Al-Qaeda and ISIS lost their territorial safe havens and global appeal, with jihadist attacks on U.S. soil dropping dramatically from post-9/11 fears to 122 deaths since 2001. Jihadist groups undermined themselves by making too many enemies, mistreating Muslim civilians, and overextending militarily, while recent Middle East upheavals failed to trigger recruitment surges.
How America Contained Global Jihadism Without Winning the War on Terror
Nearly one million people, including approximately 500,000 civilians, died in U.S. post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, and Yemen between 2001-2023; the U.S. lost over 6,000 soldiers and 50,000 were wounded.