Perhaps because of their nebulous enemy and the obscure signifiers of success and failure, the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have had far fewer popular songs written about them than World War II and Vietnam, which provided endless fodder for lyricists and musicians. This is not to say the wars are short of inspiring moments or themes: a seemingly perpetual conflict, governmental incompetence, a shadowy enemy—all are fine subjects for a composition.
With the end of the Cold War, songs about nuclear annihilation—once a sine qua non of any self-respecting punk band—have all but disappeared. But that doesn't mean the threat of nuclear war has considerably diminished. Tens of thousands of nuclear weapons remain in existence, some in the hands of states hostile to the United States, such as North Korea. The time is ripe for new nuclear war songs.
Protest songs have long been—usually unfairly—tagged as unpatriotic, accused of undermining troop morale by suggesting that the contributions of soldiers are unappreciated. Yet, the most eloquent anti-war songs are both anti-war and pro-solider, carefully separating the conflict from those fighting the war and humanizing its main casualties. "Clean Cut Kid" by Bob Dylan and "Disposable Heroes" by Metallica, both about soldiers in Vietnam, pull off this trick nicely.
Many so-called "protest" songs are less protests against a specific war than journalistic-style accounts of the same. "Rooster" by Alice in Chains, and "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield chronicled the Vietnam war (or, in the case of Buffalo Springfield, its protests) without taking a side on the issue. As of 2010, few objective accounts of the modern experiences of U.S. servicemen have been written.
Given its global nature and its dominance of 21st century U.S. politics, surprisingly few songs have been written about the global war on terrorism. Although, according to Entertainment Weekly, a flurry of pro-war songs were published in the wake of the attacks of September 11, since then there has been a relative dearth of material.