With the final U.S. soldiers leaving Afghanistan earlier this week after nearly 20 years of occupation and war, a new analysis released Wednesday shows the United States will ultimately spend upwards of $8 trillion and that nearly one million people have lost their lives so far in the so-called “global war on terror” that was launched after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
According to Brown University’s Costs of War Project, which has been releasing reports on the financial and human costs of the post-9/11 wars at regular intervals since 2010, the total cost of the war and military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, and elsewhere over the last two decades have directly killed at least 897,000 to 929,000 people—an estimate the researchers say is conservative.
“The deaths we tallied are likely a vast undercount of the true toll these wars have taken on human life,” said Dr. Neta C. Crawford, co-director of the Costs of War Project, in a statement. “It’s critical we properly account for the vast and varied consequences of the many U.S. wars and counterterror operations since 9/11, as we pause and reflect on all of the lives lost.”
The study calculates that of the $8 trillion estimated costs in the wars waged by the U.S. since 9/11:
- $2.3 trillion is attributed to the Afghanistan/ Pakistan war zone;
- $2.1 trillion is attributed to the Iraq/Syria war zone; and
- $355 billion was attributed to other battlefields, including Libya, Somalia, and elsewhere
Above those figures, another $1.1 trillion was spent on Homeland Security programs and $2.2 trillion is the estimated obligation for the future care of U.S. veterans who served in the various wars.
Detailing the report for The Intercept, journalist Murtaza Hussain writes:
The staggering economic costs of the war on terror pale in comparison to the direct human impact, measured in people killed, wounded, and driven from their homes. The Costs of War Project’s latest estimates hold that 897,000 to 929,000 people have been killed during the wars. Of those killed, 387,000 are categorized as civilians, 207,000 as members of national military and police forces, and a further 301,000 as opposition fighters killed by U.S.-led coalition troops and their allies. The report also found that around 15,000 U.S. military service members and contractors have been killed in the wars, along with a similar number of allied Western troops deployed to the conflicts and several hundred journalists and humanitarian aid workers.
The question of how many people have lost their lives in the post-9/11 conflicts has been the subject of ongoing debate, though the numbers in all cases have been extraordinarily high. Previous Costs of War studies have put death toll figures in the hundreds of thousands, an estimate tallying those directly killed by violence. According to a 2015 estimate from the Nobel Prize-winning Physicians for Social Responsibility, well over 1 million have been killed both indirectly and directly in wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan alone. The difficulty of calculating death tolls is made harder by the U.S. military’s own refusal to keep track of the number of people killed in its operations, as well as the remoteness of the regions where many of the conflicts take place.
The researchers behind the project emphasized that while the total number of direct deaths caused by the more recent wars are less than the World Wars and the Vietnam War, the post-9/11 conflicts are different because of the long-term damage they have done to the societies that have suffered under many years of constant bombings, death, and destruction.
“What have we truly accomplished in 20 years of post 9/11 wars, and at what price?” asked Dr. Stephanie Savell, co-director of the project, in a statement. “Twenty years from now, we’ll still be reckoning with the high societal costs of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars—long after U.S. forces are gone.”
An online event with the report’s lead researcher Dr. Neta Crawford and other experts to discuss the findings of the report was held Wednesday morning.
Hosted by The Intercept’s Hussain, the panel also featured Dr. Catherine Lutz and Dr. Linda Bilmes of the Costs of War Project, and Dr. Maha Hilal of the Justice for Muslims Collective. In addition, remarks will be made by Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.), and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
Watch the livestream below:
Speaking during the panel discussion, Dr. Hilal said that the money on war spent since 9/11 is, to her, “$8 trillion dedicated to the murder of Muslims, and I see no better way to make this sound any better or different.”
“We talk about what will happen to the veterans when they come back,” she continued, “obviously that’s important to address. But what about the people left behind in Afghanistan, in Iraq—after a drone strike in Somalia—what about them? Do they get any care? Do they get any compensation? Absolutely not. So what would be the cost of war if that was actually the priority for the United States?”
In conclusion to her remarks, Hilal quoted from the 2013 testimony of a 13-year-old boy from Pakistan named Zabir, whose family had been targeted by U.S. drones, when he told Congress: “I no longer love blue skies. In fact, I now prefer gray skies. The drones do not fly when the skies are gray.”
“This is the cost of war,” said Hilal. “That a young boy, 13 years old, can never look at the sky the same way that people who haven’t been bombarded with violence can. And this, to me, is one of the things that has been totally neglected.”
Originally published in CommonDreams
At the end of August 2021, Germany’s right-wing Axel Springer bought the US political magazine Politico for about $1bn (€850m) – the most expensive acquisition in the history of Germany’s right-wing Springer Group. Until the Springer takeover, Politico used to belong to the Capitol News Company of media owner Robert Allbritton.
Allbritton founded Politico in 2007. Until the ideologically-motivated Springer, Politico tended to deliver mildly critical analyses. In the US media landscape, Politico “was”(!) considered a fact- reporting liberal news site.
This is set to change under the leadership of Germany’s ultra-conservative Springer. Politico’s website receives about 54 million visitors per month. Since 2013, a print edition has also been published in two-monthly intervals.
In 2014, Politico (50%) and Springer (50%) founded the Brussels-based offshoot Politico.eu. Most recently, Springer had tried to increase his stake in Politico.eu, but also showed interest in a takeover of Politico competitor, the news’ site Axios.
Once the Springer takeover of Politico (US) is completed, Politico.eu will belong entirely to the Springer Group completing yet another step towards global media concentration, i.e. a global oligopoly.
After the Springer takeover, Albritton will remain on board as the publisher of the magazines he founded, for which a total of around 500 journalists work. The editorial offices in Washington and Brussels should remain independent, Springer claims for those who believe in fairy-tales.
Politico thus becomes Springer’s second major pillar in the US online market in a conservative (Springer) against an even-more-conservative (Murdoch) fight. Like Murodch, Springer hates environmentalism, Green Parties, trade unions, and liberals in general. In 2015, Springer acquired Business Insider – another challenge to Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal – for €300m. At the end of 2020, Springer had also acquired the US newsletter provider Morning Brew.
What Murdoch is in Australia, the UK and the USA, Springer is in Germany and, increasingly in Europe and now with Politico also in the USA. Like Murdoch, Axel “Cäsar” Springer – who carries the Roman middle name Cesar (anti-democracy, militarism, conqueror, etc.) not entirely undeservedly – started early. From his beginnings in post-Nazi Germany of 1948, Axel Cäsar Springer rose to be the most powerful publisher and right-wing propagandist in Europe.
Using the petit-bourgeois Hamburger Abendblatt as a template, Springer transferred what he had learnt into the infamous right-wing master-tabloid, the Bild newspaper. Bild offers three things: hyped-up crime, open sexism and right-wing populism – essentially, mirroring Murdoch.
The life of Herr Springer (1912-1985) was that of a spoiled son of a medium-sized publisher from Hamburg. Eventually, he became a manic newspaper owner with right-wing political ambitions spiced up through the enjoyment of late-night life.
Springer’s aversion against everything ordinary might have prevented him from becoming a Nazi as a young man. Like many spoiled rich kids, Springer avoided military service by claiming illness. Foot-soldiers and gun-fodder is for the poor – not the rich.
While young Springer may have disliked the thuggish Nazi’s Hamburg Altona Blood Sunday, he subscribed to German nationalism and chauvinism. After the liberation of Germany from Nazism, Springer has never had any problems employing ex-Nazis. He even married Rosemarie – the daughter of SS-Gruppenführer Werner Lorenz.
In Post-Nazi Germany, Axel Springer quickly became the coldest of the Cold Warriors calling the Soviet Union, “red-painted Nazis” in an attempt to re-write history. In reality, the Nazis created Auschwitz and the Communist liberate Germany’s prime death camp. Springer’s media outlets have always – rather diligently and rather consistently – worked to distort history.
Springer’s staunchly nationalistic daily Die Welt has kept running not for financial but ideological reasons – it is not profitable. Bild makes handsome profits. Even more than self-elitists Die Welt, Springer’s grubby tabloid Bild became the mass organ of his right-wing struggle. Springer used to check both papers almost daily – perhaps to make sure they tie the ideological line.
In post-Nazi Germany, Springer mutated into becoming the archetype of a power hungry press monopolist. Mirroring what Rupert Murdoch’ daddy (Keith Murdoch) once said about Australian prime ministers – I put him there, and I’ll put him out – Springer has tremendous power in German politics. Any, and even the most mildly progressive German politician knows, don’t mess with Bild.
Axel Springer’s sense of political mission and ideological political program is characterized not by facts, but by emotions and his disappointed vanities – just like that of Rupert Murdoch.
Today, the Springer Corporation stands above all – for right-wing populists Bild tabloid. The Bild tabloid has been the driving force of Springer’s publishing empire.
Springer’s Bild remains the publisher’s greatest success. More recently, Springer launched a tabloid-TV channel under the brand name Bild. At some level, it reverses Springer’s 1965 dictum that his Bild was the printed answer to television. The idea behind Bild-TV is to create Fox News for Germany – an ideology instrument of political campaigning and mass propaganda.
Recently, the Springer news channel Welt-TV – Die Welt is Springer’s non-tabloid right-wing newspaper – has been broadcasting live from a studio in Springer’s new building in Berlin. Inside, digital offering of the newspapers Die Welt and Welt On Sunday are produced seeking to influence and shape – evil heretics might say manipulate – politics and even the upcoming Bundestag election.
Beyond that, Bild-Live is broadcasting on the Internet. For example, instead of showing the inauguration of US President Joe Biden, Bild offered a documentary called, the most embarrassing sex stories in the world. Bild, as Springer on the whole, remains a right-wing populist and deeply divisive.
Key to Springer are volume of sales, newspaper distribution rates, market share, and, of course, the all important bottom line, i.e. profits. Springer’s Bild has never been about informing or educating people. Springer is a fine example of the old motto, if it bleeds, it leads – if it thinks, it stinks. In short, Springer’s Bild loves the poorly educated
No other German press product polarizes more than Springer’s Bild newspaper and it has done so for many decades. One of Bild’s most-hated figures was Rudi Dutschke. Hyped up by the Springer press, Bild-reader Josef Bachmann shot Dutschke in 1968. Dutschke later died from his wounds.
Fifty years and many hateful image campaigns engineered by Bild later, the tabloid has succeeded in continuously expanding its power as Europe’s largest daily newspaper – selling 1.2 million copies daily – albeit declining constantly.
In a 2007 film, the story of Günther Wallraff infiltrating Springer’s Bild in 1977 was shown. Wallraff exposed Bild’s tremendous power. In 1977, Wallraff worked for four months as an editor for the tabloid Bild in the German city of Hanover. He exposed Bild’s inner workings by showing the way Bild fabricates news.
Undercover journalist Wallraff called himself Hans Esser. Selling 600,000 copies in the first three weeks, in his book Der Aufmacher (1985). Walldraff’s bestseller was based on his experiences as an editorial staff of Bild.
For first and only time, Germans saw Bild’s crypto-journalism in action. It displayed a deep contempt for any form of humanity. Eventually, Wallraff’s book formed the basis for the 1990 English language film The Man Inside starring German superstar Jürgen Prochnow as Wallraff.
A recent and a very typical Bild story is that of a young mother living in the city of Solingen who is said to have killed five of her six children in 2020. Bild got to a twelve-year old friend of the surviving eleven-year-old son pressing him for information.
Bild’s images and coverage were particularly repulsive. Some say disgusting and gross. They lacked any form of decency – never mind ethics and morality. Bild had continued its extremely high level of inhumanity.
Bild’s reporting by its so-called journalists showed their ruthlessness when it comes to interviews done without any regard for victims and children. We are talking about children in an almost unimaginable extreme situation. They are exploited by Bild. Bild uses the exposure and cruel use of children to increase newspaper sales. In the twisted ideology of Bild – this is journalism. Once again, Bild had abused a child to access information while violating the sphere of a child’s privacy.
Springer’s Bild regularly ignores complaints from Germany’s Press Council put in place as a camouflaging institution. In reality, the council is enabling an institution. Since years, Bild does not even bother – in many cases – to print corrections demanded by the council. There are no other sanctions.
Yet, Bild’s overall system is much worse. It is obvious that Bild uses sensational, emotional and often plainly wrong reporting as a strategic means to generate attention and increase circulation and, of course – profits.
Bild’s crypto-journalists do this out of career lust with next to no ethical feelings. Meanwhile, Bild’s editorial offices remains a highly organized and super-efficient institution. It is designed to fabricate news stories in which human misery can be exploited for financial gains. Virtually, all of Bild’s editors-in-chief have never been interested in journalism, human decency and morality. Bild does not even pretend to show journalistic responsibility. Instead, Bild’s rather toxic modus operandi is dehumanization.
Beyond that, Bild’s publication of photos, as well as addresses and phone numbers of people remains highly unethical. Bild’s abhorrent reporting remains seemingly unchallenged by the aforementioned paper tiger – the Press Council. Germany’s Press Council is the self-governing body issuing so-called public rebukes – Bild might regard these rebukes as funny jokes.
Most recently, Bild attacked Germany’s prime expert on the Coronavirus pandemic, virologist Christian Drosten. Drosten is the head of virology at Germany’s most respected Charité Hospital in Berlin. In 2020, Bild accused him of questionable methods. In a typical Bild fashion, unsupported attacks are often framed with Bild’s infamous “?”
Bild wrote, how long has the star virologist known about it? In the end, it turned out that Bild had translated quotes used to semi-support its attack on Droten from an English-language source acknowledging that its quotes were quite freehand. Plenty of Germany’s politicians protected Drosten and so did Germany’s public.
Yet, Drosten was just a pawn because Bild wasn’t really after him. It wanted to damage Chancellor Angela Merkel seeking to prevent another term, of whom is regarded as not conservative enough. On 11th September 2020, the German Press Council issued a complaint against the reporting of Bild. Later, Bild’s editors cited a mistranslated study of the source – case closed.
In 2011, the journalists and communication scientists Hans-Jürgen Arlt and Wolfgang Storz examined Bild’s nationalistic depiction of Greece during the Euro Crisis in 2010. The study came to the conclusion that Bild sent chauvinistic messages to its readers depicting lazy Greeks.
Beyond that, the report has found that Bild hardly informs about the facts. This is not the task of a right-wing populists’ tabloid. The task of right-wing tabloids is propaganda camouflaged as news reporting. Worse, Bild uses semi-journalistic manipulations but almost never pursues the goals of truthful journalism, the report noted.
These are the new owners of Politico. Given all this, it is highly likely that the aforementioned days of Politico as a “liberal news site” are numbered. Springer, may it be with his deeply ideological crypto-elite Die Welt or, may it be with his outright right-wing populists Bild has never subscribed to the idea of reporting news. The Springer Empire will, almost inevitably, convert Politico into an ideological platform of right-wing populism.
Thomas Klikauer has 700 publications and writes regularly for BraveNewEurope (Western Europe), the Barricades (Eastern Europe), Buzzflash (USA), Counterpunch (USA), Countercurrents (India), Tikkun (USA), and ZNet (USA). His next book is on Media Capitalism – Hegemony in the Age of Mass Deception (Palgrave, 2022).
Meg Young (GCA and GCPA, University of New England at Armidale) is a Sydney Financial Accountant & HR Manager who likes good literature and proof reading.
