How Many Civilians Are We Willing to Bomb? - Poster of the Week

politicalgraphics
6 days ago
2 min read

Willing?

THINK AGAIN (S.A. Bachman + David John Attyah)

Digital Print, 2002

Los Angeles, CA

17414

CSPG’s Poster of the Week forces viewers to reckon with the true cost of war in the 21st century. It was made in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. Twenty-four years later, we know the answer to its questions.

The U.S. claimed it invaded Afghanistan and Iraq to find and destroy the terrorist cells that killed 2,997 people on September 11th. No links to Iraq were found, but the death toll of these wars is staggering. The War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) killed at least 46,319 Afghan civilians. The Iraq War (2003-2011) killed at least 200,000 Iraqi civilians . Brown University’s Watson School of International and Public Affairs estimates that at least 4.5 million people died–directly or indirectly– due to the impact of these wars on economies, health care systems, and infrastructure in post 9/11 war zones including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas brutally attacked 20 Israeli towns, farming communities (kibbutzim), and an Israeli music festival, killing 1,195 people and kidnapping 251. Since then, the world has once again borne witness to this poster’s question. Israel’s efforts to annihilate Hamas–and now Hezbollah and Iranian leaders–has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian, Lebanese, and Iranian civilians in order to find terrorists. Between October 7, 2023 and February 2026, at least 71,803 Palestinians have been reported killed in Gaza, including at least 21,289 children.

On February 28, 2026 the U.S. and Israel dropped hundreds of bombs on Iran without warning, and continued to do so for weeks. On March 2nd, Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel in order to retaliate for the murder of Iran’s Supreme Leader.

The war on Iran has killed at least 1,492 Iranian civilians and at least 4 Israeli civilians. The Israel-Hezbollah war has killed at least 3,185 Lebanese, including at least 619 women, children and health care workers. Hezbollah attacks have killed at least 1 Israeli civilian since March 2nd.