evidence: Most of it was military spending. Between 2001 and 2022, the U.S. spent $8 trillion on war. While the U.S. comprises just over 4% of the world’s population, it is now responsible for 40% of global military spending, more than the next ten top-spending countries combined. But where does the spending go? Since 9/11, the military-industrial complex (MIC,) the most powerful lobby in Washington comprised of weapons industries, has lobbied the U.S. into wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and now Ukraine. These conflicts have racked up trillions of dollars in debt and made defense contractors extremely wealthy. [...] Iraq, America’s centerpiece in its War on Terror, is now "a laboratory in which militant groups such as Islamic State have been able to hone their techniques of recruitment and violence." In Afghanistan, the Taliban are back in power after a 20-year U.S. occupation that cost $2.3 trillion and 243,000 lives.