Smarter foreign policies or bigger blowbacks?

Are Washington’s relentless bombings and military immersions in sectarian battles within Arab and neighboring regions accelerating the spread of terrorist attacks? Yes. The recent rash of terror attacks in Kuwait, Tunisia, Somalia, France and other countries are tragic examples of the strategic failures of our government and its very heavy reliance on military interventions, including the omnipresent drones that terrorize civilians.

From the first bombings of al-Qaeda’s small band of fighters in the mountains of Afghanistan to the toppling of the Taliban government there by President George Bush in 2001, all Washington’s weaponry, soldiers, and trillions of dollars have accomplished is to spread al-Qaeda’s numerous offshoots into over a dozen countries.

The CIA calls this “blowback.” For 14 years this blowback has destabilized countries, initiated civil wars costing millions of mostly civilian lives and leaving others sickened and injured, and caused many families to be driven out of their homes as masses of weeping refugees.

In the meantime, hatred of the United States in those regions grows. The attackers we have helped to provoke are becoming better trained on how to use their weaponry to create more devastation over larger ranges of territories.

Could there have been an overreaction by the U.S. militarists, including Republicans such as Sen. Lindsay Graham (R- S.C.) and Democrats such as then-Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)? Kerry, especially, had a record in the Senate so extreme as to criticize the belligerent Bush/Cheney administration for not deploying more weaponry and soldiers and invading more countries.

The effects of this widespread violence that overrides sovereign rights of other countries and violates international law and our Constitution also have ongoing domestic consequences. All empires eventually devour themselves; the United States is proving to be no exception. Unlawful mass surveillance and violations of due process and civil liberties by the misnamed Patriot Act have created a climate of suspicion that criminalizes speech and expands malicious prosecutions.

Moreover, trillions of U.S. taxpayer dollars have been wasted destroying other countries and bloating our military budget. Our soldiers and veterans pay the price with painful (physical, mental and emotional) experiences. The massive sums of taxpayer dollars could have been used to create well-paying jobs repairing and rebuilding America’s crumbling public facilities — its schools, water/sewage systems, public transit, roads, bridges, airports, ports, clinics, libraries, and parks. Knee-jerk militarism and corporatism do nothing to improve the quality of life in our country or to promote global security.

Our government spends tens of billions of dollars on intelligence gathering and strategic planning. Yet, our government officials seem to have underestimated the impact that these policies have on our adversaries abroad. Our vulnerabilities have revealed themselves through profitable fear-mongering. One significant terror attack can, once again, turn our country upside down and continue to divert our resources and attention away from very serious health and safety priorities that can save countless American lives here at home.

Osama bin Laden wanted economic damage and suffering in the U.S. after 9/11 far more than he wanted to cause a mass loss of life. He is getting his wish for U.S. immolation, year after year.

When is our government going to admit that fighting terror with more mechanized state terror is not working? We have much more to lose than those adversaries in these impoverished countries. They are there every day and night, knowing their terrain, their tribes and how to appeal to cultural stamina for repelling foreign invaders.

Some have asserted that all this American “blood and treasure” was worth it because there has not been another 9/11. However, this has been rebuked by subsequent evidence that has shown that al-Qaeda had no second strike capability in the U.S. The hijackings on 9/11 revealed the many weaknesses in aviation security, from a lack of proper screenings to unhardened cockpit doors to government agencies not sharing counterterrorism intelligence.

Unfortunately, there is no indication that the Obama administration has any diplomatic plan to extricate our country from these uncontrollable vortexes, including Hillary Clinton’s undeclared, unfunded war on Libya and the chaotic, violent aftermath that has spread into central Africa.

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There needs to be a stronger focus on humanitarian programs to help those suffering from the death and destruction in their communities and countries. That is the real way to win “hearts and minds” and for those with a focus on the bottom-line, it is far cheaper in the long run to fund development in these regions than it is to fund our ever-growing militarism. 

As Ashraf Ghani explained well before being elected President of Afghanistan, justice is the best answer to terrorism. The alternative is perpetual, expanding wars with no exit strategy.

Maybe our peace-waging groups such as Veterans for Peace, composed of men and women who have served in hot wars, can gain access to some presidential candidates, such as Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Governor Martin O’Malley (D-Md.), and James Webb, former senator (D-Va.) and secretary of the Navy, who could launch a serious national focus on replacing the failed militarization of foreign policy that is eating away at our country’s future.

Consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader grew up in Winsted and is a graduate of The Gilbert School.