During his 2018 State of the Union address, Pres. Donald J. Trump declared ISIS had been defeated on the battlefield. During the run-up to the 2016 elections, he pledged to unleash the full, unrestrained might of the U.S. military and destroy the ISIS caliphate.
In a stunning turnaround, American and coalition soldiers eradicated terrorist fighters with terrifying resolve and determination. The group, once called a “JV” team by former Pres. Obama, held huge swaths of land until the Trump Administration let America’s generals take the lead and do their job.
Today, ISIS has been roundly defeated and the few former insurgents that survived are in hiding or are beyond reach. ISIS still has an active contingent in Syria battling that country’s military. Russia has thrown support behind Syrian Pres. Assad as those final pockets of terrorist fighters waned.
The 9-11 attacks escalated the fight from intelligence agencies tracking jihadists and arresting them to a hot war in the Middle East, and it has taken a heavy toll. The financial costs have been high. All told, the United States has spent upwards of $2.4 trillion between Department of Defense allocations and indirect costs. But the human costs have taken the lives of thousands of sons and daughters who enlisted. And, the deaths of innocent bystanders caught in the middle of radical Muslim extremism are high. These are the true costs of the War on Terror.
America Lost Sons and Daughters
Following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon and the downed flight by Americans fought jihadists on a plane meant for the White House, Pres. George W. Bush enlisted U.N. Security Council support and called upon NATO allies to move forward with the War on Terror.
The hot war that waged in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and other regions of the Middle East has resulted in the following loss of American life to date:
- U.S. Soldiers Killed – 7,008
- U.S. Military Wounded – 50,422
- U.S. Department of Defense Members Killed – 16
- American Civilian Contractors Killed – 3,000
- American Civilian Contractors Wounded – 6,000
- Veterans Suffering War-Related PTSD – More than 200,000
The final American death toll cannot yet be tallied. The U.S. military continues to pursue terrorist operations such a Boca Haram in Northern African and small groups of former al Qaeda and ISIS radicals around the globe.
On the home front, the Veterans Administration has accumulated a “Burn Pit Registry” of more than 150,000 American soldiers that have suffered debilitating health conditions due to contact with biohazards, carcinogens and other toxins during their military service in the Middle East.
Massive Loss of Civilian Lives
The use of human beings as shields has long been denounced by civilized nations around the world. Terrorist groups such as al Qaeda and ISIS among others routinely embed themselves in civilian populations or take hostages to deter direct combat. The practice has grossly increased the number of civilian deaths since the War on Terror began in 2001. These are some of the telling numbers.
Afghanistan: From 2001 to the present, upwards of 31,000 civilians have lost their lives due to direct fire and 29,900 have reportedly been wounded. More than 111,000 total Afghans have been killed when including soldiers, civilians, and insurgents. Some place the total loss of life as high as 360,000.
Iraq: The invasion of Iraq by U.S. and coalition forces reportedly resulted in upwards of 174,355 civilian deaths, according to the Iraq Body Count project. U.S. combat missions accounted for approximately 7,419 of those deaths. The highest number of casualties occurred in 2006 with 29,451 reported deaths.
The decision to invade Iraq by the Bush Administration did not produce weapons of mass destruction. Iraq’s Saddam Hussein did reportedly fund and support terrorism against the U.S. and other Western countries.
Murders Perpetrated by Terrorists
The 9-11 attacks remain the single most murderous act by a terrorist organization against Americans in history. The worst until 9-11 was the domestic terrorism of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols in Oklahoma City. The truck bombing killed women and children.
Since then, lone wolf jihadists have been responsible for multiple murders in incidents such as the Boston Marathon Bombing, Fort Hood killings, San Bernardino murders, and the Orlando nightclub shooting.
More than 10,000 deaths have been reported annually as a result of radical Muslim extremist violence around the world. The highest number of deaths occurred in 2014 at 32,763. American military leaders have stated that with the ISIS caliphate destroyed, civilian populations remain at risk from lone wolf and organized acts of terror.
~ Conservative Zone
The cost of LOSING the War on Terror is even higher. This hit piece FAILS to even consider the alternative. What a flaky bunch of BOZOS at ConservativeZone.com!
The cost was MUCH higher than it needed to be because of our politicians. The rules of engagement produces a high casualty, no-win scenario. The proof is obvious when you see what happened when Trump changed the rules of engagement. Victory came very quickly and the caliphate is no more.
Consider the “cost” to the “deep state” when the conflict is ended. “My goodness, what can we do to justify our jobs and our budget. Benghazi was a deep state operation to arm ISIS and got exposed… and had to be covered up. The “deep state” is responsible for much of the drug running, gun running in the world and much of the human trafficking. Destabilisation causes mass migration to escape the social and economic chaos. The “deep state” is behind most of the political destabilisation and revolution in the world. “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” is a most enlightening read.
This is simply a logical thread derived from personal world travel and research. I also believe that this thread extends to the current SCOTUS and POTUS battles being waged. We the People, actually elected someone who was not a politician and had the wealth to avoid the campaign traps of selling flavors for donations. True “Boy Scouts” that threaten the survival of the criminal activities by the swamp monsters. It is going to be fun to watch this play out.
The swamp monsters are not at all happy. McCain almost blew a gasket when Trump cut off “aid” to ISIS. The “poster girl” for the swamp, Ford, is a CIA product connected to Fusion Gps of the Steele dossier fame….Is nothing sacred to the “left” of the D.N.C.
The alternative question: What would have been the cost of non-intervention by the US?
The answer to your question is rhetorical as the US has had fingers in every world-wide “pie” since WW II and the OSS/CIA. Non-intervention can never be an option when the US creates the problems in the first place. I am a patriot, a combat veteran, and have seen first hand how this works. US Special Forces assigned to protect the “poppy fields” and Air America (CIA) moving drugs to market. The “deep state” moves to manipulate the power of the United States to advance the special interests of their allies. In the case of ISIS, the CIA created the problem to further destabilise the middle-east and make huge sums from the “official” government actions to solve the problem and chaos. It is a bad game of ” lose, lose, win.” The US tax payers lose, the local citizens caught in the chaos lose, the criminals in the deep state and their co-conspiritors win big time.c
Article: “The decision to invade Iraq by the Bush Administration did not produce weapons of mass destruction.”
ANSWER:
Nuclear weapons are not the only ‘weapons of mass destruction.’ Get your facts straight – the Bush administration DID find weapons of mass destruction – CHEMICAL WEAPONS ARE CONSIDERED WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!