15 years of War On Terror. It’s time to reflect.

Fifteen years ago today was the official start of the “War on Terror”, a response to the horrific attacks of 9/11 which caused the deaths of nearly 3,000 innocent people and pushed a nation into complete turmoil. 

It is essential for us, as a nation and as a world, to reflect upon the past 15 years and to ask ourselves a few very important questions. Is the world now a safer place? Are there fewer terrorists than before? Have the West’s efforts been victorious? Can we see an end to this conflict in the foreseeable future?

{mosads}Very sadly, the answer to all these questions is resounding NO. Instead, today global terror is at all-time high having risen an estimated 4,000 percent since 9/11, the West is in a continued state of war not only in Afghanistan but also in Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya, and the divide between the world’s Islamic community and the West is greater than ever. So now what?

It is important to ask ourselves, how is it that the strongest military force in the history of the world has been fighting terror organizations much weaker than themselves for a decade and a half and the only certain outcomes have been an alarming rise in terrorism, increased instability throughout the entire Middle East, trillions of dollars spent, and the loss of hundreds of thousands (maybe even millions) of innocent civilian lives?

What has become abundantly clear is that it is impossible to defeat an ideology with bombs and bullets. In order to diminish the power of ideologies which we have deemed destructive a new way of thinking is needed. To better understand why force escalates the conflict and strengthens extreme ideologies it is important to understand the impact Western intervention has had on the Middle East, and the effects it has had on the citizens of the region.

For over a hundred years Western forces (originally led by England, now led by the U.S.) have had a deep vested economic and strategic interest in the Middle East. In order to achieve desired goals, the West has imposed new borders and installed governments that fit their political agenda while destroying others that didn’t. Meanwhile, they armed, funded, and supported (sometimes publicly, other times covertly) most sides the conflict, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Israel, Egypt and even the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and ISIS. 

Very few Westerners are fully aware of their government’s intricate involvement in the region and the effect that involvement has had on the local populations. For this reason, 15 years later a large segment of western populations endorse the continuation of the same policies which likely brought about the state of the region in the first place. Furthermore, if asked, most Americans would cite Bin Laden not agreeing with Western values as the reason he attacked the U.S. But really, if we were to listen to the words of Bin Laden himself, we would understand that the Western value he was truly opposed to was that of imperialism on his homeland.

A large portion of Middle Easterners (Westerners too) do not even believe Al Qaeda was the sole perpetrator behind the 9/11 attacks. Many believe Western forces had an involvement which offered them an excuse to wage war across the region thus fueling the oh so profitable war machine. Whether their notion is true or not is not as much the point as the fact that they believe it is true. And by responding by waging war across the entire region their suspicions of the West’s malicious intent have been fortified. This, in turn, has only strengthened the very ideology which is suspected to have incited the attacks in the first place. Rather than reflecting upon and trying to understand why the attacks on 9/11 occurred, the U.S. government was quick to respond with more of the same. 

Another aspect of the conflict which is critically important to reflect upon is the impact war has on local populations. When a civilian is killed or a home is destroyed by a Western aggression, those impacted are driven into a state of despair and anger and are far more likely to join the ranks of those fighting against the force that irreparably harmed them. Nothing has been better for terrorist recruitment centers than the increased aggression of Western forces in the Middle East. 

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to the complexities of the Middle East but we can easily conclude from the past what does not work. The solutions can not be provided by the West alone, the people of the Middle East will have to take a major part in defeating those who terrorize them. The West’s role lies in the form of containment through various means including ending arms sales to nations involved in deadly conflicts, and funding and supporting education and movements that are peaceful and humane. This is just as much a war of ideas as it is a war of arms and considering the impact Western aggression has on the region the war of ideas is the only one they can effectively fight. 

And now more than ever, ordinary people like you and me can inspire change. As a result of the internet and globalization, we can all play a part in positively impacting upon the region and ultimately the world. Understanding, that the people of the Middle East are the greatest victims of terror and what has been done until now has only aided in creating the problem, provides us all a common ground and a unified path forward. We can all join the “fight” by reaching out to someone on the “other side” to learn about them and tell them about ourselves and ultimately make a difference in this wild war of ideas.

Weinreb is a freelance writer and activist currently residing in Tel Aviv. He dedicates his free time to various peace-building initiatives worldwide.

The views expressed by authors are their own and not the views of The Hill.