The Human Cost: Comparing 9/11 and the Wars That Followed

The Devastating Toll of 9/11

The September 11 attacks in 2001 were the deadliest terrorist attacks in human history, resulting in the deaths of 2,996 people, including the 19 hijackers who committed the attacks. At the World Trade Center alone, 2,763 people died after two planes slammed into the twin towers. The attacks targeted various locations across the United States, with planes hitting the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon near Washington D.C., and one crashing in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Citizens from 78 countries were among those who perished in these coordinated attacks. The terrorist attacks killed 2,977 people and injured thousands at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

This surprise assault destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center, badly damaged the Pentagon, and left some 3,000 Americans dead. The immediate economic impact on the U.S. was significant, with the New York Stock Exchange being evacuated and markets falling 7.1 percent on the first day of trading after the attacks. New York City's economy alone lost 143,000 jobs a month and $2.8 billion in wages in the first three months following the attacks. The estimated cost of the World Trade Center damage reached approximately $60 billion, with an additional $750 million spent to clean the debris at Ground Zero.

The Greater Toll: Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq

While the 9/11 attacks were devastating, the human cost of the wars that followed has been exponentially higher. Post-9/11 wars have contributed to approximately 4.5 to 4.6 million deaths, a figure that continues to mount as the effects of conflict reverberate through affected regions. Of these fatalities, research estimates that 3.6-3.7 million were "indirect deaths" caused by the deterioration of economic, environmental, psychological, and health conditions in war zones. According to the Costs of War project, more than 906,000 people, including 387,000 civilians, died directly from post-9/11 wars.

Within several weeks of the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush ordered an invasion of Afghanistan. The Taliban regime, which had given Osama bin Laden sanctuary, was ousted from government, but their resistance continued from strongholds in the mountainous southeastern region of Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. This invasion was followed by a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, justified by claims that Saddam Hussein posed a threat through alleged weapons of mass destruction and connections to terrorism.

The wars had a disproportionate impact on civilian populations. In contemporary conflicts, as many as 90% of casualties are civilians, the majority of whom are women and children. At the height of the conflict in Afghanistan, there were more than 130,000 NATO troops on the ground. By the time U.S. forces fully withdrew in August 2021, the war had resulted in 3,500 coalition troops killed in action, 70,000 deaths from the Afghan Security Forces, and tens of thousands of civilian casualties.

The Economic Burden of Post-9/11 Wars

The financial cost of these military interventions has been staggering. Through Fiscal Year 2022, the United States federal government spent and obligated $8 trillion on the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. This immense expenditure included overseas contingency operations of the Department of Defense ($2,101 billion), homeland security prevention and response to terrorism ($1,117 billion), interest on OCO borrowing ($1,087 billion), increases to Department of Defense base budget ($884 billion), veterans' medical care and disability ($465 billion), and State Department OCO appropriations ($189 billion).

The economic costs of these wars extend far beyond direct military expenses. The post-9/11 wars have displaced 38 million people, the second largest number of forced displacements of any conflict since 1900. According to the Costs of War Project, these wars have caused more than 4.5 million deaths (direct and indirect) in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, the Philippines, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.

Even when including estimated future costs for veterans' care, the total budgetary costs and future obligations of the post-9/11 wars amount to about $8 trillion in current dollars. This massive spending diverted resources that could have been used for other pressing needs, including reconstruction and humanitarian assistance in the affected regions.

Societal Destruction in War-Torn Nations

The wars in the Islamic world have resulted in profound societal destruction, affecting every aspect of daily life. In Afghanistan, more than 80% of all educational facilities were destroyed between 1979 and 2002. The Taliban dismantled education just as quickly as the Soviets had built it, leading to a dramatic decline in school enrollment during the civil war. Books, supplies, equipment, and physical facilities were destroyed, devastating the educational infrastructure of the country.

In Syria, the crisis has taken a devastating toll on education, leaving over 7,000 schools damaged or destroyed and about 2 million children out of school. The Syrian conflict has been particularly devastating for educational institutions, with 40 percent of school structures damaged according to the Economic and Social Commission for West Asia's report "Syria after eight years of war". The number of children entering the first grade of primary school in Syria dropped from over 726,000 in 2011 to approximately 434,000 by 2019, representing a 40 percent reduction.

The wars have also had severe consequences on the social fabric of affected countries. Conflict causes profound economic pain, including $1 trillion in worldwide economic losses in 2016. In Cambodia, for example, the Khmer Rouge regime destroyed 90 percent of the country's schools between 1975 and 1979, resulting in years of lost education for Cambodians. This pattern has been repeated in post-9/11 conflict zones, where the destruction of educational infrastructure has led to enduring cycles of poverty and underdevelopment.

Impact on Food and Water Security

The wars had catastrophic effects on food and water security in the affected regions. In the immediate aftermath of the war in Afghanistan in 2021, wheat production was reduced by 12.18%. There is a food security crisis in 11 of the 33 provinces, and the remaining provinces are at risk. About 98% of people in Afghanistan do not have enough to eat and wear, a situation that is expected to be difficult to improve over the next 5 years.

Conflict exacerbates food insecurity. In 2019, ten out of the world's thirteen most urgent food crises were in conflict zones. What limited food supplies do exist in conflict-affected countries are often prohibitively expensive. In many cases, a meal can cost more than a day's wages, with the cost of a plate of bean stew in South Sudan, where civil war has raged since 2013, being equivalent to $348 in New York. As a result, nearly half a billion people go hungry in conflict zones.

The most visible impact of violent conflicts on food security is the destruction of agricultural land, irrigation schemes, and infrastructure. The long-term implications of this destruction are severe, as rebuilding agricultural systems requires not only physical reconstruction but also revitalization of farming communities and reestablishment of market systems. The 20-year war in Afghanistan has had a catastrophic impact on agricultural planting and food security, with the total planting area reaching peak during some periods of relative pacification but maintaining a low level of planting most of the time.

Educational Collapse and the Cycle of Extremism

The destruction of educational systems in war-torn countries has had profound implications for societal rebuilding and security. From 1979 to 2002, 80 percent of all educational facilities in Afghanistan were destroyed. The demand for education in Afghanistan is staggering but cannot be met in the short term. There are currently 4.5 million school-aged children in the country, with an additional 3.5 million children who were refugees in Iran and Pakistan in the process of returning. It is estimated that the Afghan government would need to produce more than 4,300 teachers each year for the next 10 years to handle the expected needs of school-aged children.

The relationship between education and extremism is well-documented. In fragile states, extremist groups often take advantage of fragility to progress their agenda, which includes the closing of schools. The closing of schools creates a vicious cycle of violence and increases recruitment to violent extremist groups as students and young adults look for means to support themselves outside of inaccessible regular economies. Children who are forcibly removed from education are less likely to return due to the deep psychological trauma associated with the violence they have seen and, in some cases, personally experienced.

Education is a powerful tool to build learners' resilience to violent extremism and mitigate the drivers of this phenomena. It helps strengthen their commitment to non-violence and peace, in particular by addressing hateful and violent narratives. However, when educational systems are destroyed by war, this protective factor is removed, making populations more vulnerable to radicalization. Children who are displaced face restricted access to education and thus have limited long-term employment opportunities, making them more likely to be recruited by armed militant groups.

The Paradox: How Wars Fueled Terrorism

The wars initiated after 9/11 have had the paradoxical effect of potentially increasing rather than reducing terrorism. The United States-led post-9/11 wars have expanded across the globe, now in over 78 countries. The U.S. is deploying airstrikes against militant targets, engaging in combat with militants, leading military exercises and exporting a militarized counterterrorism model to dozens of countries through "training and assistance". The narrative, tactics, funding and institutional supports of the U.S. post-9/11 wars fuel repression and corruption and escalate cycles of violence.

Studies of U.S. post-9/11 operations in Somalia and Burkina Faso reveal that the U.S. counterterrorism model has caused more, not less, instability and violence. U.S. funding, training and weapons in the name of counterterrorism often intensify violence, as people join militant groups in retaliation against their governments' "wars on terrorism". This counterproductive dynamic has contributed to the continued spread of extremism despite nearly two decades of counterterrorism efforts.

The psychological impact of 9/11 led President Bush to launch an invasion of Iraq in 2003. While he initially embraced Clinton's approach of containing Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, he shifted to belligerence out of determination to prevent any additional surprise terrorist attacks, especially given nightmare scenarios about terrorists deploying weapons of mass destruction. This invasion, which many now consider a fatal mistake, led to a civil war in Iraq that fostered an environment for the rise of al-Qaeda in Iraq and eventually the self-proclaimed Islamic State.

Understanding Jihad: The Internal Struggle

The concept of jihad is frequently misunderstood in Western discourse. Jihad (/dʒɪˈhɑːd/; Arabic: جِهَاد, romanized: jihād [dʒiˈhaːd]) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God's guidance, such as an internal struggle against evil in oneself, efforts to build a good Muslim community (ummah), and struggle to defend Islam.

Jihad is classified into inner ("greater") jihad, which involves a struggle against one's own passions and impulses, and outer ("lesser") jihad, which is further subdivided into jihad of the pen/tongue (debate or persuasion) and jihad of the sword (warfare). Much of Muslim opinion considers inner jihad to have primacy over outer jihad, although many Western scholars disagree. The analysis of a large survey from 2002 reveals considerable nuance in the conceptions of jihad held by Muslims around the world, ranging from righteous living and promoting peace to fighting against the opponents of Islam.

"Jihad" literally means striving, or doing one's utmost. Within Islam, there are two basic theological understandings of the word: The "Greater Jihad" is the struggle against the lower self – the struggle to purify one's heart, do good, avoid evil and make oneself a better person. The "Lesser Jihad" is an outward struggle. Jihad constitutes a moral principle to struggle against any obstacle that stands in the way of the good.

According to classical Islamic scholars like Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, jihad is against four types of enemies: the lower self (nafs), Satan, the unbelievers, and the hypocrites. The first two types of jihad are purely peaceful spiritual struggles. According to Ibn Qayyim, "Jihad against the lower self precedes jihad against external enemies." Confirming the central importance of the spiritual aspect of jihad, Ibn Taymiyyah wrote: "Jihad against the lower self and whims is the foundation of jihad against the unbelievers and hypocrites, for a Muslim cannot wage jihad against them unless he has waged jihad against himself and his desires first, before he goes out against them."

The Responsibility of Power in Global Conflicts

The United States and other powerful nations bear particular responsibility for the consequences of their actions in global conflicts. These consequences include the production of anti-American terrorism as well as increases in economic-political exclusion and corruption in aid-recipient countries. Such consequences will make it almost impossible to reach a development path that achieves desired nation-building goals in the medium and long run.

The tragedy of September 11, 2001, the subsequent anthrax attacks, and ongoing terror threats internationally have markedly changed national and international security. The confluence of the globalization of business and the revolution in information storage and transmittal has changed the landscape upon which to build national and international security. This requires a re-examination of the security measures developed during the days of the Cold War to assess whether those tools are still appropriate and to determine how they are affecting the current science and technology enterprises.

Intervention or failure to intervene often results in far-reaching consequences, which may have direct effects on civilian populations and often direct or indirect implications for U.S. interests. Rather than merely projecting military power, nations with significant global influence should consider the ethical dimensions of their actions. For example, powerful nations could link the promise of weapons, investment, trade and help with the green transition to a country's progress on human rights.

In the context of a constantly changing global economy—from which new threats to national and international security have emerged and will continue to do so—it is imperative to develop and maintain communication channels between the security and academic research communities in order to facilitate ongoing discussion and sharing of information. Discussions held at regional meetings convened by the committee emphasized that a healthy alliance among research universities, industry, and government lies at the heart of the American innovation system and of the innovation economy. Moreover, such an alliance is essential to meeting national security goals.

Conclusion: A Path Forward

The devastation caused by the 9/11 attacks was profound, but the subsequent wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere have resulted in far greater human, economic, and societal costs. These wars have not only failed to eliminate terrorism but in many cases have exacerbated the conditions that foster it, including poverty, lack of education, and societal instability.

To build a more peaceful and secure world, powerful nations like the United States must recognize their responsibility to use their influence wisely. This includes investing in education, economic development, and humanitarian assistance rather than primarily relying on military solutions. By addressing the root causes of extremism and promoting stability through constructive engagement, the international community can work toward breaking the cycle of violence that has characterized the post-9/11 era.

The concept of jihad as an internal struggle offers a valuable perspective on this challenge. Just as individuals are called to engage in self-reflection and self-improvement, nations must also examine their own actions and consider how they might better contribute to global peace and security. By embracing this ethos of responsibility and introspection, powerful countries can help create a more just and stable international order that benefits all people, regardless of their nationality, religion, or background.