Defenders of US Wars

Summary

The United States' extensive military interventions and bombings in various countries over the past twenty years have resulted in significant global suffering, with questionable justifications and a lack of accountability.

Abstract

The article highlights the aggressive military actions of the United States, which has dropped over 337,000 bombs on countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria since the early 2000s. It criticizes the US for its frequent interventions, occupation of nations, and the subsequent humanitarian crises, including the creation of a slave trade in Libya after its intervention. The piece argues that the American public is largely uninformed about the complexities of these conflicts and is easily swayed by media narratives and political rhetoric that justify war. It also points out the hypocrisy in the US's claim to enforce democracy and security through warfare, while in reality, these actions have led to widespread destruction, displacement, and suffering. The article calls for a critical reflection on the US's military actions and the need for accountability and a shift towards peace and humanitarian efforts.

Opinions

The US government's military actions are often excessive and lack clear justification, leading to unnecessary violence and global instability.
Media and political narratives in the US tend to oversimplify foreign conflicts and sway public opinion in favor of war without providing a comprehensive understanding of the situations.
The US public's lack of knowledge about foreign cultures and politics contributes to unquestioning support for military interventions, which are often misrepresented as efforts to rescue nations from oppressive regimes.
The US's military interventions, such as in Libya, have had severe unintended consequences, including the exacerbation of human rights abuses like the re-emergence of slave trading.
The article suggests that the US prioritizes military action over peaceful and constructive solutions, such as education, healthcare, and climate care, which could lead to more stable and prosperous societies.
There is a call for the US to critically assess its role in global conflicts and to consider the suffering caused by its military interventions, rather than deflecting criticism by pointing to the actions of other nations.
The US's actions in international conflicts are often carried out with impunity, as international bodies like the UN and ICC are unable or unwilling to hold it accountable due to political pressure and sanctions.
The article questions the effectiveness of US military interventions in achieving their stated goals of liberation and democracy, suggesting that the reality is far more destructive and counterproductive.

The US occupied 138 nations and dropped 26,171 bombs in 2016 and 337,000 within twenty years, yet we don’t discuss its brutalities.

The US dropped at least 337,000 bombs on Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Palestine, and Syria over the past twenty years, and missile strikes maim Somalia and Yemen today. Our government unloads assaults on whomever it pleases, and if it murmurs an excuse for the violence, the media endorses it, and the public defends it.

Politicians insist wars enforce democracy and security, and the world begs for foreign intervention. They stir a fearful impulsive frenzy to attack before the smoking gun becomes a mushroom cloud or armageddon, but the details are always vague, and the media doesn’t challenge them.

The public doesn’t know if “rebel forces” are most of the population or a small handful of disgruntled citizens because we’re unaware of foreign countries’ history, politics, culture, and economic structures. Yet, we impose our inexpert critique, insisting we know best and support the wars that destroy the world, assuming we’re rescuing it from oppressive regimes, never doubting our country’s intentions, and believing warfare leads to peaceful stability.

Our government and NATO, excluding the numerous members who protested, attacked Libya, turning it into a live auction slave-trade nation. Libyans did not summon the bombs or intervention, yet many Americans declared Gaddafi evil and justified the ruthlessness despite understanding Libya. It never occurs to us that we’re uninformed and that overthrowing a leader has severe repercussions.

Scholars spend years, if not decades, analyzing a country’s complexities, but the media’s reports educate the public, making everyone a pseudo-expert. We boldly disregard intellects who present varying perspectives and repeat verbatim buzzwords bellowing from our preferred entertainers because we don’t want to be informed.

The Obama administration dropped 26,171 bombs and occupied 138 nations (70% of the world) in 2016. That’s nearly three bombs per hour, 24 hours a day, and immeasurable global suffering. We dehumanize and contort the data to align with a rational narrative, but an excessive military and arsenal are not moral, humane, sane, or tolerable.

Keeping up with the international assaults is challenging because our government is always involved in a conflict, and we don’t want to discuss it. Anyone who dares broach the deadly topic receives vile discontent, threats, accusations, slander, and censorship, and journalists fear becoming the next Julian Assange.

A pro-war, xenophobic insurgency is pulsating through our country, and the US doesn’t need more encouragement. It has launched 251 military interventions since 1990, violating human rights more than any nation and escalating an unimaginable conflict with China. Yet, Americans who are too old for the draft promote a confrontation with 1.4 billion Chinese.

The propensity for wars increases because we never reflect on or openly discuss our government’s brutalities. We avoid the conversation by hiding behind other nations’ barbarities to excuse ourselves from critical reflection, but who will stop the killing if we won’t? The UN and ICC won’t defy the US; it silenced, sanctioned, and threatened them.

There’s no one scrutinizing and holding the US liable, and we’ve turned our backs on the world and ourselves, offering no justice, reprieve, or accountability. We’re spectators who don’t understand our role as citizens, and our silence enables our country to get away with murder.

We’ve never experienced the destruction conflicts inflict on people. They impair infrastructure, agriculture, water, the environment, the economy, and the human psyche. Famines, deprivation, trauma, violence, and environmental pollution plague regions, destabilizing peace for generations, and we advocate for this.

There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but after the US unleashed its toxic war, unprecedented deformity rates appeared in Iraqi infants. Babies are born with tumors, two heads, and neurological disorders, while adults endure excessive cancer diagnoses. The conflict worsened Iraq, and the US military still occupies the country.

“The Americans wanted this. If they didn’t, they would have cleaned up from their wars. They starved us during the sanctions; now they are poisoning us.” — Iraqi civilian

Our government spent at least $8 trillion to kill (conservative estimate) 1 million and displace 38 million people since the war on terror began. The US destabilized the world, and it wasn’t to provide Americans with an exceptional lifestyle or freedom for the oppressed.

We fund massacres instead of peace, progress, stability, education, healthcare, climate care, and social needs, but we can’t ask why the US unloaded 337,000 bombs on 404.281 million people from 2003 to 2021. Half of the missile strikes (154,078) battered Iraq and Syria, yet we don’t think about their suffering or wonder why anyone would so excessively thrash nations.

Almost twenty years of war and occupation to free people from repressive governments isn’t liberating. Every bomb ravaged lives, communities, and the environment, exposing people to relentless violence and suffering, but we point at other nations and say nothing about ours.

How would we feel if a nation invaded the US to rescue Americans from mass poverty, incarceration, racism, immigration detention centers, child labor, human rights abuses, propaganda, militarized police, and an enormous military? Would foreign interference improve our lives; have any interventions since WWII led to a better outcome?

We don’t think about the misery our government imposed on the world, but do we even care?