By: David Barto
At the time of writing, two weeks have passed since the 25th anniversary of 9-11-01. Twenty-five years and two weeks ago, I was driving on Edgmon Road when my mother called me on my Nokia cellphone to tell me about a terrible accident in New York: a single jetliner had hit the
World Trade Center.
I pulled into the driveway of a friend’s home in Briar Rose after seeing him out mowing his yard.
Shawn and I went into his den and watched the disaster unfold for the next three hours. Back
then, cellphones were simple phones, texting was still billed per text, and we were just getting
rudimentary cameras. TV and the news were only on televisions, which were still large and
cumbersome, required cable access and we still relied on landlines for most calls.
To say a lot has changed over these past 25 years and two weeks is an understatement on an
almost biblical scale.
When I look back on that very pretty day in the early fall of 2001, I have to wonder: Who won
our own and NATO’s “War on Terror”?
Yes, almost 10 years after that harrowing day Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad,
Pakistan, by a team of US Navy SEALs in Operation Neptune. Al-Qaeda is a shadow of its former
self, but at what cost to the United States? Yes, bin Laden and thousands of his followers have
been killed, but how has America changed since 9-11?
According to a study at Brown University, the United States has spent between $8 trillion to $10
trillion in direct appropriations on the “War on Terror.” This figure does not include billions
spent on Israel, Yemen, operations in Africa, and our other treaty obligations, which have led to
the US spending over $1 trillion a year on our military. The National Debt in 2001 was a
minuscule $5.87 trillion; today, it is $40.10 trillion. The Department of Homeland Security has
racked up another $1.5 trillion, and now costs over $110 billion a year to operate.
In 2002, my wife and I drove to Banff, a town in Alberta, Canada, and simply showed our driver’s
licenses at the border; now, one must have a passport. I refuse to fly commercially because the
TSA has made flying a miserable experience.
These changes do not scratch the surface of the billions that cities, counties, and states have
spent on security measures. Or the countless lives affected by the physical and mental injuries
and deaths of our soldiers, and the emotional carnage inflicted on thousands of families.
America has changed. The Military-Tech-Surveillance Industrial Complex has made trillions
selling fear, loathing, and protection to a fearful population, which has added even more debt to
the “national credit card.”
The United States and NATO won the Cold War, in part, by bankrupting the Communists. By the
time of Reagan’s and Gorbachev’s meeting in Hofoi House in Reykjavik, Iceland, the Soviets
were willing to make historic concessions on nuclear arms reductions because they couldn’t
afford the Cold War any longer. Between their version of our Vietnam experience in
Afghanistan, the upkeep of over 40,000 nuclear warheads, their own spending on space-based
weapons, and the underlying rot in their economy by 1986, the writing was on the wall for the
Soviet Empire, which collapsed fully between November 1989 and December 1991.
So, if we look back at the last 25 years, and two weeks, who won the War on Terror?
According to the 9/11 Commission bin Laden spent $300,000 to $500,000 to bankroll the
attacks, out of annual operating budget of $30 million for his entire operation. If bin Laden’s
hope was not just to kill several thousand people or cripple our economy, but to change
American culture—to turn us into something other than who we were before September 11th—
then he succeeded.
If miring the U.S. in wars, and excessive military spending was his goal, then he succeeded. If
bringing the United States to a point of near fiscal insolvency was his goal, like Reagan did with
the Russians in 1986, then he succeeded. If creating a philosophy of doubt, of suspicion, or
mistrust, and slowly rotting away the fundamental belief in our government was his goal, how
can one not say that he was successful?
One in five American citizens believe 9/11 was a U.S. government operation, and only 17% of
American citizens “trust” our government. Fifty-six percent to 71% feel our nation is “out of
control.”
So, I ask again: Who won the War on Terror?
Editor’s Note: Collegedale Community News encourages readers to write letters to the editor and
voice their opinions. Submissions are published at the editorial team’s discretion. For any
questions, comments and letters submission information, email the editor at
kylahopewetmore@southern.edu.
