From the article:
"The War on Terror's Total Cost: $5,900,000,000,000"
What has $5,900,000,000,000 won us?
Essentially ... NOTHING.
Since the WOT began, I haven't seen any more massive attacks on US soil. No skyscrapers destroyed from the air. No nations governed by terrorist entities. I have seen former terrorist-supporting nations disavow those efforts and end WMD programs. I have witnessed vastly more cooperation from the Arab world in fighting terrorism than at any time in history. And I have seen long-lasting stability in petroleum prices that have provided a huge economic benefit to this nation.
So to say that it hasn't benefited us is preposterous. I don't recall anyone, ANYONE, in 2001 that was saying we shouldn't respond to 9/11. No voice was heard saying that we should leave Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban and let that government assist Al Qaeda in its next attack. Instead, there was a great amount of concern regarding WMD around the world and the potential for another disaster.
President Bush led the fight against this, and for it he should be loudly praised. His entire Iraq/Afganistan War campaign cost less than $700 million which was a bargain. At the same time, he garnered support throughout the Arab world. Countries like Iran and North Korea found themselves ever more isolated and estranged from the rest of the world. And that was a good thing.
Unfortunately, the next President screwed all of that up. His rejection of the Bush policy led to a quadrupling of casualties in Afghanistan, a betrayal of our Arab allies, and an opportunity for our enemies to regroup.
Of course none of this takes away from the need to protect ourselves through security of the homeland (see 9/11) which makes up a large amount of that cost.
It is disingenuous to completely ignore 9/11 and the mood of the country shortly afterwards while criticizing the pro-active actions that has kept us safe ever since.
So once again, I'll pose to every reader of this forum "the question" (that no one ever seems brave enough to answer):
Who's winning....?
In 2008, it was clear to everyone that we were winning decisively. The resistance in Iraq had ended. We had a minimal force in Afghanistan with very low casualties that was preventing another terrorist entity from taking control of that government. We had previous sponsors of terrorism like Yemen and Libya disavow their former practices and turn over their notes and stockpiles to the US. And we had pro-freedom pro-democracy movements rising up in the rest of the Arab world, but even more importantly, Iran, all ready to follow the Iraqi example. But then Obama happened. In the next 8 years, he was able to destroy every bit of good will that had been planted. Not only was the previous investment completely wasted, but he continued to spend at levels that exceeded the Bush years.
Now with Trump in office, it is a mixed bag. Is he willing to push through the long haul? No. But is he decisive enough to respond to any terrorist BS that threatens us? Absolutely. So in that regard, there isn't a country left that is willing to try some 9/11 magnitude event. And that is because we have demonstrated that we are at war against that type of behavior.