Afghanistan Archives - Kit O'Connell: Approximately 8,000 Words

Deaths From Terrorism Increased 4,500% Since Beginning Of War On Terror

U.S. Army Sgt. William Reese watches flames rise into the night sky after setting canal vegetation ablaze in Tahwilla, Iraq, July 30, 2008. (Flickr / U.S. Army / Spc. David J. Marshall)

December 22, 2015

Kit

Deaths From Terrorism Increased 4,500% Since Beginning Of War On Terror

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

An analysis of terror attacks since 2002 suggests U.S. efforts to combat terrorism — i.e., the “war on terror” — have led to a dramatic increase in death and suffering from terrorism.

Published this year on Sept. 11, Paul Gottinger, a staff reporter for Reader Supported News, analyzed incidents of terrorism from George Bush declaring the war on terror in the aftermath of 9/11 through the present, and found a staggering 6,500 percent increase in terrorism. Gottinger, who used data provided by the State Department in his analysis, found that casualties have increased by 4,500 percent.

Countries occupied by or being bombed the U.S. military seem to fare worst of all:

Rumors Persist That The CIA Helps Export Opium From Afghanistan

U.S. Army Sfc. Scott Kehn of Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Parachute Infantry Division, conducts a patrol through poppy fields near Nalghan, Afghanistan, April 21, 2011. (Flickr / U.S. Army /Pfc. Justin A. Young)

September 19, 2015

Kit

Rumors Persist That The CIA Helps Export Opium From Afghanistan

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Despite billions spent to eradicate opium crops in Afghanistan, the crop is more popular than ever there, leading many to wonder whether some U.S. forces may actually be encouraging its growth and the heroin it later becomes.

In July, the Centers for Disease Control warned of record-breaking numbers of heroin deaths in the United States. “Heroin use more than doubled among young adults ages 18–25 in the past decade,” the CDC reported.

In the same month, it was reported that opium production is stronger than ever in Afghanistan, which now produces 90 percent of the world’s supply of the plant that’s refined to create heroin. This rise in production would have been impossible prior to the U.S.-led invasion, and it comes despite some $8.4 billion spent in counternarcotics efforts by the U.S., specifically designated to wipe out opium production in Afghanistan.

4 Million Muslims Killed In Western Wars: Should We Call It Genocide?

A U.S. Army Soldier from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team kicks in the door of a building during a cordon and search in Buhriz, Iraq, March 14, 2007. (Flickr / U.S. Air Force / Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall)

August 18, 2015

Kit

4 Million Muslims Killed In Western Wars: Should We Call It Genocide?

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

It may never be possible to know the true death toll of the modern Western wars on the Middle East, but that figure could be 4 million or higher. Since the vast majority of those killed were of Arab descent, and mostly Muslim, when would it be fair to accuse the United States and its allies of genocide?

A March report by Physicians for Social Responsibility calculates the body count of the Iraq War at around 1.3 million, and possibly as many as 2 million. However, the numbers of those killed in Middle Eastern wars could be much higher. In April, investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed argued that the actual death toll could reach as high as 4 million if one includes not just those killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also the victims of the sanctions against Iraq, which left about 1.7 million more dead, half of them children, according to figures from the United Nations.