19 years ago, the US experienced the worst terrorist attack within its own borders in the country’s history. Shortly after, then-US president George W Bush launched the so-called ‘War on Terror’. This included the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq as well as a large number of covert military operations, including drone strikes and targeted assassinations.
The number of civilian deaths from these activities has been estimated in the millions. Meanwhile, the US lost thousands of soldiers and the UK hundreds in combat across the Middle East. Now, a new report has put the number of people displaced from the ‘War on Terror’ in the tens of millions. And this raises serious questions about the true motivation that lies behind this and other aspects of US foreign policy.