Aftershock: The War on Terror
Aftershock: The War on Terror is a six-part podcast from the London Review of Books. Hosted by senior editor Daniel Soar, it revisits the magazine's coverage of the post-9/11 War on Terror. The series examines the expansion of American power through Guantánamo Bay, drone strikes, mass surveillance, and financial weaponization. It reflects on how the events of 9/11 have reshaped the world over two decades.
Episodes
From the Archive: ‘The War on Terrorism: Is There an Alternative?’
In May 2002, six months after the invasion of Afghanistan
but before the Iraq war, the London Review of Books held a debate: ‘The
War on Terrorism: Is There an Alternative?’ The panel comprised Tariq Ali,
Christopher Hitchens, Jacqueline Rose, Anatol Lieven and Onora O’Neill.
President Bush’s ultimatum set the tone: either you’re with
us or you’re with the terrorists. The Guardian described it as
Episode 6: Aftershock ‘Live’
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 cha
Episode 5: In Dollars We Trust
‘Follow the money.’ That was George W. Bush’s directive to the US Treasury after 9/11. Choking off al-Qaida’s finances proved complicated — but what happened next went far beyond that. A small team of Treasury bureaucrats weaponised the global economic system itself, and built a financial nuclear bomb.
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Episode 4: More than a Million Names
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 c
Episode 3: Dr Yes
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq created a dilemma for the Bush administration: what to do with the thousands of detainees captured during the War on Terror. John Yoo, a White House lawyer, came up with a new legal argument that allowed detainees to be held indefinitely without trial. Habeas corpus was suspended, the constitution upended and Guantánamo Bay became a judicial black hole.
More fr
Episode 2: The Frog and the Scorpion
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.
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Episode 1: With Us or Against Us
In the days after 9/11, George W. Bush declared a state of emergency and initiated what would become an unprecedented expansion of US power. Public debate narrowed: there were new limits on what was acceptable, and not acceptable, to say. The London Review of Books published a number of pieces that challenged this consensus, forcing its editor, Mary-Kay Wilmers, to defend the paper on national rad
Aftershock: The War on Terror – Trailer
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 n
