The “War on Terror,” launched in response to the 9/11 attacks, has left a trail of destruction: failed wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; millions of dead, wounded, and displaced; regional instability; a global torture program; seething Islamophobia; and grave harm to both human rights and civil liberties — all driven by a politics of fear and the vast expansion of executive power. And yet, there has been in the United States nothing close to a comprehensive political, legal, and moral reckoning with the War on Terror. Instead, many of its worst logics and policies persist, creating new victims and harm to democracy and the rule of law.
This webinar takes the 25th anniversary of 9/11 as occasion to reflect on the legacies of 9/11 and the “War on Terror,” historic resistance to U.S. militarism, and how we can move beyond a “War on Terror” paradigm.
This webinar will feature speakers:
Terry Kay Rockefeller is a documentary film producer, and peace and justice activist. Terry’s sister, Laura Rockefeller, was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Since 2002, Terry has worked with September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows to honor her sister’s life and try to ensure that other families throughout the world do not become victims of violence or war. Terry has joined with other 9/11 family members to protest the lack of due process in the military tribunals that have been convened to try those accused of the 9/11 attacks and to work to shut down the detention facilities at Guantanamo.
Juan Cole is the Richard P. Mitchell Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan and a specialist in the Middle East and South Asia. He is the author of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam: A New Translation From the Persian, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace Amid the Clash of Empires and Peace Movements in Islam. His latest book is Rethinking the Qur’an in Late Antiquity (Berlin: DeGruyter, 2025). Cole is also a non-resident Fellow of the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies in Doha and of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN). His public-facing website is Informed Comment (juancole.com).
Jeremy Varon is a Professor of History, H-PAD Steering Committee member, and author of Our Grief Is Not a Cry for War: The Movement to Stop the War on Terror (2025).