'Endless Wars' That Never Should Have Begun.

AuthorBacon, David

In the days following the attacks of September 11,2001, the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution, the Authorization for Use of Military Force. It allowed the U.S. military to be used against "those responsible" for the attacks. The bombing of Afghanistan began shortly after, on October 7.

Democratic Representative Barbara Lee of California was the only member of Congress to oppose the resolution, stating, "I am convinced that military action will not prevent further acts of international terrorism against the United States." Six weeks after the September 11 attacks, the USA Patriot Act passed in both houses to "deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States." The act included numerous encroachments on civil liberties. Only one Senator, Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, voted against it.

The Progressive covered opposition to the U.S. war in Afghanistan from the start. As Howard Zinn wrote early in October, for the November 2001 issue, "War is terrorism, magnified a hundred times."

Over two decades of war, more than 775,000 U.S. troops were deployed to Afghanistan, nearly 2,500 were killed, and...

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