Number of results to display per page
Search Results
17422. Human Cost of Post-9/11 Wars: Direct War Deaths in Major War Zones, Afghanistan and Pakistan (October 2001 – October 2019) Iraq (March 2003 – October 2019); Syria (September 2014-October 2019); Yemen (October 2002-October 2019); and Other
- Author:
- Neta C. Crawford and Catherine Lutz
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
- Abstract:
- This chart tallies direct deaths caused by war violence. It does not include indirect deaths, namely those caused by loss of access to food, water, and/or infrastructure, war-related disease, etc. The numbers included here are approximations based on the reporting of several original data sources.
- Topic:
- 9/11, War on Terror, Casualties, and Iraq War
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, South Asia, Middle East, Yemen, and Syria
17423. Cut Military Spending, Fund Green Manufacturing
- Author:
- Heidi Peltier
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
- Abstract:
- Letting climate change continue unabated will have significant economic costs. Economists from the IMF and elsewhere have estimated costs on the order of 10% of US GDP by 2100 in the absence of climate change policies, and even with policies that limit warming to 2.6°C, climate damages are expected to cost 1-2% of GDP by 2100.i If unchecked, climate change will wreak havoc on natural and human systems, including on the economy. One year ago, a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stressed the need and urgency to limit global warming to no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.ii The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, of Medicine, and of Engineering have affirmed and corroborated those findings.iii On the other hand, taking steps to mitigate and adapt to climate change, such as by shifting to a clean energy economy, may have short-term costs, but will also have some short-term benefits and many longer-term benefits. How can we pay for a transition to clean energy?
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Budget, Economy, and Military Spending
- Political Geography:
- North America and United States of America
17424. The Human and Financial Costs of the Explosive Remnants of War in Afghanistan
- Author:
- Suzanne Fiederlein
- Publication Date:
- 09-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
- Abstract:
- tries in the world, even after thirty years of clearance operations supported extensively by the United Nations and a number of major donors, including the United States. Long after armed conflicts are over, explosive remnants of war continue to cause harm to unsuspecting civilians and cost governments millions of dollars to clear and neutralize. Landmines can remain a threat that affects the population living around them for decades to come. When calculating the costs of waging war, the post-conflict clearance of leftover weapons scattered about the battlefields generally is not included. These costs can last for generations; Belgium, for instance, continues to remove large quantities of explosive shells from its World War I battlefield sites one hundred years after the end of that conflict.4 In the case of a country like Afghanistan, where armed conflict has continued for decades, adding additional explosive ordnance to the landscape on an ongoing basis, the clearance task becomes doubly challenging. The need to remove ordnance is crucial when attempting to provide a secure environment for war-weary civilians and returning refugees and to rebuild infrastructure and create opportunities for economic development – all essential ingredients for establishing and maintaining a stable and effective nation state.
- Topic:
- War, Weapons, Civilians, Casualties, and Landmines
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, South Asia, and United States of America
17425. The Costs of War in Somalia
- Author:
- Catherine Besteman
- Publication Date:
- 09-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
- Abstract:
- Although the United States has not formally declared war in Somalia and the US Congress has not formally approved US military engagements in Somalia, US intervention in Somalia has rapidly expanded under the Trump Administration. US airstrikes against the Somali terrorist group known as Al-Shabaab have skyrocketed, from between 15 and 21 drone strikes and other covert operations in Somalia during the period from 2007-2014 to a record high of 46 strikes in 2018 alone, which killed 326 people, to an astonishing 24 strikes in just the first two months of 2019, killing at least 252 people. Recent reports suggest other entities, such as the CIA, are also carrying out an unknown number of additional airstrikes, and the US currently has about 500 troops, mostly Special Operations, stationed in Somalia. According to a recent investigation by Amnesty International and a subsequent review by AFRICOM, the United States Africa Command, some of the US airstrikes have killed civilians. Tens of thousands of Somalis have fled areas targeted by air strikes, crowding into miserable displaced persons camps outside Mogadishu. Civilians who have lost family members or been injured by strikes have no recourse, and there is no accountability for those carrying out the strikes. In short, without a formal declaration or any particular acknowledgement or interest from the US Congress, a war is being waged in Somalia.
- Topic:
- War, Military Intervention, and Al-Shabaab
- Political Geography:
- Africa, North America, Somalia, and United States of America
17426. The CIA’s “Army”: A Threat to Human Rights and an Obstacle to Peace in Afghanistan
- Author:
- Astri Suhrke and Antonio De Lauri
- Publication Date:
- 08-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
- Abstract:
- Afghan paramilitary forces working with the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have long been a staple in the US war on terrorism in Afghanistan and the border region with Pakistan. The problems associated with these militias take on new significance given the recent momentum in talks between the US government and the Taliban about the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan. Whose interests do the militias represent? How can they be integrated into a peace agreement – if at all? Will their use value for the US in future counterterrorist operations outweigh the case for closing them down in the service of human rights and a sustainable peace? The militias are at least nominally controlled by their CIA paymaster, but to what extent will the operations of the CIA be monitored and streamlined with overall US policy towards Afghanistan? The CIA-supported militias are a particularly troublesome version of the regionally based militias in Afghanistan that have developed over the years around local strongmen with external support. The present units originate in the 2001 invasion, when US military forces and the CIA organized Afghan militias to fight Islamist militants. Almost two decades later, the CIA is still running local militias in operations against the Taliban and other Islamist militants. Throughout, the militias reportedly have committed serious human rights abuses, including numerous extrajudicial killings of civilians. CIA sponsorship ensures that their operations are clouded in secrecy. There is virtually no public oversight of their activities or accountability for grave human rights abuses. This paper pulls together publicly available information about the CIA’s “Afghan army,” charts the problems it represents for creating a sustainable peace settlement in Afghanistan, and examines possible measures for addressing these problems.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Intelligence, Armed Forces, Peace, and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Asia, and United States of America
17427. Pentagon Fuel Use, Climate Change, and the Costs of War
- Author:
- Neta C. Crawford
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
- Abstract:
- If climate change is a “threat multiplier,” as some national security experts and members of the military argue, how does the US military reduce climate change caused threats? Or does war and the preparation for it increase those risks?
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Climate Change, War, International Security, Military Spending, and Fossil Fuels
- Political Geography:
- North America, Global Focus, and United States of America
17428. War Spending and Lost Opportunities
- Author:
- Heidi Garrett-Peltier
- Publication Date:
- 01-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
- Abstract:
- All types of federal spending have ripple effects throughout the economy. As funds are spent on war, there is demand not only for soldiers and for DOD personnel, but for the goods and services that support these positions. Likewise, if we focus on a sector such as clean energy, spending that is channeled directly to an industry such as solar or wind also creates secondary effects, what we call indirect employment, in industries such as hardware manufacturing, electronics production, and trucking. To capture the full effect of any federal spending, then, we need to estimate not only the direct jobs that are created by any type of spending, but also the indirect jobs that are supported throughout the supply chain.
- Topic:
- War, Labor Issues, Economy, Military Spending, and Job Creation
- Political Geography:
- North America and United States of America
17429. Where We Fight: US Counterterror War Locations 2017-2018
- Author:
- Stephanie Savell
- Publication Date:
- 01-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
- Abstract:
- This new map shows for the first time that the United States is now combating terrorism in 40 percent of the world’s nations.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Counter-terrorism, and War on Terror
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, South Asia, Central Asia, Middle East, North America, and United States of America
17430. Mapping, Measuring, and Managing Methane: The Critical Role of a Potent Climate Pollutant
- Author:
- Deborah Gordon and Frances Reuland
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
- Abstract:
- Earth's temperature is rising to dangerous levels. Cutting greenhouse gas emissions is increasingly urgent. Although carbon dioxide is the major greenhouse gas, short-lived climate pollutants like methane are rapidly accelerating global warming in the near term. Methane emissions are on the rise. The global growth in oil and gas production and consumption is a prime driver. A new report released today by researchers at the Watson Institute identifies a multi-pronged approach for mapping and measuring methane and provides new tools to more effectively manage this super pollutant. Under a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, authors Deborah Gordon, Watson Institute Senior Fellow, and Frances Reuland, former Brown University Researcher, assess the many ways that methane escapes from the oil and gas sector, both unintentionally and purposefully. Using a first-of-its-kind model under development, the Oil Climate Index + Gas, they estimate that oil operations are at greater risk for intentional venting and flaring of methane while gas operations pose a higher risk of inadvertent fugitive methane and accidental releases. The ability to focus detection and policymaking on the operators who bear direct emissions responsibility holds out the best prospects for methane reductions worldwide. While governments, NGOs, and companies continue to improve their methods to pinpoint and measure methane, difficulties remain. Overcoming these barriers requires: increased transparency and data collection; improved oversight through monitoring, reporting, and verification; regulations and binding agreements; research and development (R&D) and technology transfer; and financial incentives and penalties. In order to offer durable climate solutions, efforts to mitigate methane must be designed to withstand future political pressures.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Science and Technology, Pollution, Fossil Fuels, and Methane
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus