25 years of war was the exact wrong response to 9/11 — SkimNews
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- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ordered military planning against Saddam Hussein within hours of the 9/11 attacks, instructing subordinates to "Go massive. Sweep it all up," according to Pentagon notes obtained by CBS News.
- US military spending over the past 25 years exceeded $21 trillion (in 2024 dollars), surpassing the combined spending of the 18 next-largest military powers worldwide.
- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cancelled the State Department's 2004 Patterns of Global Terrorism report after it showed an unprecedented increase in global terrorism following the Iraq invasion, replacing it with a new report using different criteria.
- China built new infrastructure and leapfrogged the US in clean energy, high-speed rail, and technology sectors while the US pursued endless wars, the authors argue.
- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is pursuing an alternative agenda of expanded free childcare, major affordable housing investments, improved public transportation, and frozen rents in stabilized apartments.
- The authors call for closing overseas bases, abolishing ICE, scaling back the military, taxing the wealthy, and taking public ownership of education, healthcare, housing, infrastructure, and utilities.
Why it matters: The op-ed frames widespread public opposition to Trump's war on Iran as evidence Americans have finally rejected 25 years of post-9/11 militarism. CODEPINK's founders argue the $21 trillion war bill came at the direct expense of domestic investment, infrastructure, and progressive priorities — and that Mamdani's NYC agenda illustrates an alternative path.
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