Graeber is dead wrong on this. It wasn't the antiwar movement in the US that caused "Vietnam Syndrome" - being militarily defeated by a nation the US viewed as "inferior" did.
And it also wasn't 9/11 that overcame "Vietnam Syndrome" - the invasion of Panama and the first Gulf War did that.
If the antiwar movement in the US achieved anything, it was to provide the US military with a pretext - ie, somebody to blame - for extracting themselves from a war they had decisively lost.
This kind of ignores all the proxy wars in between and shit like inventing that Iraqi soldiers killed newborns in Kuwait in order to justify Operarion Desert Storm. In a sense, the author mentioned it, politicians worked much harder on their propaganda efforts. The propaganda is done in 2025 to silence opponents and justify atrocities is on Soviet Russia levels imo. I appreciate the optimistic and long-term perspective, I’m just frustrated and horrified that we can’t stop a live-streamed genocide from happening at all, and it doesn’t help people in Gaza or Sudan that our protests might have an impact in the long run. What I see though is that we absolutely changed the narrative, the truth is now a mainstream opinion and the propaganda is seen for what it is. It’s a small success, but it’s a success nevertheless.
There weren't really 1,000s of death from 911. It was more like 3,000.
It's worth noting this relatively small number because millions of people were murdered as a result. It's a very similar situation to how zios use minor resistance as as justification for endless genocide. Etc.
As you say, the response was grossly disproportionate. That said, three thousand would technically meet the criteria for thousands, and doesn't include the initial survivors who have since developed terminal cancer due to Ground Zero exposure.
Regardless, though correct, the use of a vague term such as "thousands" is clearly meant to allow the reader to draw erroneous conclusions.
Don't forget the 1990 Gulf War. That was probably the best example of the government getting the ENTIRE media on its side. Saddam was sent running from Kuwait, but the USA made sure to destroy a lot of Iraq's civilian infrastructure in the meantime.
