The long shadow of the “war on terror” and the world that could have been

Today marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and the beginning of the "global war on terror." On September 11, 2001, members of al-Qaeda attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing almost 3000 people and injuring thousands more. Hundreds of firefighters died attempting to rescue people trapped inside the twin towers, and New Yorkers gathered together to search for loved ones and offer support and solace to one another.

In that moment, the United States was at a crossroads. Political leaders could have made a commitment to usher in a new era of global cooperation focused on preventing political violence and addressing the root causes of global inequality. They could have prioritized support for families who lost loved ones, and for the first responders who suffered lifelong health challenges. With the same investments made in decades of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, we could have seen fully funded universal health care or the elimination of student debt. We could have focused our political imagination and global cooperation on ending poverty, curing diseases, or reversing climate change rather than warrantless wiretapping and drone warfare.

Instead, the U.S. government chose massive military mobilizations and repressive policies. Fueled by racist and Islamophobic rhetoric, the U.S. launched endless devastating wars abroad, built up a massive surveillance state at home, and created a brutal immigration system that tears apart families and communities.

In the days following 9/11, Congress passed an extremely broad authorization for use of military force (AUMF), essentially giving a blank check and a green light to the U.S. military. The U.S. started a war on Afghanistan that would last for two decades and end with the Taliban back in power. More than 940,000 people were killed in the war on terror's violent conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan, and millions more were injured, displaced, or died preventable deaths due to the destruction wrought by the U.S. and others.

In the early days of the U.S. war on Afghanistan, AFSC was one of only a handful of national organizations publicly opposing the war. By 2003, when the U.S. launched a war on Iraq based on false information propagated by the government and the media, millions of people took to the streets. But the war on terror continued, fueled by defense industry lobbies, a credulous corporate media, and the racist rhetoric of Christian nationalism.

In 2001, the USA PATRIOT ACT vastly expanded the government's authority to spy on its own citizens. Muslims were harassed, surveilled, and detained simply for practicing their faith. In 2002, the Bush Administration instituted the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program, an immigration registry for men and boys who were citizens of 24 Arab and Muslim countries and North Korea. Thousands of people who complied with the registry were then put into detention and deported. This program created the legal framework used to justify President Trump's Muslim ban and its successive iterations.

In the wake of 9/11, the Bush Administration also created the Department of Homeland Security, which included Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Over the last 25 years, these agencies have deported millions of people, separating families, destroying communities, killing people in their custody, and more recently killing U.S. citizens protesting their cruel policies.

Today we live within a series of intersecting crises created or exacerbated by the global war on terror. In 2025, violent conflict between nations reached its highest point since WWII. Global military spending is higher than it has ever been; displacement, incarceration, and deportations are rising. International norms, policies, and institutions to support human rights and advance global cooperation have been eroded or demolished. Climate change poses an existential threat to all life on earth, and authoritarianism is ascendant. By almost all metrics the U.S. and the world are less safe. If safety and security were truly the goal, the war on terror has been an abject failure from its inception.

The military expenditure for the "war on terror" exceeded $8 trillion dollars, with related domestic and international expenses totaling trillions more. The return on this investment is more violence globally, less resources for human needs, and increasing surveillance and authoritarianism. As the Trump Administration seizes on these tools to attack freedoms of speech and dissent and terrorize communities today, we ask: what could the world look like 25 years from now if we begin investing in building a more just and compassionate world today? What becomes possible if we invest those trillions of dollars in building strong communities where people have access to food, healthcare, and education, and our fundamental rights and freedoms are protected?

As a Quaker organization, we believe that all people contain the Light of God. Even as these decades have been marked by devastating violence, we see this Light all around us. From the first responders who rushed into a collapsing building, to Muslim activists who spoke out for civil liberties and religious freedom even as their loved ones were rounded up by the state; from the small town librarians who refused to comply with the PATRIOT ACT to the lone Congressperson who voted against an endless war; from young people bravely declaring they are "undocumented and unafraid" to Congregations offering sanctuary to people facing deportation; from prisoners on hunger strikes to the millions of people taking to the streets; it is the courageous actions of everyday people that light the path towards a different future.

Twenty-five years since 9/11 we can clearly see what violent, fearful responses have cost us. Today, we have an obligation and opportunity to turn the page. It is time to abandon the failed strategies that have led us to endless war, immiseration, and authoritarianism, not by forgetting the harms of the past, but by refusing to let them determine our future. We can choose courage over fear, solidarity over division, and build a world in which peace, justice, and our shared humanity form the foundations of a world we all want to live in.

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The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.