Always out of the headlines, on purpose, America’s military footprint truly spands the globe. And how well is our nearly 18 year old “war on terror” going? Is it working? After what she calls a “research odyssey” Stephanie Savell of CostsofWar created a map for Smithsonian magazine, showing there are 80 countries involved in the US war on terrorism, including 7 that are sites of air and drone strikes, 14 that see direct combat by American troops against militant targets, and other sites of military exercises, bases, and training/assistance to military, police, and other ill-defined security forces. Often in places like Africa and South America, what is labeled terrorist is really internal dissidents. Savell calculated the cost to US taxpayers as $5.9 trillion, all of it borrowed money, meaning another $8 trillion paid in interest. Perhaps actually addressing the grievances might yield better results in terms of stopping terror attacks.