war on terror

Americans Still Fumble in the Dark for Facts on Torture

by Karen J. Greenberg

The persistent efforts of scholars and human rights advocates are chipping away at the secrecy surrouding America's use of torture under the banner of national security in the War on Terror. 

No Blood for Oil: Examining the Movement Against the Iraq War

by Charles F. Howlett

David Cortright's history of the opposition to the Iraq War places the peace movement in the context of the underacknowledged peace movements of the American past. 

How an Abstract "War on Terror" Became All Too Real in Iraq and Afghanistan

by Roger Peace

Politics drove the Bush administration to expand the scope of a military response to 9/11 to cover costly entanglements in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Post-9/11 Wars Created the Foot Solders of Far-Right Violence

Historian Kathleen Belew says that war affects not only veterans, but makes an entire society more receptive to the possibility of violence. 

Killing of al-Zawahiri in Kabul Vindicates Strategic Separation of Counterterrorism and Military Occupation

by Brian Glyn Williams

On withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration touted its "over the horizon" capability to track and target terrorists from afar. If the strategy proves out, it should mean the ability to fully decouple antiterror operations from foreign military presence. 

Post-Cold War Interventions show Military Restraint is the Key to Protecting Human Rights

by Aslı Bâli

America's foreign policy establishment must "right-size" its expectations about the ability of US military power to secure desired outcomes, and prepare to embrace non-coercive approaches to human rights crises that will be precipitated by climate change and food crises. 

Can the US Credibly Condemn Russian Attacks on Civilians?

by Paul Lovinger

Are American military actions different from Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure only in degree? 

It's Wrong for Biden to Punish Afghans for 9/11

by H.A. Hellyer and Farid Senzai

It's unconscionable to punish ordinary Afghans, who were themselves victimized by the Taliban, by seizing frozen bank funds as restitution to the families of 9/11 victims. 

The Elusive Guantanamo Endgame

by Karen J. Greenberg

"In the legal quagmire the U.S. has created, there is, in fact, no easy solution to closing Guantanamo."

How Awesome Is “Awesome”? Rating the US Military on Cost-Benefit Terms

by Andrew Bacevich

Is it impolite, then, to ask if the nation is getting an adequate return on its investment in military power?

Americans Have been Forgetting Afghanistan for 20 Years. I Didn't Have That Luxury

by Ali A. Olomi

"Every Afghan American I know has lost a family member or friend. The war became part of who we were and even shaped our career trajectories. Afghan friends became immigration attorneys and activists. I became a historian."

Are We Forever Captives of the Forever Wars?

by Karen J. Greenberg

The Authorization for the Use of Military Force passed by Congress after 9/11 has been expanded from fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan to justify action in at least 19 countries. Repealing it is the first step to freeing Americans from the Pentagon's Forever Wars. 

Was Afghanistan Just a Schell Game?

by Nick Turse

Somehow being right about American wars never translates into celebrity or widespread media appearances.

Never Having to Say You're Sorry

by Karen J. Greenberg

Numerous players with large and small roles in creating the expansive War on Terror have issued mea culpas; the major architects and the interests who profit from war have not. 

Droning On: America's Assassins-in-Chief

by Tom Engelhardt

Since the Bush administration, every President has used drone technology to be the nation's assassin-in-chief. In a nation increasingly tolerant of mass COVID death at home, does this even have the power to shock?

"A Horrible Mistake": Time to Ditch CENTCOM

by Andrew Bacevich

Created by military reorganization undertaken by the Reagan administration, CENTCOM assumes control of potential military operations in 20 nations, where a half-billion people live. In the decades of its existence, it has overseen the decline and imminent collapse of American empire. 

Making the Forever War: Marilyn B. Young on the Culture and Politics of American Militarism: October 11

In the Washington History Seminar, Mary Dudziak and Mark Philip Bradley discuss their edited volume of the work of Marilyn Young, the preeminent historian of war in the modern United States. Monday, October 11, 

Why Didn't We Leave Afghanistan Before Now?

by Carter Malkasian

Above all other considerations, America's interminable military presence in Afghanistan was driven by politicians' fears of blame for a future terrorist attack. 

The Profits of War

by William Hartung

Between weapons systems and a shadow army of contractors and logistics consultants, the War on Terror has been a bonanza for large corporations that shows no signs of abating. 

The Winner in Afghanistan? China

by Alfred McCoy

While the similarities between the American exits from Vietnam and Afghanistan are superficially obvious, the differences are more significant, and signal a steep decline in America's ability to influence world affairs.