How American Wars Destroyed The World *IMPORTANT*

How American Wars Destroyed the World

As you know the crisis in Ukraine continues, hundreds of lives have already been lost and a massive migration underway. However USA and its allies have been blaming Russia for the destruction caused by war that is taking place and Western India has been accusing Russia of its imperialist assertions. Where as Russia and Anti-US countries are blaming it on NATO's expansionary policies. Whatever be the truth, it is beyond any doubt that this war is concerned with great power politics, the origins of which can be traced back to the end of the Second World War. It was this great power politics that gave birth to the cold war in which US backed NATO and USSR backed the WARSAW PACT. Both these groups competed against each other for global dominance. World history took a major turn when in 1991, the USSR collapsed and scholars around the world claimed that they cemented America's Hegemony in International politics. However, the truth is the struggle for power continued and great power politics remained alive even after USSR's disintegration. A new power politics emerged between America and Russia in which gradually China too got involved. This is also the reason why a military block like NATO formed in the context of the cold war still survives. NATO has also been trying to get the countries around the Russia to be it's members, and this is one of the reason put forward for the current war in Ukraine. Russia's argument is that, when USA became so aggressive in Cuba in 1956 about the support of USSR, then why should it not react to NATO's growing presence in it's neighborhood. Anyway, even though the cold war came to an end, the war in general did not.

America has been accused of perpetrating proxy wars around the world in order to simply consolidate it's power. Some scholars accuse it of doing the same in the context of Ukraine today.

In this article, we will discuss the wars led by America that unleash destruction on a global scale, because a lot of these wars were unjustified and their objectives remained unfulfilled. These wars were triggered by America for the sake of power politics, led to the collapse of many societies, the death and displacement of thousands, and the struggle for survival that still continues for many.

History of America's Destructive Wars and it's Impacts

1. Hiroshima and Nagasaki

One of the first example of America's attempt to consolidate it's power, maintain its hegemony and counter opposing forces like USSR, Russia and China were the nuclear attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War 2. According to sources about 1 lakh and 29 thousand and 2 lakh 26 thousand civilians were killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. American supporters argue that the nuclear attack was unavoidable given how the Japanese were unrelenting despite the defeat of the excess forces in the Second World War. However, in 1963, former U.S president Dwight Eisenhower admitted that the use of atomic bombs to force Japanese to surrender was unnecessary. A lot of U.S military officers seems to agree, they include Army General Douglas MacArthur, Brigadier General Carter Clarke and then Incharge of strategic Air Operations Major General Lemay. So, if indeed it was unnecessary, why did America dropped the nuclear bomb, killing lakhs of Japanese and exposing the rest to years of radiation effects. Some scholars claim that America's decision was solely guided by power politics. It wanted to demonstrate it's nuclear dominance to its rival, the USSR. Some scholars claim that the USSR had plans to invade Japan which was refusing to surrender. USA was determined to stop the spread of communism and hence it did not want USSR to defeat Japan and establish itself as a leading power in the Asia-Pacific region. In such a scenario, the use of nuclear weapons was primarily to fuel America's ambitions.

The next story of America's attempt to consolidate it's power is only a few kilometers away from Japan in the Korean Peninsula.

2. Korean War

The Korean War is another example of America's clearing mistake. The Korean War was fought between North Korea and South Korea between 1950 to 1953. It officially started on 25th June 1950, when North Korea backed by the USSR and China, invaded South Korea which was backed by the USA. The Korean War is one where the US and USSR were held equally responsible but some scholars believe that America was to be blamed more. The Korean War was the result of power supremacy between the USA and the USSR in which neither USA was ready to give up nor the USSR, resulting the Korean War that saw over 50 lakh deaths which was way more than the death toll in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

America's next attempt to consolidate it's power for the sake of power politics was The Vietnam Folly.

3. The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War lasted from 1st November 1955 to 30th April 1975. It was officially between communist North Vietnam and US backed South Vietnam, lasting for more than 20 years. This war was not just limited to Vietnam but spread to it's neighboring state as well. This results in civil wars in Laos and Cambodia killing lakhs of people. According to sources, almost 10 to 30 lakhs Vietnamese civilians lost their lives. It was the common people who paid the price of the price of the US, USSR rivalry. According to scholars, "unlike the Korean war, where it is difficult to completely blame one side, It is easier to blame American interference in the Vietnam War". In the context of Vietnam, it is quite apparent that American interference was unnecessary because in Vietnam, the people fought a fierce battle against America's imperialism, while Soviet Russia and China's support for North Vietnam was mainly limited to weaponry. USA got it's troops on the ground, a move that was heavily criticized. In Vietnam, the insurgents enjoyed the support of the citizens as against the US backed corrupt South Vietnamese Government. US had no support in Vietnam and therefore it's involvement was severely criticized.

Let's now look at some events post Cold War where America's involvement was out rightly denounced as imperialist. This was because after the Cold War period, America emerged as a sole superpower and hence it no longer had the Soviet Union to blame. Let's now read about the Middle East.

The Crisis of Middle East and War on Terror

Afghanistan which not only been a victim of American imperialism but also of Soviet imperialism. First the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and pushed the country to the brink of poverty and insurgency. Later, the same was repeated by America. It is said that America's proxy wars against Soviet Union resulted in the spread of terrorism in the Middle East. Whether it was funding the Mujahideens or providing them with arms. Afghanistan was not alone, there was also a time when US backed insurgents were involved in military conflicts from Yemen to Syria to Libya. According to a report by Watson institute for international and public affairs, USA's war on terror displaced nearly 3.8 crore people.

One of the main reason behind these wars was America's oil interest in the Middle East, by securing which it hoped to establish the dominance in the region. The best example is Iraq, which was attacked by the US in 2003. US intelligence claimed that Saddam Hussein's Government was secretly manufacturing weapons of mass destruction (WMD's). However as it turned out later that these speculations were unfounded.

In January 2004, former US weapons inspector David K told the US Congress, we were all wrong. Some scholars claim that the Bush administration unnecessarily hyped the US intelligence in order to establish it's hegemony in the region. America's invasion worsened the living conditions of the population in Iraq. Moreover, America was notorious for supporting dictators in the region and it's argument that the invasion was to establish democracy is only a myth. In reality, America wanted to portray itself as a superpower through the demonstration effect.

The insurgency burned out of the Iraq War was felt all over the Middle East. We all must be aware of the birth of ISIS and the Syrian Civil War that followed . America's interventions can be seen from Asia to Africa.

The History of America's blunders discussed above makes it apparent that along with Russia, it is partially responsible for the crisis in Ukraine. At the moment, America has not retreated great power politics and it has been pushing for Ukraine's membership in NATO.