The term “blowback” was coined by the CIA to describe the unintended consequences of covert actions undertaken by the U.S. military and intelligence agencies. The word was first used in this context during internal speculation after the agency helped overthrow the Iranian government in 1953 (which I summarized in a previous article).

In his groundbreaking exposé of said phenomenon, the late Chalmers Johnson vividly chronicled the far-reaching tentacles of the post-war American empire. He explained how this multi-faceted hegemony causes profound resentment and hatred throughout the world, sometimes even leading to cases of blowback. Such incidents have included terrorist bombings against Americans abroad, with targets like U.S. embassies in Africa, a Pan Am flight above Lockerbie, Scotland, and an apartment building in Saudi Arabia that housed American soldiers. Blowback also includes organizations and foreign leaders whom were once armed and/or supported by the U.S. later becoming enemies of the U.S., as was the case with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. And the presence of roughly 700 American military bases in 130 different countries only seems to fan these flames.

A post-9/11 manifestation of blowback was the formation of the gruesome terrorist organization known as ISIS, which was only possible thanks to the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. Though ISIS committed shocking acts of violence, this outcome wasn’t shocking at all; it was entirely predictable, based on the U.S. military’s own research. In 2004, then-secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld requested a report from the Defense Science Board Task Force regarding the efficacy of American policy in the Middle East. The task force’s response included the following:

“American direct intervention in the Muslim World has paradoxically elevated the stature of and support for radical Islamists, while diminishing support for the U.S. to single-digits in some Arab societies.[…] In the eyes of Muslims, American occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq has not led to democracy there, but only more chaos and suffering.[…] Muslims do not ‘hate our freedom,’ but rather, they hate our policies.”

This unsavory, yet sober analysis of our incendiary role in foreign conflicts is often omitted from mainstream discourse because it is profoundly embarrassing to many prominent institutions and public officials. Acknowledging our own role in perpetuating mass violence calls into question the popular notions of American exceptionalism and American moral benevolence. President George W. Bush’s explanation of the events of September 11, 2001 (which occurred early in his first term) revolved around the phrase “they hate our freedoms.” Bush’s evaluation was vastly different from the words of the actual perpetrator, Osama bin Laden, who outlined his motives in a detailed “letter to America.” Though the missive is laced with Wahhabi rhetoric, it also elucidates bin Laden’s political grievances, including verification that 9/11 should be categorized as “blowback.”

Bin Laden’s objections to U.S. policy included its support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine (including the killing of civilians and destruction of homes), its sanctions against Iraq (resulting in at least half a million civilian deaths), its military bases throughout the Middle East (including in Saudi Arabia), its military actions in Somalia, and its support for regimes that have killed and oppressed Muslims throughout the world. This al-Qaeda kingpin may have been an extremist and a mass-murderer, but his explanation certainly holds more water than Bush’s glib retort.

“They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.” -George W. Bush (Wikimedia Commons)

The devastation caused by the 9/11 attacks inspired a beautiful outpouring of support and solidarity among people from all backgrounds coming together to assist and comfort one another. However, the aftermath of this atrocity also unleashed pervasive nationalism, ethnic and religious profiling, violations of constitutional rights, and imperialistic mass murder in the Middle East.

The 9/11 slogan became “Never Forget.” As a nation, we certainly won’t forget such a large-scale catastrophe, but in a sense, we also “Never Remember.” Instead of starting the timeline only when an event affects us directly, we should analyze the historical context of such events, and have the courage to look in the mirror and see our decades of relentless global violence, both covert and overt. We should also— as participants in a democracy — evaluate our role in the profound suffering, sorrow, resentment, and blowback these policies have generated.

The Korean War may help put this in perspective: American military aggression in North Korea between 1950 and 1953 resulted in the equivalent of hundreds of 9/11s, based on the respective death tolls. The same is true of American aggression in Southeast Asia during the 1960s and ’70s. In recent decades, the so-called “War on Terror” has taken the lives of approximately 1.3 million people. The scope of these blood-drenched foreign conquests, combined with consistent historic U.S. support for dictatorships and death squads, makes it easy to see why America is widely perceived as the greatest threat to world peace.

On this harrowing anniversary, let’s honor the victims of September 11, 2001 by remembering the victims of our own terrorism as well. If we change our ways, we can address the root causes of these conflicts, and prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future. Let’s acknowledge our history, confront our current complicity in mass murder, and work to end this cycle of violence.

This article has also been published by The Hampton Institute.