Since the 9/11 attacks the United States has conducted three major wars carried out military operations in ten countries and caused the deaths of approximately 940,000 people, according to investigative reports by foreign media.
Under the presidencies of George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump and Joe Biden the US conducted air and ground strikes in Afghanistan Iraq Yemen Pakistan Somalia Libya Syria Venezuela Nigeria and Iran.
The first war in Afghanistan began in October 2001 and lasted 20 years, resulting in 243,000 deaths. The US reportedly spent around $5.8 trillion on these conflicts, a figure that could rise to $8 trillion when accounting for veteran and disabled personnel costs.
In March 2003 the US invaded Iraq claiming that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, later proven false. The conflict resulted in 315,000 fatalities. US operations against ISIS in Syria between 2014 and 2021 killed 269,000 people while Yemen saw 112,000 deaths from 2002 to 2021.
Additionally CIA drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal regions, airstrikes in Somalia, NATO-backed intervention in Libya and military pressure on Iran reflect US reliance on force to secure strategic interests despite repeated promises to end costly foreign wars.
