In this powerful and passionate critique of the 'war on terror' in Afghanistan and its extensions into Palestine and Iraq, Derek Gregory traces the long history of British and American involvements in the Middle East and shows how colonial power continues to cast long shadows over our own present. This work: argues that the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11 activated a series of political and cultural responses that were profoundly colonial in nature; presents the first analysis of the 'war on terror' to connect events in Afghanistan, Palestine, and Iraq; traces the connections between geopolitics and the lives of ordinary people; and, is richly illustrated and packed with empirical detail.