McClatchy provides a summary of the annual State Department Country Reports on Terrorism (more below).
Something to keep in mind as the most recent PR campaign to extend the war in Afghanistan (to enter its second decade shortly) is underway. That would be a war that we “must” extend at a cost of hundreds of billions, or trillions, of dollars (not that we need that money otherwise) in order to deny al-Qaeda a safehaven in Afghanistan, even though al-Qaeda is currently located in Pakistan (with self-starters in Europe and America), and could move to other places like Yemen or Somalia if the need arose.
Not that a safe-haven is all that necessary to carry out attacks (most of the big ones were planned and staged in Europe or the USA), or that cessation of our occupation of Afghanistan would mean that we would completely abandon all counterterrorism activity in that country should al-Qaeda be foolish enough to abandon the relatively safer Pakistani environs for Afghanistan. Meaning, it is harder to conduct strikes in Pakistan than it is in Afghanistan for U.S. forces that must contend with Pakistani objections. And if al-Qaeda attempted to set up training camps, that would provide the US military with ideal and easy targets to pick off. It would be doing us a favor.
But I digress. Matt Yglesias quotes, and emphasizes, the following from McClatchy:
There were just 25 U.S. noncombatant fatalities from terrorism worldwide. (The US government definition of terrorism excludes attacks on U.S. military personnel). While we don’t have the figures at hand, undoubtedly more American citizens died overseas from traffic accidents or intestinal illnesses than from terrorism.
Yglesias notes:
The State Department’s figures on “Death of U.S. Citizens Abroad by Non-Natural Causes” are available online. They represent an undercount since they only include deaths that were reported to State. Playing around with the numbers a bit I see that 26 Americans died in vehicle accidents in Mexico between 1 August 2009 and 1 January 2010, so it’s safe to say you’re dramatically likelier to die abroad in a traffic accident than a terrorist attack.
Meanwhile, back in the USA, our quality of life is deteriorating and our infrastructure is crumbling or already in a state of disrepair:
The lights are going out all over America — literally. Colorado Springs has made headlines with its desperate attempt to save money by turning off a third of its streetlights, but similar things are either happening or being contemplated across the nation, from Philadelphia to Fresno.
Meanwhile, a country that once amazed the world with its visionary investments in transportation, from the Erie Canal to the Interstate Highway System, is now in the process of unpaving itself: in a number of states, local governments are breaking up roads they can no longer afford to maintain, and returning them to gravel.
And a nation that once prized education — that was among the first to provide basic schooling to all its children — is now cutting back. Teachers are being laid off; programs are being canceled; in Hawaii, the school year itself is being drastically shortened. And all signs point to even more cuts ahead.
We’re told that we have no choice, that basic government functions — essential services that have been provided for generations — are no longer affordable. And it’s true that state and local governments, hit hard by the recession, are cash-strapped. But they wouldn’t be quite as cash-strapped if their politicians were willing to consider at least some tax increases.
Or, perhaps, ending a war that cannot be won on its terms, even though the costs will eventually reach the trillions unless a change of course is initiated immediately.
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Paging Mr. Bourne…Mr. Randolph Bourne, please pick up white courtesy phone…