The Global War on Terror (GWOT) was authorized by Congress on 9/14/01 and enacted on 9/18/01 with the Authorization to Use Military Force Against Terrorists, Public Law 107-40. That is over ten years of war with no sign of slowing down.
Do you want ten more years? Really, it's a fair question, do you want ten more years of war? We've seen the GWOT extend from Afghanistan to Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya (although under different rationale). We've seen the creation of AFRICOM to facilitate the GWOT into the African continent. We've seen enough haven't we? Or should we keep on keeping on and go after Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, and Iran? When does an overall plan become obvious?
This while the evidence clearly shows the planet's biggest "state sponsor of terrorism" is the United States itself. Do you want the United States to now attack Iran and Syria, escalate in Pakistan, stay in Iraq and Afghanistan and extend the GWOT to at least 120 countries worldwide, after ten years of war? That is ten more years right there. If it isn't stopped, it will not end.
The GWOT started because of what happened on 9/11/01 in New York, Washington, D.C., and over the skies of Pennsylvania. Over 3000 people were killed in a single day.
Since then, the United States has increased it's budget for defense, national security, and intelligence programs almost three fold to approximately $1.2 trillion per year. These programs are funded from the discretionary portion of the U.S. budget, meaning Congress has discretion on the amount funded annually. The $1.2 trillion price tag equals at least 65% of the entire discretionary budget.
Since then, the United States has invaded and occupied Iraq, although under a separate AUMF issued in 2002. Since then, over 6000 United States service members have died fighting the war on terror and the Iraq war with an estimated 100,000 wounded and over one million people in those Middle East countries have died as a direct result. I remember when one million deaths caused by war was considered a horrific thing. Now it barely registers on the empathy scale. How about a million more, would that do it?
How about your money? Since then the United States has spent (estimated) over $4 trillion fighting the GWOT. Are you ready to support spending $4 trillion more over the next ten years? Are you willing to sacrifice your social security and medicare to protect yourself from the never ending parade of number two terrorists our government claims present the greatest threat to human kind? How long are you willing to support a budget of $1.2 trillion per year to allegedly keep you safe from terrorists?
The GWOT has infected the entire planet. It has given the imperiaists and neocons the ticket they needed to enact their plan for military world domination. The threats against Iran are again being escalated, Russia and China are being threatened with U.S. miltiary strenth and reach, and the entire continent of Africa is at risk from the geopoltical warfare.
I view the list of demands from Occupy Wall Street and wonder why the GWOT and U.S. militarism isn't on that list. Reverse Citizens United, revamp the SEC, reinstate Glass-Steagall, eliminate the revolving door of lobbyists, and the other demands are well and good, but come on, we're talking about trillions of dollars, millions of lives, the utter destruction of countries and environments, and the possible escalation toward nuclear war. Nuclear war. We've been warned about nuclear war since the early days of "Duck and Cover" in the 50's. Things could get real bad if we don't step up and demand a change.
Listen. We aren't leaving Iraq. We aren't leaving Afghanistan. We aren't stopping the operations in Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Pakistan. If it's not stopped, we will escalate in Pakistan, attack Syria and Lebanon, and attack Iran. And when I say we, I mean the U.S. and it's NATO, Israeli and Saudi partners. We have to put the brakes on this before it gets out of hand.
We need to demand that the end of the GWOT is a key demand. The stakes are too high not to.