CODEPINK marks 25 years of the U.S. Global War on Terror and calls for accountability

Marking 25 years since the September 11 attacks, CODEPINK’s statement condemns the U.S. Global War on Terror as a prolonged campaign that has caused extensive loss of life and displacement across the SWANA region. A Brown University analysis documents over 900,000 direct fatalities and an estimated 3.6-3.8 million indirect deaths, while more than 38 million people have been forced from their homes in nations including Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, the Philippines, Libya and Syria.

The group argues that the war served imperial ambitions, expanded surveillance powers, and fueled anti-Muslim sentiment. It urges dismantling the war’s fiscal and bureaucratic structures, reallocating funds to health, housing and climate justice, and holding architects of the invasions and related human-rights abuses accountable. CODEPINK also connects the ongoing conflict to U.S. actions toward Iran and the Gaza crisis, calling for an end to the cycle of violence.