The Institute for Economics and Peace has released its annual “Global Peace Index” for 2017, reporting some shocking findings:

Capturing the state of peace in 163 countries, the Global Peace Index 2017 is out now: https://t.co/A5TCdOStOx pic.twitter.com/Rolpzk1S8V — Global Peace Index (@GlobPeaceIndex) June 1, 2017

According to the report, global terrorism has nearly tripled since 2011, and terrorism is now at an all-time high:

Report: Worldwide Terrorism at All-Time High https://t.co/IYoIU1WGbe pic.twitter.com/RTNhcWRwFh — The Voice of America (@VOANews) June 1, 2017

The Voice of America reports:

Worldwide terrorism is at an all-time high, and violence cost the global economy $14.3 trillion last year, with a $2.5 trillion impact in the United States alone. These new figures from the latest Global Peace Index, a report on conflict and security, indicate that world peace has been deteriorating for the past decade, largely driven by terrorism and conflicts in the Middle East and Northern Africa. The study says the decline interrupts long-term improvements the world had been making since the end of World War II. According to the report, the annual number of terrorism incidents has almost tripled since 2011. Deaths from terrorism have risen more than 900% since 2007 in the 35 countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Of those members, 23 nations experienced terrorism related deaths over the past year. Those countries include Denmark, Sweden, France and Turkey.

One eye-popping graphic from the report (p. 36):

This is quite a turnaround from this time last year during the presidential campaign — when the media was trumpeting supposed major declines in terrorism:

Deaths from terrorism declined 13.4 percent worldwide last year https://t.co/tvqneqJm05 pic.twitter.com/kn8j9qT3Fd — Vox (@voxdotcom) June 6, 2016

Only a few were willing to acknowledge the growing terrorism problem developing in the West:

Global terrorism declined last year — but not in the West: https://t.co/lzOk8CXTTd pic.twitter.com/jce5R73ppO — FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) June 30, 2016

As I noted here at PJ Media after the terror attack in Nice last July, attacks in the West were occurring at a rate of one every 84 hours:

ISIS inspired or directed attacks outside Syria/Iraq occurring once every 84 hours since June 8 https://t.co/0Lh5LgphhF — Patrick Poole (@pspoole) July 26, 2016

That pace dropped only slightly by October:

Closing Out 2016's 'Summer of Terror': Since Nice 90 Days Ago, 20 Terror Attacks in the West, One Every 100 Hours https://t.co/A0hoNrTcMF pic.twitter.com/B0NBKDTNDU — Patrick Poole (@pspoole) October 12, 2016

After last month’s suicide bombing in Manchester, among other recent attacks, it appears that another “Summer of Terror” may be in the offing:

Last month I asked, are we headed for another 'Summer of Terror'? Appears so. https://t.co/A2oYpaYk62 — Patrick Poole (@pspoole) May 23, 2017

But wait — didn’t we hear from President Obama that Osama bin Laden was dead, that al-Qaeda had been decimated? That the Islamic State was the “JV team”?

Going back to April 2013, senior Obama State Department officials had been telling us that the “War on Terror” was over, and the primary reason was that Obama’s “Arab Spring” had unleashed the forces of democracy. In reality, it encouraged hardcore Islamists like the Muslim Brotherhood to take power in several critical countries in the Middle East:

Can Obama safely embrace Islamists?: http://t.co/gUgWRExP — National Journal (@nationaljournal) April 23, 2012

Wrote Michael Hirsh at the National Journal:

In an article in the current National Journal called “The Post Al Qaida Era,” I write that the Obama administration is taking a new view of Islamist radicalism. The president realizes he has no choice but to cultivate the Muslim Brotherhood and other relatively “moderate” Islamist groups emerging as lead political players out of the Arab Spring in Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere. (The Muslim Brotherhood officially renounced violence decades ago, leading then-dissident radicals such as Ayman al-Zawahiri to join al Qaida.) It is no longer the case, in other words, that every Islamist is seen as a potential accessory to terrorists. “The war on terror is over,” one senior State Department official who works on Mideast issues told me. “Now that we have killed most of al Qaida, now that people have come to see legitimate means of expression, people who once might have gone into al Qaida see an opportunity for a legitimate Islamism.”

Aside from repeating the canard that “the Muslim Brotherhood officially renounced violence decades ago” (they didn’t), by the end of 2013 Egypt and Tunisia had thrown off their Muslim Brotherhood-led governments which were quickly deteriorating into Iran-style theocracies.

But rather than support the rejection of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Obama administration doubled down on its support. In his September 2014 Oval Office speech, Obama touted his counter-terrorism efforts in Somalia and Yemen as two of the major foreign policy successes of his administration:

WOW: Obama Tonight: Yemen and Somalia Are Models of Success (!) http://t.co/xUIPIGUR4L — The Weekly Standard (@weeklystandard) September 10, 2014

https://twitter.com/ajam/status/510518876371959809

Last year, Obama pointed to Yemen and Somalia as counterterrorism success stories. Hard to make that argument looking at today's headlines. — Kevin Sieff (@ksieff) April 2, 2015

So where are Obama’s counter-terrorism successes today?

Here are a couple headlines from the past few days:

World watches as Yemen descends into total collapse https://t.co/qVex4B73Sv — Thomas Hegghammer (@Hegghammer) June 1, 2017

Al Shabaab overtook Boko Haram as Africa’s most deadly terrorists in 2016 https://t.co/vpOQXFP4wC via @qzafrica — Quartz (@qz) June 1, 2017

Obama touted his role in the NATO intervention in Libya as another success:

Via @nprnews: Was Libya A 'Recipe For Success,' As Obama Says? http://t.co/ocn6yi0M — Mark Memmott (@Mark_Memmott) October 26, 2011

Today, Libya is a failed state:

The U.S. intervention in Libya was a complete failure: https://t.co/XRXExEUaPa pic.twitter.com/ZXIXnia1Ze — Foreign Affairs (@ForeignAffairs) December 28, 2015

And terror groups operating in Libya may have played a role in last month’s Manchester bombing:

Why Libya is still a global terror threat | Alia Brahimi https://t.co/8CDy1wbYsg — Guardian US (@GuardianUS) May 25, 2017

Alas, among the foreign policy “smart set” are still some true believers:

#NATO's 2011 air intervention in #Libya was effective and inexpensive. Does it offer a model for future conflicts? http://t.co/fEdy7S50Id — RAND Corporation (@RANDCorporation) July 12, 2015

Nedal Swehli argues that the 2011 intervention in #Libya was a success & model for future interventions. Read why: https://t.co/mVvPK6kvVZ pic.twitter.com/Sb1xFI09vh — Middle East Programs (@ACMideast) March 26, 2017

Everyone says the Libya intervention was a failure. They’re wrong. https://t.co/RtcRYxILnK — Vox (@voxdotcom) April 5, 2016

Another one of Obama’s self-stated successes was supposedly ending the war in Iraq, which the media was quick to applaud:

End of war in Iraq is major promise kept for Obama http://t.co/A9wjf4oY — Meet the Press: First Read (@MTPFirstRead) October 21, 2011

In 2012, Obama vigorously campaigned on having ended the war in Iraq — but after ISIS swept across northern Iraq, capturing one-third of the country, Obama was quick to distance himself from the decision to remove American combat troops:

And then there’s Afghanistan — America’s longest war. Obama promised to end that, too:

Obama pledged to end the war in Afghanistan in 2014. https://t.co/xFXhpLIzOe pic.twitter.com/6gVfdksFpg — PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) July 6, 2016

In 2013 Obama said he hoped to end the war in #Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Here's a useful timeline: pic.twitter.com/taiIrlhy7I — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (@RFERL) July 7, 2016

In fact, he took credit for doing so:

"For many of us, this #MemorialDay is especially meaningful—it is the first since our war in Afghanistan came to an end." —@POTUS — White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) May 25, 2015

Barack Obama has told us for 5 years the war in Afghanistan is over. Roll Tape via @heatstreet https://t.co/RMCfL8mCPp — Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 7, 2016

Where do things stand in Afghanistan now?

According to US estimates, the Taliban now controls more territory than at any time since 2001. https://t.co/1lgG8M4e2m — Max Abrahms (@MaxAbrahms) October 27, 2016

The VBIED attack in Kabul this week left damage that can be seen from space:

Kabul bombing: "The damage in the immediate blast area is visible in satellite images." https://t.co/4Ijvgot5uT — Mujib Mashal (@MujMash) May 31, 2017

The Latest: Afghan government media center raises death toll in Kabul attack to 90; 400 now reported wounded. https://t.co/WC5DUO4Hoi — The Associated Press (@AP) May 31, 2017

And do we really want to talk about Syria?

Six years into the Syrian war, Syria has effectively ceased to exist: https://t.co/3WkNy8Uj7g pic.twitter.com/t8Wpx8axJT — Atlantic Council (@AtlanticCouncil) May 20, 2017

If only we had some warning that Obama's Syria policy was going to be a colossal shitshow… https://t.co/ByxYk4pX6u pic.twitter.com/HCz4zhYKva — Patrick Poole (@pspoole) September 17, 2016

Deaths from terrorism around the world are now nearly three times higher than at the height of the troop surge in Iraq:

The so-called Arab Spring and the Syrian War — both openly cheered and supported by the Obama administration — unleashed deadly and destructive forces whose full manifestations are only now being seen.

This new data documents the terrorism that has ripped open the Middle East, southeast Asia, and Africa. Now it is literally exploding across Europe.

And it may take more than hugs and hashtags to roll it back.