Why does America keep returning to forever wars, and can voters make them stop?
Reported by Al Jazeera ·
A renewed Middle East war
The framing places the current war alongside US conflicts in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. It asks why the country continues to fight and whether voters can change that pattern.
Questions about the causes
These are posed as questions for discussion, rather than presented as settled explanations. The report does not provide answers to them in its description.
Can voters end the wars?
Retired US Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt and journalist Spencer Ackerman debate why the United States keeps fighting. They also consider whether voters can end the “forever wars.” Kimmitt is identified as a former assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs. The discussion connects the question of war to the role of voters and political accountability.
Key points
- The United States is again at war in the Middle East, and most Americans say it is not worth the cost.
- Josh Rushing raises oil, defence spending, lobbying and political accountability as possible factors behind repeated wars.
- Mark Kimmitt and Spencer Ackerman debate why the United States keeps fighting.
- The discussion asks whether voters can end the “forever wars.”