Today is Friday, April 1, 2016, and that makes today April Fools’ Day. There are certainly enough fools in the world today to go around, but today we are going to discuss terrorism and the foolish politicians and policies that have allowed it to flourish, especially in the last fifteen years. This is a tale of war, of assimilation, and of extinction.

President George W. Bush announced that we were engaged in a global war on terror shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001. He also said, “You’re either with us, or you’re with the terrorists.” I suppose he did that to make sure the entire world was engaged in the conflict. It seems pretty obvious now that terror, especially in Europe, is worse than ever after fifteen years of the global war on terror.

Let’s review some of the things that have happened in this war since then. The United States and its western allies invaded Afghanistan, then Iraq. To some extent, they’re still engaged in both countries. The 9/11 Commission Report states that the cost, in terms of dollars of the 9/11 attacks to the attackers, was estimated to be four hundred to five hundred thousand dollars, and to the United States alone, if you count, in your estimate, the cost of caring for wounded veterans, wounded in the global war on terror, 3.3 trillion dollars. That’s quite a return on investment, isn’t it? I’d take that any day of the week. The United States cannot maintain that ratio forever, obviously, without being economically bled to death.