Twenty-five years ago, the U.S. launched what it called the “Global War on Terror” in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Immediately, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment spread like wildfire through the establishment media, the flames being fanned by the Bush Administration. Similar patterns continue today, whether it comes to Palestine, Cuba, Venezuela or Iran.
At that time, Politicians in the United States quickly passed legislation authorizing war on Afghanistan, which led to twenty years of deadly and brutal occupation. Despite Afghanistan having absolutely no relation to 9/11, feminist organizations and high-profile women quickly fell in line to manufacture consent for the invasion under the guise of women’s rights. These tactics were rinsed and repeated after October 7, 2023. Soon after 9/11, the U.S. government passed the PATRIOT Act, which allowed it to spy on its own people, paving the way for the surveillance state we have today. The length of the occupation of Afghanistan and the subsequent invasion of Iraq was used to justify inflating the ever-growing Pentagon budget, which threatens to reach $1.5 trillion soon.
The Global War of Terror never ended, and the surveillance and anti-immigration infrastructure has only expanded since. We are no safer now than we were twenty-five years ago. The departments and tactics that saw their first iterations in that era, such as the Office of Homeland Security, evolved and grew. ICE roam the streets, executing people in broad daylight; Flock cameras metastasize around the country, anti-Muslim hate crimes continue and torture black-sites like Guantanamo detention center remain open.
Ending the Global War of Terror means putting a stop to everything it created and changing the trajectory that the Bush Administration set us on, and every Administration since decided to continue. Ending the Global War of Terror means:
👉🏼 Cutting the Pentagon budget
👉🏼 Abolishing ICE and DHS
👉🏼 Accountability for the war criminals
And for the movement for social justice, it means feminist organizations refusing to be used as tools for warmongers and imperialists. Educate each other, inspire others and take action with us now!
Tell The Center for Reproductive Rights: Stand with Palestine! Tell us what you would fund instead of war!