Juan Cole: America's 9/11 Response Subverted Our values and Liberties

Juan Cole is the Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan and author of "Engaging the Muslim World."

The United States government's reaction to the attacks of 9/11 some 11 years ago took the world into a tragic era of unnecessary wars and confrontation that destabilized allies and threatened vital long-term U.S. interests.

At home, American liberties were endangered. It needn't have unfolded in that way. The U.S. is still bearing the costs of its lost decade, and is still debating whether to continue failed post-9/11 policies. We would do well to heed the warning of James Madison, that "Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded."

Then-French President Jacques Chirac advised George W. Bush to avoid the phrase "war on terror," and urged that 9/11 be treated as a crime by a cartel. It is not as if such rogue organizations are harmless. Mexico's drug cartels are alleged to have killed 47,515 people since 2006

But by pursuing wars against states in Iraq and Afghanistan instead of making the destruction of al-Qaida its highest priority, the Bush administration turned America toward perpetual war. Worse, it gave al-Qaida new life and recruiting grounds by militarily occupying Muslim countries and overseeing conflicts that led to the deaths of tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of innocents....