Because of our strong Christian heritage, most Americans innately believe in being generous to their neighbors. Good neighborliness was central to our country’s founding ethos. Locally and nationally, there are a myriad of groups and organizations that provide support and assistance to people in need. This tradition is an important component of our culture. Consequently, much of our populace believes the United States government is a force for good around the world and an important contributor to world stability. This is a myth.
For decades, this traditional national embrace of generosity towards others has been used by our political and cultural elites to gull the American population into supporting many activities that are anything but generous, and often turn out to be extremely destructive. Over the years, there has been a continuous chorus from the leading elites supporting the false narrative that the United States is doing good around the world—the myth of the “indispensable nation”.
Since the Second World War, American ruling elites have called for numerous military interventions to “save democracy,” protecting some nation from communists, terrorists, fascists, or various reincarnations of Hitler. (Or worse.) The accusations are usually accompanied by shrill calls for the great and indispensable nation to act, to hold the line, or mete out harsh justice to the latest designated evildoer. This nonsense is cheered on by mainstream media outlets. Until recently, average Americans have not had access to any information which would expose the lies and hidden malfeasance behind these claims. Fortunately, thanks to alternative media, that ignorance is rapidly receding.
Americans are now beginning to grasp the fact that most of what we have been told about American foreign policy is materially not true, and that this policy is not benevolent. Contrary to popular imagination, the U.S. has spent decades directly supporting jihadi groups or condoning the support of terrorist groups by our “friends.” The Global War on Terror serves as a convenient excuse for interventions. It has been particularly useful in the Middle East to destroy obstacles to an expansionist Israel.
If we truly wanted to stop terrorism, one of our first priorities should have been to stop funding and arming such groups and inducing our “friends” to stop funding and arming them.
The recent collapse of Syria was a result of the support of the United States, Israel, and fellow NATO member, Turkey, for anti-government jihadi groups. The new leadership of Syria is drawn from the ranks of Al Qaeda. How is that benevolent or “acting as the world’s policeman”? We have been told for decades that Al Qaeda is bad and must be eliminated, and now in Syria we have direct proof of Al Qaeda and related groups being employed as proxies for U.S. “interests.” How is creating another failed state in the Middle East good or in U.S. interests?
It is time to stop allowing ourselves to be duped by deceptive claims of generosity and good intentions, and start to acknowledge and learn from the many disasters our country’s leadership has authored. Jesus told us “you will know them by their fruits.” The list of tragic disasters is quite long, but the following is a sample of the most egregious examples.
During the fighting portion of the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, we killed millions of civilians, and after seven decades, have not officially ended the war. We still have thousands of troops in Korea hindering normal relations between the North and the South. Our troops enforce the blockade which contributes to the starvation of North Korean civilians.
The CIA’s role in the 1953 overthrow of Iran’s duly elected President Mohammad Mosaddegh was the initial cause of strife with Iran before Israel’s Likud government and its cheerleaders decided to start an ever-intensifying campaign vilifying 3000-year old society. (That same campaign has been successful in the destruction of the Palestinians, Iraqis, Afghans, Libyans, Syrians, and other disobedient peoples.)
In the Pacific, the Vietnam War from 1955 to 1975 killed millions in Vietnam and neighboring Cambodia. Cambodia was so destabilized by U.S. bombing that the Khmer Rouge managed to seize control of the ravaged country and killed over one third of their population, on top of the people killed by the U.S. military. Most of what we were told about that war was untrue from the beginning.
Our bad behavior has not been exclusive to the Eastern Hemisphere. Closer to home, numerous American-backed coups and interventions in Central and South America caused instability that continues to trouble those regions today.
In April 1961 the CIA engineered and supported the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba. It was a complete catastrophe and cemented the Castros’ control, ensuring they ruled until their deaths six decades later. The inexplicable U.S. blockade still causes suffering for the Cuban people.
