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Why can’t America quit the Middle East? September 11 marked a shift in the American psyche, and altered the way the United States saw its place in the world. Shortly after the attacks, President George W Bush announced the ‘war on terror’, a policy that would implicate the United States in multiple wars, on multiple fronts, in the Middle East over the next 25 years. But was this the US reaction that al-Qaeda had planned for? And as the US entered into more wars, in Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran, are the unintended consequences of the ‘war on terror’ still threatening the US today? The Global…

The Global Story

by BBC World Service · English · News

Where the world and America meet, with episodes each weekday. The world is changing. Decisions made in the US and by the second Trump administration are accelerating that change. But they are also a symptom of it. With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s interna

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  3. 14 Sep 2026 · 27 min

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  4. 10 Sep 2026 · 27 min

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  6. 8 Sep 2026 · 27 min

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  7. 9 Oct 2026 · 27 minNew

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