Aftershock: The War on Terror

For the final episode, host Daniel Soar is joined by Patrick Cockburn, Laleh Khalili and Tom Stevenson for a live discussion on the War on Terror and its aftershocks. They consider the powers and techniques established after 9/11 and now being deployed by the US – in Venezuela, Minneapolis and beyond. What is the legacy of America’s ‘forever wars’ in the Middle East, and does Donald Trump’s chaotic foreign policy really mark a break from what came before? More from the LRB: The Belgrano Diary: ⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/belgranowotpod⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to the LRB: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/subswotpod⁠⁠⁠ Close Readings podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/crwotpod⁠⁠⁠ LRB Audiobooks: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/audiobookswotpod⁠⁠⁠ Bags, binders and more at the LRB Store: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/storewotpod⁠⁠⁠ Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk

The events of 9/11 exposed cracks in the US intelligence apparatus. In response, the National Security Agency built the most extensive surveillance system in history. What was sold as a counterterrorism measure was turned on American citizens and the line between security and privacy all but disappeared. The data captured fed the Pentagon's international kill list and the surveillance industrial complex was born. More from the LRB: The Belgrano Diary: ⁠⁠https://lrb.me/belgranowotpod⁠⁠ Subscribe to the LRB: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/subswotpod⁠⁠ Close Readings podcast: ⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/crwotpod⁠⁠ LRB Audiobooks: ⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/audiobookswotpod⁠⁠ Bags, binders and more at the LRB Store: ⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/storewotpod⁠⁠ Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Archive in this episode: ‘Khaled El Masri at the National Press Club’/ACLU ‘The Johns Hopkins Foreign Affairs Symposium Presents: The Price of Privacy: Re-Evaluating the NSA’/John Hopkins University ‘911 Forced Change in US Intelligence, al-Qaida’/Voice of America ‘Pine Tree Foundation Endowed Lecture: Michael V. Hayden’/Free Library of Philadelphia ‘All the News Unfit to Print’/The Intercept Briefing/The Intercept ‘America's Surveillance State: Inside the NSA’/ENDEVR ‘NSA Whistleblower William Binney interviewed by Richard Grove’/Peace Revolution Podcast/Tragedy & Hope ‘Mike Rounds And John Ratcliffe Explain The Importance Of Renewing FISA Section 702’/Forbes Breaking News/Forbes ‘Making Sense of FISA Section 702’/Inside the FBI Podcast/FBI

After the Twin Towers fell, Donald Rumsfeld reportedly told President Bush: ‘Now we can do Iraq.’ The neo-conservatives said it would be easy: American troops would be greeted with flowers and sweets. But the occupation quickly unravelled, leaving Iraq in chaos. Welcome to the Forever Wars. More from the LRB The Belgrano Diary: ⁠https://lrb.me/belgranowotpod⁠ Subscribe to the LRB: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/subswotpod⁠ Close Readings podcast: ⁠⁠https://lrb.me/crwotpod⁠ LRB Audiobooks: ⁠⁠https://lrb.me/audiobookswotpod⁠ Bags, binders and more at the LRB Store: ⁠⁠https://lrb.me/storewotpod⁠ Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Archive in this episode ‘American Policy in the Middle East: Options and Limitations’/Garfield Institute ‘Wolfowitz questioned on Iraq developments’/Associated Press ‘The Republican Presidential Debate’/CBS News ‘Pentagon Briefing’/C-Span ‘Inside the Pentagon's "Office of Special Plans"’/National Press Club ‘Wolfowitz: Iraqis Will "Greet Us As Liberators"’/C-Span ‘Presser by US administrator’/Associated Press ‘News conference by top US official in Iraq’/Associated Press ‘US Deputy Defence Secy on whirlwind tour’/Associated Press ‘Bremer announces Saddam capture, Sanchez, Pachachi’/Associated Press ‘WRAP Sovereignty handed over, ceremony, Bremer leaves’/Associated Press ‘Solemn Duty – Campaign Ad’/The Republican Party/Maverick Media ‘Excerpt of al-Sadr's presser’/Associated Press ‘Fox News’/Fox Parliamentary Recording Unit

After 9/11, George W. Bush launched a global War on Terror. What followed was an unprecedented expansion of American power, from Guantánamo Bay to drone strikes, mass surveillance to the weaponisation of the financial system. Asked when it would end, Vice-President Dick Cheney replied: ‘Not in our lifetime.’ Two decades later, we’re still living in its shadow. Aftershock: The War on Terror is a new six-part podcast from the London Review of Books. Daniel Soar, a senior editor at the paper, revisits the magazine’s coverage and reflects on the ways 9/11 has changed the world we live in. First episode released on 20 November.