costs of war and the human destruction involved is important to put pressure in any political sphere of influence. The consequences of this seemingly endless war int he MIddle East needs to be understood if changes in U.S. foreign policy are to happen. Co-director Neta C. Crawford, also a Boston University political science professor, said:

"Too often, legislators, NGOs, and the news media that try to track the consequences of the wars are inhibited by governments determined to paint a rosy picture of perfect execution and progress."

To end an endless war, the public needs to be informed. That's where the political pressure will come from. Lawmakers will listen when people demand a change.

Day by day, the casualties grow, largely unnoticed by the American public and our lawmakers. This is why we need to #EndEndlessWar.

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As previously mentioned with the toll on Iraq and Iraqis outweighing the loss of American military who create the whole mess, the Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also mentioned the drastic difference in suffering. He tweeted:

US' so-called 'War on Terror' has cost 500K+ lives. 110K+ dead just since 2016. Debacle has caused destruction in Iraq, Syria, Libya & Yemen. It has spawned ISIS & multiple Al Qaeda affiliates. Cost to US taxpayers: 7K dead Americans + $5.6 trillion. Cost to MidEast: Unfathomable

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While the Americans lament their losses, they ignore the grave injustice that they force upon others in their ignorant quest for "freedom". The raging wars oversees may delude Americans into feeling safe and secure, but that comes with a high cost in debt to themselves, and a higher cost to the nations and people they invade to attack and kill. As the report said, these are only the "direct deaths". Millions have died as a result of this global agenda to remake the Middle East.

The Middle East is forever changed in the 21st century. Many think we live in a time of peace because of the relative geographic zones of comfort and bubble of reality they live in. But they don't see the violence they support in other places while they delude themselves. The American Dream has them living in an illusion and false blanket of comfort acting as a veil of reality that masks the truth of their actions.

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References:

• Half Million Killed by America's Global War on Terror 'Just Scratches the Surface' of Human Destruction
• This new body count signals that, far from diminishing, the war is only intensifying
• Human Cost of the Post-9/11 Wars: Lethality and the Need for Transparency

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Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.

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