There are over 120,000 American civilians working in Iraq alone. These people are there for the most part to perform tasks and duties normally doled out to the soldiers already fighting there. These tasks include the washing of laundry, where Halliburton charges $100 for every load of wash; mundane clerical work such as data entry and filing. Across Iraq over a hundred thousand American civilians are performing tasks normally apportioned to the military, and they are doing so at the American taxpayer's expense.
In conclusion, Bush's war on terror, and his insistence on the privatization of the same, has forced the US to record levels of debt, increasing its debt ceiling five times in the six years of his presidency. Much of this debt is foreign owned, and should just a few nation balk at further debt extension, nations like China, Japan, Great Britain, and others, the US economy would crumble under the massive weight of having to pay back their holdings. The US dollar, already slated to fall a great deal this year, would plummet to depths not seen since the Deutschmark crashed in the 1920s. Americans are responsible for 80% of the debt incurred by individuals worldwide. Should the dollar collapse, there will be no safety net for these people who would see all their assets vanish literally overnight. The US and its great military would be left without a viable source of income and would be forced to abandon all hegemonic hopes of world empire it enjoys today.
But by far, the greatest tragedy of Bush's so-called war on terror is its human cost. When the World Trade Center fell, the Pentagon buckled and flight 93 crashed, a total of less than 3,000 people died. While we should all lament the loss of a single soul under any such circumstances, the death toll from the two conflicts now far outweigh this sum in every aspect. When the Lancet study came out in October of 2006 the world was shocked at its findings. Over 650,000 had died in Iraq alone as a result of the US-led invasion in 2003. While many dispute these numbers, no one has come up with a better, or more scientific, study to disprove its facts.
The number of Afghani dead now approaches 50,000. The number of Coalition forces who died don' sound as bad in comparison, less than 4,000, but again one soul lost is to be lamented. Though the tragic events on September 11, 2001, saw the deaths of nearly 3,000 people, the US reaction to this sad event was unwarranted and unnecessary. Everyday in Iraq dozens if not hundreds of people lose their lives. Over 90% of these are innocent people, mainly women and children, whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
With sectarian violence raging in Iraq and a resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, there will surely be much more blood-letting before the US pulls out of both countries for good. But the effect of Bush's war on terror has permeated worldwide, causing attacks on nearly every continent on Earth. From London's infamous July 7, 2005, to the attempted attack on Fort Dix earlier this month, there is a steady and growing amount of attacks occurring that focuses their attention on attacking the very same war on terror. The growing tide of people around the globe against Bush's wars indicates that these attacks will simply continue to rise until the US is out of both Iraq and Afghanistan.
In conclusion, Bush's war on terror has cost the lives of nearly ¾ of a million people, has increased hatred for all things American, and has caused an escalation of violence around the world.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The bottom line of Bush's war on terror has been to promote the very thing he claims to be against. Terrorist attacks have increased over a thousand fold since his declaration. His war has altered US priorities tremendously. The monies normally given to education, welfare, infrastructure and social services such as health care, disaster relief and aid to minorities, are now going directly to fund the illegal interventions in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Finally, bush's fantasy has caused the deaths of over 700,000 people in both countries with no end in site. If these trends continue, Bush's war on terror will top one million dead by the end of 2009. Even if one combines all of the terrorist attacks worldwide since 1968, they would still not approach one seventh of the total dead since 9/11.
Clearly Bush's war has done nothing to stop terrorism around the world. In fact, it has increased it. His war has resulted in the greatest US deficit ever with the potential ramification of a total collapse of the dollar. His war has killed more people since its inception than all those killed by terrorists since 1968. In other words, Bush has done exactly the opposite of what his stated plans had promised. His war on terror is not just a miserable failure, but a costly and deadly one, one that someday may in fact bring down the entire US economy. All this in the name of War on Terror.
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